Idil Biret - Waltzes - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

After a four-year hiatus exploring ambient and meditation music, Danish multi-instrumentalist Anders Rhedin has returned to his indie roots. Dream Work, his third album as Dinner, is a rich collection of synth and guitar-laden indie pop that expertly channels Ryuichi Sakamoto, early British indie, and the sound of water.Like most worthwhile pursuits, the path to Dream Work hasn't been straight. Rhedin spent his 20s playing in bands in his native Copenhagen (including the indie pop group Choir of Young Believers) before relocating to LA to pursue pop songwriting, an enterprise which he considers Inchan unmitigated disaster.Inch From this disaster, however, came the genesis of the Dinner project, which saw Rhedin self-releasing cassettes of his solo music while splitting his time between Berlin, LA and Copenhagen. His irreverent synth-based avant-pop was enough to attract attention, and in 2014 Rhedin signed to Captured Tracks, moved to LA full-time, and released a series of full length projects including Three EPs (2015), Psychic Lovers (2016), and New Work (2017). Over this period he also toured the world with the likes of Mac Demarco, Sean Nicholas Savage, Prince Rama, and King Gizzard.In tandem with the progression of Dinner, Rhedin was also honing another skill - channeling his long standing personal interest in meditation and Jungian techniques into ambient production and guided meditation. After the of New Work, he took a step back from the Dinner project in order to explore these avenues more seriously - returning to Copenhagen in the process. Over the last few years, he's released a series of ambient releases under his own name geared towards meditation, sleep, and relaxation. He's also led live guided sound baths and meditations at art museums, churches, and rooftops all over the world.The time away proved fruitful - returning to the Dinner project with fres

Idil Biret wanted to record the many waltz transcriptions of Godowsky and others. Chief among these was the transcription of the Johann Strauss' waltz Kiinstlerleben by Godowsky which she had performed at many concerts in the l 970s and the Blue Danube Waltz. However, there was another project scheduled before that; four Haydn Sonatas, some of the most beautiful among the many he composed. When Idil suddenly fell ill in 2021 both projects were abandoned. Then, miraculously a stupendous recording of her performance of Kiinstlerleben in New York in December 1975 surfaced on the internet which led to reembarking on the project in a somewhat different way. The result is this CD, a compilation of Biret's past performances of Waltzes and Dances from many composers including Bartok, Berlioz, Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, Ravel, Stravinsky and, of course, Leopold Godowsky - his piano transcription of the Strauss waltz Kiinstlerleben InchMetamorphosis on Themes from Artist's LifeInch

The Polonaise in C-sharp minor, Op. 26 No. 1 and the Polonaise in E-flat minor, Op. 26 No. 2 were composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1836. Both of them were dedicated to Josef Dessauer. Both Polonaises require considerable technique and stamina to be performed well. The Polonaise opens with a fiery Allegro appasionato in C-sharp minor, the primary theme preceded by descending octaves. The section climaxes with a series of virtuosic arpeggio figures which give way to a tender melody. This is then followed by a repetition of the theme. After this opening section there is a new theme introduced in the enharmonic D-flat major. This new theme is then developed and followed by a new left hand melody, which increases the tension until a repeat of the meno mosso. This polonaise is very diverse in textures, dynamics, and moods, and sometimes is considered one of the best polonaises by Chopin.