Last week turned out to be really hard to make a blog article: I was feeling under the weather, and had to complete several compositions of my own for upcoming releases.
Now all is good and our blog is back on track featuring the most interesting releases from the world of neoclassical piano music, listed in the Multicolored piano playlist on Spotify
As always: read on below or dive right into the music here:
1. "Feux"
by Frédéric Ozanne from France.
Frederic says:
Feux was initially a small theme that haunted my fingers for no more reason than that. I arranged a version for a nice documentary by Romain Delange, Regards Libres, a few years ago. But this theme still haunted me, and it has now found its final version, in an arrangement for 2 pianos.
At the age of 24, he co-composed the soundtrack of "Rossignol et Palimpseste" by choreographer JF Duroure, nominated for the Victoires de la Musique.
Fred Ozanne has a large repertoire.
He is credited for more than 30 films and documentaries and about twenty shows. A pianist by training, composition for auteur cinema and television became his core activity. He is also the founder and singer of the rock group Yeggmen, and of the Electro duo At The Market.
2. "What Could Have Been"
by Rikard Mathisson from Sweden.
‘What Could Have Been’ is the newest piece from Swedish composer, Rikard Mathisson. After the untimely passing of his brother, Rikard found that some feelings can only be expressed through music. Taking inspiration from Beethoven, this piece is tense and expresses great sorrow all through its own beauty
Rikard Mathisson is a newborn contempary piano composer, artist and producer. He produces piano music in varying style; solo piano in the style of Yann Tiersen, Michael Nyman, Nils, Frahm and pop in the style of Béatrice Martin (Coeur de Pirate) and Coldplay, and electronica in the style of Jean Michel Jarre, Vangelis and/or Mike Oldfield
3. "Signs of Hope"
by Julie Hanney from the US
Signs of Hope is a felt piano piece that evokes a sense of hopefulness, gratitude, joy and perserverance. This last year and a half has had many challenges, but there is still so much beauty and still so much to be hopeful about, if only we look for the signs.
Julie is a pianist, composer and teacher. Her music spans several genres from relaxing to contemporary classical to jazz to modern romantic.
Writing music since she was a little girl, she received her formal music education at the University of Oregon where she graduated with a degree in music with special emphasis on piano and composition.
She studied composition at the graduate level and is a published composer of works for piano, choir and various instrument combinations. She has arranged and composed music for the Jones Road String Quartet, the Bend Cello Collective, the Gospel Choir of the Cascades and various community, church and school choirs.
Comfortable crossing many genres from classical to gospel and more, Julie loves to create unique soundscapes. Julie's music has been described as "peaceful yet intriguing."
4. "Saudade (larmes et sourires)"
by Francisco Casarotti from Canada
Is it possible to feel sad & happy at the same time? I believe so. This piece is about the mixed emotions that we can go through when we go back to certain memories of the past. On one side, the sadness for what's gone, and on the other, the happiness of being able to experience those moments while they lasted. I hope you will enjoy it and thank you for your time!
Francisco Casarotti is a pianist & composer based in Montreal, Quebec.
Born in Argentina in October 1989, he moved to Canada with his family when he was only 12.
After playing the guitar and drums as a teenager, he fell in love with the beautiful sound of the piano when he was 18 years old and it quickly became his favorite instrument.
The year 2020 marked the beginning of his journey as a composer. He released 4 singles that allowed him to start building his name inside of the modern classical community.
Francisco finds inspiration in nature and life experiences. His music is influenced by modern classical / minimalist pianists such as Ludovico Einaudi, Yann Tiersen, Joep Beving and Alexis Ffrench.
5. "The Dancer"
by The OhOhOhs from Germany
THE OHOHOHS play concertante club music on just two instruments: grand piano and drums. The Prelude No.2 in C minor by J. S. Bach is one of four arrangements of classical music mixed with club rhythms on their new album "Sturm & Drang". Bach and Drum’n’Bass, how do they go together?
THE OHOHOHS: “We believe that there is something in every style of music that moves people and can touch us very easy.
The most varied of human emotions and thoughts find their expression where words are no longer enough. For us, the musical exchange between genres is very inspiring and has revealed something important to us: the more neutral and open you look at the world, the more new and exciting you will encounter.
We first made club music until we got around to including Florian Wäldele's actual instrument, the piano, in our instrumentation. We call the work on the merging of these different worlds concertante club music! "
6. "Winter Moon"
by GNAC from the UK
‘Here is a cinematic, optimistic, romantic, piano-led melodic piece, inspired by Russian and French soundtracks of the 1960s and 1970s. It is a romantic & optimistic piece. Started on electric classical/nylon guitar. Piano melody added later.
After an eleven-year absence, GNAC are back. Supported by Gideon Coe (BBC Radio 6 Music), DJ Alex (KEXP) and Tim Burgess’ (Tim’s Twitter Listening Party), Afternoon Frost is the sixth full-length from composer Mark Tranmerʼs instrumental GNAC project.
7. "Richter"
by Prof. Lacasse from Canada.
Mesmerizing piece for piano and strings in tribute to Max Richter. Recorded with the string ensemble of the Prague orchestra.
The piece is imperceptibly built around a cycle covering the twelve tonalities in minor structured as a powerful buildup.
Serge Lacasse (aka Prof. Lacasse) has been a professional producer, arranger, songwriter and musician for many years in the Canadian music industry, including mixing and mastering engineer (see table below). In addition to having accumulated a nice catalogue of instrumental and vocal pieces of music (e.g. for museum exhibitions, advertising, etc.), he has collaborated as producer/songwriter/musician with artists signed to majors and national labels in Canada (Mitsou, Lynda Lemay, Tanya Tagaq, Descars, Héra Ménard, Nathalie Gauthier, Paule-Andrée Cassidy, etc.).
8. "Traveler"
by Falkevik from Norway
The past year has been a difficult travel for all of us, and we wrote some music to the feeling
With creativity and a love of improvisation and experimentation, the piano trio Falkevik combines Nordic jazz tradition with elegant pop melodies.
Falkevik released the internationally critically acclaimed debut album "Louder Than I'm Used To" in 2018, followed by a tour in Norway and Germany. They got substantial radio airplay, and their fanbase is increasing both in their homeland and abroad.
The trio will be releasing several singles and a new album titled "New Constellations" in 2021. The single "Amplify me" is the first taste from the album and will be released on April 30th.
9. "Summer Rain"
by Ros Gilman from the UK.
Now a multi-award-winning composer and multi-nominated songwriter, Ros Gilman began his musical journey at just five years old, as a student of the renown Gnessin Music School.
A successful career as a violinist followed, which saw him perform across three continents, making multiple appearances on national TV and radio. Later, he was made second leader of the internationally esteemed European Philharmonic Orchestra.
However, a sudden hand-injury forced Gilman to give up his life as a concert musician. Having the dream of continuing to bring music to people, he fought his way back to his passion, reinventing himself as a composer, songwriter and music producer.
An alumni of the famous University of Music in Vienna and the prestigious Royal College of Music in London, Gilman holds a Bachelor's Degree in Classical Composition, a Master's Degree in Composition for Screen and a Diploma in Music Business. He has been chosen to be part of the BAFTA Crew program for emerging film talent for three consecutive years.
As a composer Ros has worked on projects in the UK, USA, Germany, France, Russia and Austria. His work has earned him the Audience Award for Best Music at the "British Animation Film Festival", the Aphrodite Film Award in New York as well as several industry nominations.
Listen to these and other wonderful piano pieces at Multicolored Piano on Spotify here
Blessings and a good Sunday to everyone! andrei