Zeynep Ucbasaran - Sudda: Piano Works - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

A colleague of Bela Bart k in the collection of Turkish folk-music, Adnan Saygun was among the most distinguished Turkish composers of the twentieth century.

The Solem Quartet has established itself as one of the most innovative, adventurous ensembles of it's kind, a reputation cemented by this album, in which movements from The Four Quarters by Thomas Adès are interspersed with pieces by composers from Florence Price to Kate Bush, several of them arranged by the ensemble. In The Four Quarters, Adès charts the course of a day, with the Solem Quartet building a program around this structure so that the whole album becomes a chronological journey. Ivor Gurney and Henry Purcell add to the theme with Sleep and Now does the glorious day appear, while Bartók transports us to An Evening in the Village and Robert Schumann soothes with a Child Falling Asleep. There is folk music in the form of Ca' the Yowes, to words by Robert Burns, and contemporary works by Cassandra Miller, William Marsey and Aaron Parker. The program is completed by Florence Price's soulful Summer Moon, and an arrangement of Kate Bush's And Dream of Sheep.

In 1847 Franz Liszt visited Istanbul (then Constantinople) and performed several recitals on an Erard piano specially shipped for him to play. He spent a month there and gave several concerts including two in the Sultan's palace. He was fêted and praised highly; at that time the city was a hub of Western culture and a frequent destination of Italian and French opera companies, so Liszt's operatic transcriptions found a receptive audience. Turkish-American pianist Zeynep Ucbasaran created a selection of works from Liszt's program which were broadcast throughout Europe in 2011 and performed live to great acclaim. Now this recital is committed to a recording which celebrates not only great music but also what was Liszt's final year as a virtuoso performer. Zeynep Ucbasaran began music studies in Istanbul at the age of four, then in Hungary and Germany before moving to the USA to obtain her degrees in Piano Performance. She has won multiple awards and performed in many parts of the world. She naturally has an affinity with the musical culture and heritage of her native Turkey.