Divine Art Records

Genre: Piano

  • Burkard Schliessmann: Live & Encores

    Burkard Schliessmann: Live & Encores

    As well as exceptional performances, this recording offers phenomenal sound. The recording was made on 3-5 April 2023 at the Fazioli Concert Hall in Sacile, Italy in 5-channel Dolby Atmos high-definition audio and is being produced as a hybrid multichannel SACD presented as a beautiful 2 CD boxed set and 60 page booklet.**

    The instrument used is a Fazioli F278 which Schliessmann has purchased. The recording was made ‘live’ in front of a specially invited audience and thanks to the amazing support of the Fazioli family will also be presented in concert in Venice in the near future.

    German pianist Burkard Schliessmann has been receiving glowing accolades everywhere for his concert performances and recordings, for his virtuosity and also for his individual and highly-considered interpretation of the great music from the late Baroque and Romantic eras particularly.

    Following five previous albums all of which have been exceptionally well received, ‘Live and Encores’ offers the opportunity to present different interpretations in single take recordings of a wide range of repertoire. The double Album displays a variety of stylistic elements from Bach to Mendelssohn (whose early Romantic work was highly influenced by Bach) through the High Romanticism of Schumann to Chopin, whose single waltz here represents the pinnacle of Romantic pianism.

  • Gabriele Micheli – Ciccolini Prizewinner Recital

    Gabriele Micheli – Ciccolini Prizewinner Recital

    Introducing the young prodigy, Gabriele Micheli, recipient of the esteemed Second Prize in the renowned Ciccolini Piano Competition. At just 22 years old, Gabriele’s musical journey has been nothing short of remarkable. Gabriele secured his place at the acclaimed Conservatoria Santa Cecilia in Rome aged 9, and his passion for the piano continued to flourish. Graduating with flying colours in 2017, he further honed his skills, obtaining his Master’s degree from the same prestigious institution in 2020.

    Gabriele’s exceptional talent has earned him international acclaim, as he has emerged victorious in numerous global competitions, leaving audiences spellbound with his soulful performances. This album showcases his diverse repertoire, offering a splendid fusion of keyboard masterpieces from the baroque, Romantic, and 20th Century eras. His profound musical expression and technical finesse can be heard clearly in this excellent recording.

    As a token of recognition for these gifted artists and a commitment to fostering emerging talents, Divine Art takes pride in presenting the second album in our ‘Debut’ series, exclusively dedicated to the outstanding Ciccolini Prize Winners. The first in this series “Violetta Fialko – Ciccolini Prizewinner Recital” was released in July 2022.

  • Songs for Our Times

    Songs for Our Times

    In these two premiere recordings Kingdoms and Metropolis, the stories will be familiar to many with their universal subjects, including the need for wisdom within the halls of power; transcendent love; an immigrant’s homesickness; the search for inner peace; all flow through the album evoking the spirit of our day and age. Despite our current turmoil, the overall tone of the album is a hopeful one, making it a welcome balm during our turbulent times.

    Nigerian-American lyricist Chinwe D. John strongly feels that in order to keep classical music thriving and to bring in a new audience, the work of present day composers needs to be supported. Commissioning contemporary day composers, to set music to lyrics directly reflective of our current times, is one way of accomplishing this. It was John who went in search of composers who would share her vision and passion for creating works which could be appreciated and enjoyed, works which would connect an audience and perhaps even take on a cultural significance.

    It is the combined vision of John’s settings and the subsequent compositions by Bernard Hughes and Stuart MacRae which is so effectively brought to life in this recording by the musicians. Tenor Nick Pritchard, soprano Isabelle Haile and pianist Christopher Glynn give wonderful, intimate performances which further connect the listener to the stories presented in Chinwe D. John’s lyrics.

    The production of Songs for Our Times is a testament to collaboration and cooperation, practically reflecting the intent of the artists’ work.

  • Chopin: Ballades & Nocturnes

    Chopin: Ballades & Nocturnes

    Following the success of Jonathan Phillips’ debut release, Bach: Tranquillity, Divine Art brings you his carefully curated selection of Chopin’s finest ballades and nocturnes. This selection naturally follows Phillips’ debut as Chopin himself was known to be strongly influenced by Bach.

    Recorded to replicate a “live” performance, Jonathan recorded two takes, deliberately avoiding all the usual editing, in an effort to communicate his love of these pieces as intimately as possible.

    A graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, Jonathan’s Concerto experience is considerable, with over 100 performances including concertos by Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Chopin and Schumann. Jonathan worked with Tamás Vásáry who recommended him to take part in the 1990 Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow. Since then, Jonathan has broadcast for the BBC, Russian and Italian and Swedish TV and radio, and given recitals all over the UK, Europe and former Soviet Union. Jonathan was interviewed by John Humphries and played live on Radio Four’s Today programme following a full-page feature article in the Guardian Arts Section about the preparation and performance of the Rachmaninoff 3rd Piano Concerto he gave in London in 2003.

    Bach: Tranquillity, Jonathan’s debut album from Divine Art was released in May 2023 receiving much praise and described by Classic FM’s Katie Breathwick as “a little drop of heaven”.

  • Ek-stasis: Dionysus, Nymphs and Satyrs

    Ek-stasis: Dionysus, Nymphs and Satyrs

    Experience the captivating journey of Ek-stasis, presented by Divine Art Recordings.

    Delve into the world of myths reconstructed in music by celebrated composers from different cultures and times. This unique album features three world premiere recordings, bringing fresh and exciting music to the programme. Greek pianist and professor Zoe Samsarelou has expertly curated a selection of works that weave together an interconnected narrative, taking you on a journey through the myth of Dionysus. From the works of Couperin, Rameau, Dandrieu, and Daquin to the eminent Greek composers of the 20th and 21st centuries and the Late Romantics in between, each piece is thoughtfully selected and presented.

    The album is divided into themes of seduction, pathos, illusion, metamorphosis, transcendence, instinct, catharsis, mythos, paradox, and transition. This creates an immersive experience that guides the listener through the various stages of the myth and offers a musical perspective on the story. Accompanied by Zoe Samsarelou’s insightful prose on the collection and notes on the Greek composers featured in the program, Ek-stasis is more than just a listening
    experience. It’s a celebration of the Greek spirit that has influenced humanity for over 2,500 years, highlighting the creativity and ingenuity of these wonderful composers.

  • Bagatelles – Piano music by Bernard Hughes

    Bagatelles – Piano music by Bernard Hughes

    Experience the complete works of composer Bernard Hughes for solo piano in this exceptional collaboration with pianist Matthew Mills. This eclectic collection covers over 25 years of music, featuring a range of styles and moods that are sure to captivate. From the oldest piece dating back to Hughes’ student years at Oxford to a brand new suite transforming Baroque dance forms into something surprising and new, this album is a masterpiece of composition and performance. With pieces ranging from the large-scale Strettos and Striations to little occasional pieces written for the composer’s children, there is something for everyone on this album.

    What truly makes this album special is the collaboration between Hughes and Mills. The two musicians have been working together for many years, resulting in a deep understanding of each other’s artistic vision and an unparalleled ability to bring Hughes’ compositions to life on the piano. Mills himself is an accomplished composer, founder and owner of publishing company Wild Woods Music, whilst Hughes was appointed Composer-in-Residence at St. Paul’s Girls’ School after receiving his Ph.D in composition from Royal Holloway College.

    Hughes’ music has been widely performed and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and across Europe. A recent commission, Birdchant, was chosen to receive its premiere by the BBC Singers at the 2021 Proms. He has composed operas, choral and vocal works, as well as piano music, to great acclaim.

  • Rachmaninov: Suites for Two Pianos & Music for Piano Trio

    Rachmaninov: Suites for Two Pianos & Music for Piano Trio

    A new album of chamber works by Sergei Rachmaninov. This outstanding recording was made at two venues in Poland: the Łódź Academy of Music, and the Czestochowa Philharmony. The principal performer is pianist Barbara Karaśkiewicz who has made several highly praised recordings for Divine Art (and before that the esteemed Polish label Acte Preable). She performs two piano duos with her musical partner Michał Rot. The chamber works are played by the Huberman Piano Trio whose Divine Art recording of 20th Century Chamber music was also acclaimed by critics.

    Both the performances and the perfectly engineered recording offer a sumptuous program of Rachmaninov that will delight listeners.

    The Huberman Trio was formed at the initiative of Barbara Karaśkiewicz, named in honour of the great Polish artist Bronislav Huberman, famed for his performances and transcriptions of works by Chopin and others.

  • J S Bach: Tranquillity

    J S Bach: Tranquillity

    Like all great composers, Bach wrote lively dynamic pieces for keyboard as well as in his cantatas etc. But he also produced many wonderful gentle and peaceful works and many of these are collected by pianist Jonathan Phillips in his new album ‘Tranquillity’. This recording contains music for anyone hoping to gain an overriding sense of stillness, calm, contemplation and reverence. Bach’s music has radiance, luminosity, divinity, serenity, and timeless beauty.

    Jonathan Phillips (“a musician of real quality and finesse” – The Times) has broadcast for the BBC, Russian and Italian and Swedish TV and radio, and has given recitals all over the UK, Europe and former Soviet Union.

  • Souvenirs d’oiseaux

    Souvenirs d’oiseaux

    English pianist Roderick Chadwick has recorded the second volume in a series which presents Books 2 through 5 of Messiaen’s “Catalogue d’oiseaux” coupled with works which are linked either in style or subject matter. This follows the well-received issue in October 2020 of the first volume, entitled ‘La Mer Bleue’ which included Book 1 of the Catalogue.

    This double album is a continuation of Chadwick’s journey through Messiaen’s “Catalogue d’oiseaux”, programming it alongside an array of solo piano works that share its themes, atmospheres and inspirations. The latest issue features Books 2 through 5, including the cycle’s great centrepiece ‘La rousserolle effarvatte’ (The Reed Warbler), which evokes the sights and sounds of the Sologne region across a full day’s span.

    Roderick Chadwick, as both soloist and collaborator, has performed some of the most challenging works for piano; his recent Stockhausen disc was highly praised. He is a particular expert on Messiaen and in 2018 co-authored and published a book on the Catalogue d’oiseaux. He lives in South London and is Reader in Music at the Royal Academy of Music.

  • Michael Blake: Afrikosmos

    Michael Blake: Afrikosmos

    Inspired by Bartók’s’Mikrokosmos’ and by the indigenous music from various parts of Africa, South African composer Michael Blake created this magnum opus – like Bartók’s work, in varying degrees of difficulty for young players and experts alike. The recording was made in June 2021 at the Menuhin Hall, Cobham, Surrey by pianist Antony Gray, whose recent Divine Art albums of piano works by Saint-Saëns have met with great success and glowing reviews.

    Michael Blake is a South African-born composer and pianist based in London from 1977 and later returned to the “New South Africa”. He has been responsible for post-apartheid New Music initiatives such as joining the ISCM and setting up a new music festival and composers meeting. His musical language draws from African music, experimental film, and African weaving techniques. His works have been widely played around the world and appear on 15 CDs. He currently splits his time living in rural France and Cape Town where he is an honorary professor of experimental composition at Stellenbosch University.

    Australian pianist Antony Gray was educated in Victoria, Australia, where he graduated from the Victorian College of Arts and won several awards and prizes. He received a scholarship from the Astra foundation to continue his studies in London with Joyce Rathbone and Geoffrey Parsons. Based in London now, he is regarded as one of the most interesting and communicative performers of his generation, known for his solo and chamber music performances around the world, regular recordings for CD and radio, and his championing of contemporary and neglected composers such as George Enescu, Dussek, Martinů, Malcolm Williamson and John Carmichael. He has recorded 14 discs of solo piano music for ABC Classics, and featured on other recording projects for KNS Classical and other labels.

  • Shades of Night: a piano recital by Andrew Brownell

    Shades of Night: a piano recital by Andrew Brownell

    Step back to a time when the night was an antithesis to the clarity of illumined day. In the especially fertile imaginations of the 19th-century Romantic composers, this was a time when the world gave itself over to mystery and magic.

    These works explore the “otherness” of night and its potential for strangeness. The album also focuses on the theme of passion, mostly from the Romantic period.

    In the especially fertile imaginations of the 19th-century Romantic composers, this was a time when, shielded from the gaze of the Almighty, the world gave itself over to mystery and magic: lovers met for forbidden trysts, revelers drank and cavorted through the small hours, and spirits walked the earth.

    In this album, Brownell hopes to transport you out of our sterile, modern understanding of night and into the stranger, more interesting reality it must have been for most of human history. Described by Musical Opinion as “potentially one of the most significant pianists of his generation”, since winning 1st Prize at the 2005 J.N. Hummel Competition (Bratislava), he has achieved widespread recognition as “one of the foremost Hummel interpreters of our time” (Hudobný Život).

    Brownell’s performances have been seen and heard on BBC radio and television, Classic FM, NPR, CBC, ORF, and RBB KulturRadio. He has been soloist with orchestras such as the Hallé, Royal Liverpool
    Philharmonic, and Calgary Philharmonic.

  • Pictures of Light – music by William Baines

    Pictures of Light – music by William Baines

    William Baines is one of those exceptionally gifted composers whose music still remains little known to the general music-loving public.
    Deeply rooted in Nature, it shows influences from Debussy, Scriabin, Chopin, Liszt and Ravel and has totally assimilated those exemplars into truly mature and distinguished works all his own. This album includes a number of impressionist piano solos and also the first recording (and first performance) of the Five Songs, presented by veteran tenor Gordon Pullin, who has long been associated with the music of Baines. Duncan Honeybourne has become one of the most sought after of British pianists with a sparkling discography and is totally at home in this picturesque music. This album is produced also in memory of Baines on the centenary of his death.

    The album concludes with ‘At the Grave of William Baines’ by fellow Yorkshireman Robin Walker – a fitting tribute by a living composer with similar abilities to draw inspiration from the world around him.