Divine Art Records

Artist: Zeynep Ucbasaran

  • 1847: Liszt in Istanbul

    1847: Liszt in Istanbul

    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.

  • The 3-Piano Project

    The 3-Piano Project

    While music for two pianos is encountered frequently, larger groups of pianos are rare, so this is an excellent opportunity to explore new and recent music for three pianos by composers from Turkey, Brazil, Spain and Italy. While exploring modern techniques the music is predominantly tonal, and remarkably light and clear-textured much of the time, though never facile or shallow. The composers have used the three keyboards to explore richer melodic lines and counterpoints while avoiding the temptation to create overwhelming walls of sound. The piece by Dallapicolla in particular is open-textured and quite traditional, predating his adoption of serialism. The album includes the world premiere recording of Saygun’s major work ‘Poem’.

    The three pianists are also international – Ucbasaran and Gallo now both live and teach in the USA and Chavaldas works in Spain. They met when students at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary. They all have highly praised recordings and concert appearances to their credit and came together for this special album of unique works.

  • Liszt to Milhaud – A Journey with Piano Four Hands

    Liszt to Milhaud – A Journey with Piano Four Hands

    The Divine Art label has long been associated with music for piano duo – whether at two pianos or one – through the sterling and brilliant work of Goldstone and Clemmow and more recently Piano-à-Deux. The label is delighted to welcome a new duo with this program which contains several very popular and well-loved miniatures and transcriptions, bookended by major works from Liszt and Milhaud. They need no introduction save to say that from the dances, to the jazz-inflected pieces, each work is a joy to hear.

    These are sparkling performances of well known pieces and form a light counterpoint to the artists’ new 3-piano album of contemporary works. The pianists met when both students at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. Zeynep Ucbarasan is from Turkey but moved to the USA for her postgraduate studies and now lives in California. Her previous recordings and concert appearances have drawn unalloyed praise. Sergio Gallo is a Steinway artist who specialises in music of the Romantic period. He has made several acclaimed recordings for Eroica and is currently recording for Naxos and Quartz. He has won many awards and currently is professor of Piano Performance at the Georgia State University in Atlanta.