Joshua Kosman, San Francisco ChronicleIn The Poetry of Places, the gifted and versatile pianist Nadia Shpachenko premieres a remarkable lineup of 10 new works.
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2020 GRAMMY® Award Winner for Best Classical Compendium
World Premiere recordings of works for solo piano, for two pianos, percussion, electronics, voice, and toy piano in a fascinating mélange inspired by great architecture and places.
Ensemble works recorded with Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra pianist Joanne Pearce Martin and Los Angeles Percussion Quartet artists Nick Terry and Cory Hills.
Released worldwide on Reference Recordings on March 1, 2019
Featured New Release on Apple Music
Joshua Kosman, San Francisco ChronicleIn The Poetry of Places, the gifted and versatile pianist Nadia Shpachenko premieres a remarkable lineup of 10 new works.
Peter Burwasser, Fanfare MagazineThis release features a broad range of contemporary voices, with a scintillating mix of daring sound, genuine beauty, and a commodity too often missing from the new music world: humor.
Ron Schepper, Textura MagazineShpachenko shows herself to be one of today’s foremost promoters of contemporary music.
Anne Goldberg-Baldwin, I Care If You ListenSuperb… evocative… pure magic
Charisse Baldoria, Piano MagazineExpertly produced… spot-on performances, excellent engineering
Rafael de Acha, Rafael’s Music NotesThe Poetry of Places… is a celebration of new music featuring a formidable pianist in the company of top practitioners in the field.
Alex Baran, The Whole NoteShpachenko performs a veritable tour of structures ancient and modern, producing extraordinary colours and textures.
Paul Muller, Sequenza21The Poetry of Places is an impressive collection of new works by outstanding contemporary composers, performed by first-rate musicians.
Colin Clarke, Fanfare MagazineThe keyword to this disc is in its title: poetry. There is visual poetry in the images, compositional poetry in the responses that form this program, and performance poetry via Shpachenko.
Steven Kennedy, CinemusicalThe Poetry of Places is a truly fascinating collection of original music for piano that demonstrates a great variety of approaches… an important album for any music lovers interested in modern piano literature.
Dean Frey, Music for Several InstrumentsEach of the works is about a special place, with music interacting with a wide range of human activities: fine and applied arts (architecture and design), the heritage arts and the natural world… a marvellous project, well worth exploring.
Jed Distler, composer/pianist, Gramophone and Classicstoday.com criticAs in her two previous releases, Nadia Shpachenko’s devotion to the music of her time yields vividly contrasted and dazzlingly executed collection of stimulating new piano works. Everything about this disc is world-class.
Track Listing:
Video Sneak Peaks
“The Poetry of Places” trailer
“Give Me Your Songs” by Hannah Lash
“For Your GRAMMY® Consideration”
“In Full Sail” by Harold Meltzer
“Bangladesh” by Lewis Spratlan (live premiere)
Watch the GRAMMY® Acceptance Speech
To purchase/stream the complete album, please click below
Andrew Norman (b. 1979)
Frank’s House for two pianists and two percussionists (2015)
Recorded with Joanne Pearce Martin, piano, Nick Terry and Cory Hills, percussion
Inspired by the Frank Gehry House in Santa Monica, CA. Photo © Victoria Innocenzi
Andrew NormanI am so thrilled that Nadia and her friends have made the premiere recording of Frank’s House for her upcoming CD. I could not imagine a more spirited, whimsical, and musical interpretation of this piece, and I think it really captures the quirkiness and daring of Frank Gehry’s Santa Monica home.
Harold Meltzer (b. 1966)
In Full Sail for solo piano (2016)
Inspired by architect Frank Gehry’s IAC Building in Manhattan, NY. Photo © fuzzygalore.com
Harold MeltzerNadia’s amazing performance of my In Full Sail fuses her remarkable virtuosity with uncommon understanding of what the music needs expressively. The performance always moves forward, even as she contemplates and pirouettes beautifully. It has been an ideal collaboration.
Jack Van Zandt (b. 1954)
Sí an Bhrú for piano and electronics (2016)
Inspired by Newgrange Ancient Temple in Ireland. Photo © Anthony Murphy
Jack Van ZandtNadia’s professionalism, musicianship, technique and attention to detail are second to none. She is so passionate and emotional in her performances, and she “feels” every note and plays with such heart. Working with Nadia is a true partnership and she takes my music to a level I couldn’t even imagine when writing it. It’s really a dream come true for a composer.
Hannah Lash (b. 1981)
Give Me Your Songs for solo piano (2016)
Inspired by the Aaron Copland House, a creative center for American music based at Aaron Copland’s National Historic Landmark home in Cortlandt Manor, NY. Photo © Marion Gold, courtesy of Copland House
Hannah LashNadia breathes a spectacularly sensitive life into my piece Give Me Your Songs, perfectly evoking both its childlike affect and its darker implications. Her playing is utterly gorgeous, and she interprets the music with rare insight: penetrating, illuminating.
Amy Beth Kirsten (b. 1972)
h.o.p.e. for piano, toy piano, and voice (one performer) (2016)
Inspired by the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore and it’s exhibit The Big Hope Show. Photo © Dan Meyers, courtesy of AVAM
Amy Beth KirstenNadia’s performance of h.o.p.e. is like a prayer; she breathes into the music an inner warmth and fragility that, to me, is heartbreakingly beautiful.
James Matheson (b. 1970)
Alone, in Waters Shimmering and Dark for solo piano (2016)
Inspired by the House on Island in Pine Plains, NY. Photo © James Matheson
James MathesonAs always, Nadia’s performance is as great as a composer can hope for – virtuosic, luminous, musical and totally committed.
Lewis Spratlan (b. 1940)
Bangladesh for solo piano (2015)
Inspired by architect Louis Kahn’s National Assembly Buildings in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo © Nurur Rahman Khan, courtesy of PennDesign
Lewis SpratlanIt’s so thrilling to hear one’s music totally understood and projected, but, moreover, to hear the flowering of ideas that only occurs when the performer expands on the given and invests it with her own life experience and art. I’m forever grateful for this wonderful recording of Bangladesh.
Nina C. Young (b. 1984)
Kolokol for two pianos and electronics (2010)
Recorded with Joanne Pearce Martin, piano
Inspired by Harvard University’s Lowell House and it’s Russian bells. Photo © Nina C. Young
Nina C. YoungNadia and Joanne’s recording of Kolokol brings a level of sensitivity, detail, and depth to the music that a composer can only dream of. Each phrase, chord, gesture, voicing, and idiom is cared for with a robust grace that takes the music to entirely new levels.
Photo by Victoria Innocenzi
A “gifted and versatile pianist” (San Francisco Chronicle) and GRAMMY® winner Nadia Shpachenko enjoys bringing into the world things that are outside the box – powerful pieces that often possess unusual sonic qualities or instrumentation. Nadia’s concert highlights include recitals at Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, on the Piano Spheres and Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella and Chamber Music Series, and with numerous orchestras in Europe and the Americas. An enthusiastic promoter of contemporary music, Nadia premiered more than 70 works by Elliott Carter, Paul Chihara, George Crumb, Daniel Felsenfeld, Tom Flaherty, Annie Gosfield, Vera Ivanova, Leon Kirchner, Amy Beth Kirsten, Hannah Lash, James Matheson, Missy Mazzoli, Harold Meltzer, Isaac Schankler, Adam Schoenberg, Lewis Spratlan, Gernot Wolfgang, Iannis Xenakis, Peter Yates, Jack Van Zandt, and many others.
Described as “an exceptional recording of newly composed piano works” (Textura Magazine), Nadia’s Reference Recordings CD “Woman at the New Piano” was nominated for 58th GRAMMY Awards® in 3 categories. Described as “a most invigorating and distinctive release” (Fanfare Magazine), Nadia’s 2018 Reference Recordings release “Quotations and Homages” features premieres of solo and collaborative works for 6 pianists (performed with Ray-Kallay Duo, HOCKET and Genevieve Feiwen Lee) inspired by a variety of earlier composers and pieces. Described as “superb… evocative… pure magic” (I Care If You Listen), Nadia’s new 2019 Reference Recordings album “The Poetry of Places” features premieres of solo and collaborative works (performed with LA Phil pianist Joanne Pearce Martin and LAPQ percussionists Nick Terry and Cory Hills) inspired by diverse buildings. It won the 2020 Best Classical Compendium GRAMMY® Award. Shpachenko’s recording projects are supported by grants from The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia University, and New Music USA, among others. Nadia is a Steinway Artist and professor of music at Cal Poly Pomona University.
Special thanks to organizations and individuals who helped make this project and recording possible:
The Aaron Copland Fund for Music; the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University; The Cal Poly Pomona Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Grant and Provost’s Award; Frank and Berta Gehry, Piano Spheres, Vicki Ray, Nathaniel Kahn, Dana Berman Duff, Giovanna Joyce Imbesi, Anthony Murphy, Copland House, AVAM, Chris Roberts-Antieau, The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania, Government of Ireland National Monuments Service Photographic Unit, Teresa McWilliams, Brenda and Ed Hayward, Michael Jung, Tom Flaherty, Becky Billock, Omri Shimron, Michael Oberhauser, Tess Remy-Schumacher, Karina Sabac, Lori Henriques, Richard Derby, Ivan Galvan, Yana Reznik, Grant Smith, mom, chmom; at Cal Poly Soraya M. Coley, Sylvia Alva, Iris Levine, Sharon Hilles, Peter Yates, Carol Keating, Teresa Kelly, Will Wright-Hooks, MediaVision; on tour New Music Gathering, Bargemusic, Boston Court, Beverly Hills International Music Festival, Bill Alves, Ian Dicke, Inna Faliks, Kirill Gliadkovsky, Anne LeBaron, Pamela Madsen, Bill Vestal, Ruth Hertz Weber. Special thanks to all the folks at Skywalker, and to George Lucas for creating such a spiritually nourishing place to create projects like this. And to whatever it was in Lake Ewok that brushed up against us like a dianoga, but let us go.
Thank you to all the composers for your generous help in all aspects of this project, to the producers for your insight, wisdom, and enthusiasm, and to all the performers for your inspiring collaboration! This recording is dedicated to my sons Mondy and Ace, who inspire and challenge me every day, and to my husband Barry Werger-Gottesman, my muse and the creative force behind all my projects!