Press Releases

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Features moving guest performances by musicians from both sides of the Atlantic. Project honors the late Kermit Harden, World War II veteran who liberated the French city in 1944.

 

“During the pandemic, and with the distance which separates us, we’ve made
a pure moment of magic together. Thank you.” —Mayor of Thionville Pierre Cuny
On Memorial Day,  Monday, May 31st, 2021, the sister cities of Thionville, France, and Urbana, Illinois, USA honor the memory of those lost – to war and to the COVID-19 pandemic – by releasing a stunning video of the Beatles’ legendary “Let It Be”. Recorded in 2020, the City of Urbana and Thionville collaborated on this recording with the intention of providing joy, inspiration and togetherness, while helping grieving families. American and French musicians and celebrities – all together nearly 50 artists of all ages and origins – participated in this project under the co-leadership of Pierre Ananicz and James Barham.  
“Over the past year, the world has suffered from the COVID-19  pandemic. We  now share renewed optimism and hope as vaccines become available. Music is the universal language and it can help us heal. We’re honored to share this song with our Sister City, Thionville, and look forward to continued collaboration between our communities.” —Mayor of Urbana Diane Wolfe Marlin

Viewers of the video are encouraged to share it far and wide, comment on our Facebook page, and donate to Champaign-Urbana’s Refugee Center. Contributions can be made through the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois at their website www.CFECI.org.

Origins for these two cities’ connections go back to November, 1944, when Thionville was liberated by the American Army led by General Patton. Among the GIs who composed the battalions stationed in Moselle were several men from the Urbana area, including Kermit Harden. Harden was a decorated veteran and held four Battle Stars: Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe. Captured by the Germans in October 1944, he was held as a POW for 45 days before being included in the first prisoner exchange of the war. He returned to active combat and received the Silver Star for Gallantry in Action in Germany, the Bronze Star at the Battle of the Bulge and the Purple Heart in Northern France. For his service to the people of France, he was awarded the Order of the Legion d’Honneur by the French government. Kermit died in 2019 and is survived by his wife Ann, his son Andrew, and daughter Elizabeth.

In 2019, while Thionville was celebrating the 75th anniversary of its liberation, the representatives of Urbana and Thionville officially confirmed the twinning between the two cities. This connection was originally spearheaded by Elise Poillot, a University of Luxembourg teacher who went to the University of Illinois in Urbana as part of a partnership program between her University and the American Law faculty.

Thionville is the second largest city in the Moselle region of France with 42,000 inhabitants, and as it is only a few miles away from Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium and is less than two hours from Paris,  is located in the heart of what is considered the “three borders area”. With a similar population size, Urbana is a city in the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. Outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, it is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois, and is included in the Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area.

French and American artists participating include: Fabien Miua, Rob Krum, Guillaume Vosgien, Candy Foster, Raphael Vitrano, Brandon T. Washington, Andy Abranrantes, Fabien Fritsch, Sam Payne, Cédric Vosgien, Ayla McDonald, Marie Helene Caroff, Patch Adams, Susan Parenti, Claire Cugnart, Bob Pearse, Gabriel Lalegge, Emily Blue, Yakou, Alexandra Choisnest, Maddie Brown, Kevin Roy, Anthony Mura, Quentin Zeimeth, Thomas Lalore, Franck Aubert, Alain Hombourger, Pierre Ananicz, Hannah Scalise, Maggie Ward, Lucia Cogliandro, Kate Levy, Wendy Hundley, Julie Salana, Mallory Simonds, Zilber Karevski, Raeann Dossett, Pascale Adrian, Scott Schwartz, Thierry Hummel, Dawn Clark, Evelyn Underwood, Chloé Gobbo, Dawna Nelson; Instrumentalists include Olivier Karim (drums), Christopher Fuentes (bass), Mickael Sanso (bongos), Rémi Encelle (piano); and the French band Ten Minutes Left (Kev, Flo, Gauthier et Val).

Special thanks to Executive Producer James Barham, and to Engineer James Treichler (Wave Upon Wave).  

 

 

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On Tuesday, June 1st, 2021, celebrated folk-trio Sons of the Never Wrong (Sue Demel, Deborah Maris Lader, and Bruce Roper) are set to release their newest album Undertaker’s Songbook on their own label, Sons 3 Records. The album will be available digitally on all major platforms, and on CD via their newly revamped website: sonsoftheneverwrong.com 

Their ninth studio release (and eleventh overall) launches a 12 month long celebration in 2021-22 of their 30th anniversary as a group. While much of the album was worked on apart (as a result of the pandemic), these 15 songs find them closer than ever. 

Recurring thematic elements include love, loss, land, sea, saints, and martyrs. While often dark, Undertaker’s Songbook is anchored by an unwavering sense of hope and strikingly resonant harmony.  Both cinematic and intimate, this new body of work finds the trio bravely exploring the outer-reaches of their musicianship, while also maintaining the signature Sons’ sound.

Lead preview track Muddy Muddy River displays Sons’ inimitable blend, rife with nuance and lilt. A gospel-tinged mid-tempo in the vein of a reflective Natalie Merchant tune, bluesy hooks abound, carrying the listener along.

Listen to “Muddy Muddy River” on SoundCloud

Shorebird is a sincere, piano-led ballad that celebrates the interpretive skills and vocal acrobatics of member Sue Demel. A solo performance, she sings alongside a beautifully arranged piano part by John Erickson, invoking the likes of Cyndi Lauper and Rickie Lee Jones. Demel also takes the lead on her composition Set Us to Praying, a sparse, spiritual waltz dedicated to the late John Prine.

Om Not This Time finds Bruce Roper’s sobering vocal dancing around a playful rhythmic verse. Demel and Lader create a vocal soundscape against a bed of tablas and gritty guitar. The song itself masterfully blends a brooding synth style with boozy late-night horns, and a grounded, Tom Petty-like vocal performance. 

Deborah Lader’s apt closer In The End earnestly recalls a Jane Siberry-styled meditation, building into a wall of layered voices that include neo-folk singer Karen Savoca. With an underpinning of octave mandolin and a cool, confident drum pulse, the song’s lyric and uplifting melody round off the record with a reassuring calm.

For more about Sons of the Never Wrong, please visit: sonsoftheneverwrong.com

To request a copy for review, please email Peter McDowell: [email protected]

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On May 28, 2021, Los Angeles-based Argentine pianist Fabio Banegas is releasing his new album, Bottiroli Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 2 · Nocturnes, on Grand Piano, the specialist piano label distributed by Naxos. The album notably includes narrations from Mr. George Takei — respected actor, author, and activist best known for originating the role as Star Trek’s Hikaru Sulu.

Fabio Banegas’ newest release displays not only his well-regarded abilities as a pianist, but also his sensitive and thoughtful curation sensibilities.  This volume – the sequel to Vol. 1’s Waltzes – features all world premieres, and continues Banegas’ passion for celebrating the rich, colorful work of his late mentor,  José Antonio Bottiroli (1920–1990). And like Bottiroli, Banegas also hails from Rosario, Argentina, and both have been acknowledged for their contributions to Rosario’s culture. 

Photo by David Carlson

Banegas has made it his mission to highlight “hidden gems” in the compositional world. In 2011,Banegas archived Bottiroli’s works, placing him with the unique authority to curate and establish the legacy of his compositions. This installment features Banegas’ interpretations of Bottiroli’s sparkling nocturnes. The composer had a deep fascination with the night sky and outer space, and these selections paint beautiful, vespertinal scenes.

Selections like Nocturne in  G♭ Major, B59 recall the best of Debussy; while the Six Album Pages exhibit Satie-like, impressionist insights. Elegantly waltzing in pentatonics is the first ‘page’ — specially dedicated Banegas by Bottiroli. (“To Fabio, surely its best interpreter.”)

Image courtesy of George Takei

The record closes with Five Piano Replies: selections that display Bottiroli’s lyrical prowess. Choice collaborator George Takei enters, lending his iconic timbre to sincere, sage, and resonant narration. His legendary connection to Star Trek — a beloved franchise that intelligently promotes exploration, peace, and awe of the universe — makes him a fitting ambassador for these celestially-inspired works.

Takei’s stellar interpretive skills as a narrator should come as no surprise: from his extensive stage and voiceover work, as well as his own personal love of poetry, he more than has the gravitas to deliver Bottiroli’s words. (Incidentally, Banegas and Takei met queuing for an architectural tour in Chicago, and became good friends, bringing this project full-circle as a celebration of cherished people in Banegas’ life.)

Entitled Bottiroli Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 2 · Nocturnes,
the album includes the following works:

※ 1 – 3 Tres Penas de 1984 (‘Three Sorrows From 1984’)

※ 4 – 9 Seis Hojas de Álbum (‘Six Album Pages’) (1976–77)

※ 10 – 13 Cuatro Piezas de 1974 (‘Four Pieces From 1974’)

※ 14 – 15 Dos Nocturnos en el Sol Bemol Major (‘Two Nocturnes in G♭ Major’) (1978/1984)

※ 16 – 20 Cinco Réplicas para Piano (‘Five Piano Replies’) (1974–80)

For more about Fabio Banegas, please visit fabiobanegas.com
For more about George Takei, please visit georgetakei.com

To request a copy for review, please email Peter McDowell: [email protected]

 

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Humanity First: We Are All In This Together

Jenny Q Chai incorporates her exceptional artistry with striking visual elements, including NASA data visualizations, to highlight climate change and COVID-19 challenges. Includes two Bay Area premieres.

Sponsored by San Francisco’s Ross McKee Foundation and featured as part of their Piano Break series, Bay Area and Shanghai based pianist Jenny Q Chai will perform a free evening length concert on Friday, May 7, 2021 at 5:00 pm, Pacific time (8:00pm Eastern time).

This concert will last under an hour and will be broadcast by way of rossmckeefoundation.org/event/jenny-chai-2021-05-07. Pre-registration is not required.

At the conclusion of every Piano Break, the audience can meet the artist and ask questions in a live Zoom Green Room: rossmckeefoundation.org/zoom .

Entitled Humanity First: We Are All In This Together, the concert includes the following works:

Jarosław Kapuściński — Oli’s Dream
György Ligeti — Musica Ricercata No.1 with NASA global warming data visualizations
György Ligeti — Musica Ricercata No.7 with NASA global warming data visualizations
Milica Pavlovic* — Paranosic Bubble (in trouble) with bubble machine and lights
Stephen Sondheim — Into the Woods (arrangement by Andy Akiho)
(with paintings by Camryn Connolly)
Jarosław Kapuściński — Side Effects, with photography by Kacper Kowalski

This will be Ms. Chai’s first solo virtual concert, her first concert designed during the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. and her first concert in 2021. *Work by Pavlovic is a Bay Area Premiere.

In Chai’s words, “Globally, we are experiencing the same kind of difficulties, and yet trying to survive, to adapt, to thrive and to hold on to hope. It is a heightened time for us to remember to unite together as earthlings. We must take care of our earth, global health systems, strategizing, communications and planning, in order to survive together.” Last year, Chai gave a TEDx talk, When Classical Music Meets Technology. Chai believes that art needs to reflect the current state of our world, and to raise awareness in people about social issues.

For many years, Chai has been creating thematic programs for issues to reflect our current society, such as her global warming program Acqua Alta which she toured and performed for six years. The works in the May 7th concert by Ligeti, Pavlovic and Kapuschinski’s Side Effects originate from this program. Chai’s performance of the Ligeti works use NASA’s data visualization on global warming’s effect on water. Side Effects is an AI interactive intermedia piece with visuals shot by aerial photographer/pilot Kacper Kowalski, about the earth as its seasons change from summer to winter. The remaining works address humanity: Oli’s Dream is also AI interactive, as it types out a poem about our hopes and dreams with tenderness. The Into the Woods arrangement mirrors how Chai felt about the messiness of being in the US during the pandemic under the Trump administration. 

For more about Jenny Q Chai, please visit jennychai.com
For more about the Ross McKee Foundation, visit rossmckeefoundation.org

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In October 2020, New York City based Composer David Claman is releasing his new album, Gradus, on Albany Records. A thirteen track collection of new recordings of compositions and interpretations from throughout Claman’s whole career, Gradus borrows from a canyon of inspirations: from Indian Classical to electronic experimentation. The album also gathers performances from several celebrated musicians, including India’s singing priest Paul Poovathingal, twice GRAMMY®-nominated flutist Tara Helen O’Connor, New York’s New Thread Saxophone Quartet, guitarist-composer Steve Mackey, and vocalist Sunita Vatuk, Claman’s wife and collaborator.

Loose Canons II opens the album as a preview towards the end, where it is reprised in more movements, taking as its model Johannes Ockeghem’s Missa Prolationum. Here, a continuous three-part composition is presented by three electric guitars with sustain devices, leading into an interpolation of Jimi Hendrix, before completely dissolving the canon.

The one-minute track Brit finds Claman narrating a famous passage from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, surrounded by an unlikely ensemble of computers, cellphones, toys, CD players, microwaves, all recorded with a telephone tap. Claman conjures Melville’s allegorical ‘sea of the human soul’ with his own ‘ocean’ of electromagnetic sounds.  Literary allusions continue in both From a Dream and Rescue The Dead, featuring soprano Elizabeth Farnum singing the text of the late American poet David Ignatow. Claman again finds joy in contradiction, nuance, existentialism, and importantly, open interpretation — a concept that he takes in the aptly titled Liberties Taken. There, the New Thread Quartet plays through Tiruvottiyur Tyagayya’s Sahana Raga Varnam, adding in newly arranged elements, while preserving much of the work’s original character.

With musicians and inspirations from all walks of life, Gradus presents a throughline in Claman’s work that he says, “speaks to each other across decades, continents, and centuries of shared influences.” Claman, a self-described ‘hard-core atheist’ adds nevertheless that the works evoke “an underlying and unspoken yet certain spirituality. Just in time for our very uncertain world.”

For more about David Claman, please visit davidclaman.com

To inquire about a physical or digital review copy,
please write to [email protected]