Labèque

"Katia and Marielle Labèque’s first recording of the music of maverick composer Erik Satie"
 

Satie was a fascinating and intriguing composer, and one to whom Katia and Marielle Labèque have always been attracted. For their first recording of his music, the piano superstars have deliberately chosen the best-known pieces, those which, after having been thundered against when first they appeared before a public, are now in constant demand a hundred years later.

To ordinary listeners, used to thinking of the Labèque sisters as a fabulous twin-headed being emitting exquisite sounds, it will doubtless come as a surprise to learn that this being can at times divide itself in two, like a river that forks and joins with itself again several times between its source and its mouth. That Katia and Marielle’s first recording of Satie’s music features both solos and duets is a double pleasure, allowing the listener to discern the individual style of each of the two performers, and better appreciate how very complementary they are.

After having taken it in turns to interpret his seminal Gymnopédies, “ancient dances for naked children”, Katia and Marielle divide the other pieces amongst themselves in harmony with their respective temperaments. Marielle, with her clear-sightedness and finely struck notes, chooses the eye-opening musical snapshots Sports and Games, and the task of demonstrating that the Genuine Floppy Preludes (for a Dog) will be in no way floppy or limp in her hands. As for the dreamier Katia, she plunges into the spiralling depths of the Gnossiennes where - as in any labyrinth drawn from the myth of the Minotaur at Gnosse, or Knossos - the winding ways that seem to lead outside inevitably take you round and round.

The pair are reunited in the duets, exquisitely performing the very first and very last collections of Satie’s pieces for four hands, Trois Morceaux en forme de poire (literally “Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear”) and Trois petites Pièces montées.

"A profound emotion that comes from within, from deep inside us, from the very depths of our being. From that intangible region where dreams and hopes are born. Where fire and water are one and the same. Here is popular music in the most literal sense of the term: of the people, for the people. Music that is profound and at the same time accessible, cutting and caressing, which was born of the land and unconsciously evolved into fiestas and processions, which has sharpened its steel in love affairs and disappointments, in droughts and downpours, between famine and abundance washed down with aromatic wines."

Capricho por bulerías 5’24
Soneto de amor 6’26
Inténtalo encontrar 2’55
Acaríciame por dentro 5’11
Canción de amor 5’25
Adela 2’11
La maja dolorosa 2’21
Nana 2’29
Pastorcito santo 3’32
Las Morillas que me enamoran 2’57
Gacela del amor imprevisto 5’21
Sus ojos se cerraron 4’39
Vidalita 6’24
Variaciones sobre un Zorongo 4’51

GRAMOPHONE
"Editor's Choice"

MUSICA
"Premio 5 stelle"
 

Many are the composers who have written for the intimate framework of the piano four hands. Not only were Mozart and Schubert the most prolific but they also endowed this repertoire with some of their greatest creative inspirations. 

Schubert’s Fantasy in F minor ranks amongst his very finest achievements for piano, whereas theAndantino varié is one of the most exquisite sets of variations to be found in the piano literature. 

Rarer are the pieces for two pianos, offering each performer greater freedom than those for piano four hands. This is particularly true of Mozart’s Sonata in D major in which the daringly virtuoso outer movements flanking a sweet, flowing Andanterepresent a real tour de force for the artists.

The source of undeniable exhilaration to pianists and listeners alike, these masterpieces of the duo-pianist repertoire are interpreted by the two most innovative artists of our time.

SCHUBERT Franz
Fantaisie pour piano à 4 mains en fa mineur, op. 103 D 940
1. Allegro molto moderato 
2. Largo 
3. Allegro vivace 
4. Tempo I

5. Andantino varié pour piano à 4 mains en si mineur, op. 84 n° 1 D 823

MOZART Wolfgang Amadeus
Sonate pour 2 pianos en ré majeur, K 448
6. Allegro con spirito 
7. Andante 
8. Allegro molto

Total playing time = 52’51

Artistic director: Marco Postinghel
Album recorded, mixed and mastered by Michael Seberich

Debussy and Stravinsky, two composers who admired each other and completely revolutionised the sound world they inhabited. Such innovation found its way into their piano music, creating colours, texture and rhythms unheard of till then.

To re-experience this sense of novelty, Katia and Marielle Labèque project the works they perform through the prism of visual art, commissioning Tal Rosner, video-artist, to set free his imagination. His interpretation of the scores, perfectly captures the rhythm and plasticity of Stravinsky and Debussy. 

By working on urban landscapes and architectural geometries, Rosner creates a digital mutation of figurative images where the piano's sounds and tone-colours can expand and glide… 

A CD and DVD perfectly entwined.

CD
Concerto Deux Pianos(Stravinsky) 19:13
Et Blanc et Noir (Debussy)15:41
Cinq Petites Pieces Faciles (Stravinsky) 05 :32
Trois Petites Pieces Faciles (Stravinsky) 03 :41
Ragtime (Stravinsky) 05 :11
Three Pieces from « Les Cinq Doigts » (Stravinsky) 03:52
Valse de Fleurs (Stravinsky) 01:04
Tango (Stravinsky) 03:22

DVD
Concerto Deux Pianos(Stravinsky) 19:13
En Blanc et Noir (Debussy) 15:41
Cinq Petites Pieces Faciles (Stravinsky) 05 :32
Trois Petites Pieces Faciles (Stravinsky) 03 :41
Tango (Stravinsky) 03:22

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"Best record of the year"

THE SUNDAY TIMES
"Classical CD of the week"

BBC MAGAZINE / BENCHMARK
"Recording of the month"

TRACKLIST
 

Rapsodie espagnole

1. Prélude à la nuit 4:52
2. Malaguena 2:00
3. Habanera 2:59
4. Feria 6:23

Ma mère l'oye

5. Pavane de la belle au bois dormant 1:50
6. Petit poucet 2:57
7. Laideronnette impératrice des pagodes 3:34
8. Les Entretiens de la belle et la bête 4:17
9. Le Jardin féerique 3:55

10. Menuet antique 7:12

11. Pavane pour une infante défunte 4:27

12. Prélude 1:56

13. Boléro 15:08

The first collaboration on disc of long-time recital partners Viktoria Mullova and Katia Labèque. This studio recording was made last year in Paris. It´s a fascinating programme spanning 100 years from the rarely played late Schubert Fantasy to Ravel’s 1927 Violin Sonata and Stravinsky’s reworking of Pulcinella in the Suite Italienne of 1933. A KML Recordings production, licensed to Onyx Classics.

TRACKLIST

Igor STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)

Suite Italienne (transcribed in 1933 for violin and piano by Stravinsky and Samuel Dushkin from ballet Pulcinella, 1919-20) [15:06]
Franz SCHUBERT (1797–1828)
Fantasy for violin and piano in C major, D934 (1827) [24:26]
Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937)
Sonata for violin and piano (1923-27) [16:51]
Clara SCHUMANN (1819-1896)
Romance No. 1 in D flat major (Andante molto) from the Three Romances for violin and piano, Op. 22 (1853) [2:29]

Total Duration
[59:25]

rec. 10-13 April, 2005, IRCAM, Paris, France

PRESENTATION

First came the razing of genre walls. Now come the celebrations. Experimental rockers, B for Bang, return to The Beatles for their vivid second album, exposing twelve more of the Fab Four's works to a firestorm of modern styles. Classic songs collide with the kinetic beats and bounce of the worlds of drum 'n' bass, trip hop, alternative rock and contemporary classical music to form a 21-st century forest fire of sound.

We swing from exotic tree to exotic tree, roused to a fast-running euphoria in Get Back, lulled by a trip-hop simplicity in the clearing that is I Me Mine and rushed out of a jungly reality in the infectious and offbeat tangle of When I'm Sixty-Four, to name just three. It's a kind of musical alchemy.

So now meet the alchemists: alternative rocker David Chalmin, composing bassist Massimo Pupillo, contemporary classical maestro Nicola Tescari, electronic wizard Fabio 'Reeks' Recchia, drum 'n' bassing pioneer Marque Gilmore and avant-garde virtuoso Katia Labeque, whose resonant grand piano roots this medley of styles. Singers Chalmin, Meg and Nadeah guide us through the alchemical jungle.

PRESENTATION

 
"Iturri zaharretik edaten dut, ur berria edaten, beti berri den ura, betiko iturri zaharretik..."

(I drink from the old fountain, from a source that is always new, in a source that is always old)

This poem by Joxean Artze opens the doors to the Kalakan universe. Children of the tradition, Thierry, Paxkal and Jamixel are, nonetheless, hybrid souls. Although they assert their Basque identities, they are also children of rock, of the world of TV, outcomes of the actual Basque Country and of tomorrow’s world.

They sing in Euskara (the Basque language) to express their overall roots, for, as the portuguese poet Miguel Torga says "the universal is the local without walls." This plural identity is based on the color, rhythm, diversity and inherent musicality of euskara.

KALAKAN (a Basque word meaning "chatting") believes that the first music is language. Kalakan chooses the essentials: percussion and voices, rhythm and melody; starting points leading to the other, to the future and eventually back to themselves.

LA: the voice, a full voice, as nasal as a gaita on a jota, as sweet as a lullaby after a kiss, and often heavy, grainy, proud, generous and sincere. Moreover Kalakan usually performs live concerts without a microphone, seeking more direct contact with the public, and a simple and fair rapport with the audience.

TRACKLIST

1.  Piztiak 2'50
2.  Neure Andrea 1'58
3.  Brasilen bezala 1'52
4.  Itsasoan 2'52
5.  Sagarra jo ! 3'30
6.  Otsoa eta hartza 3'32
7.  Ugatza 1'33
8.  De Trevilles-n azken hitzak 4'50 feat. Anaiki abesbatza
9.  Kantuz 2'28 feat. Katia and Marielle Labeque
10. Iruten ari nuzu 3'56
11. Gazte naiz eta lorios 4'46
12. Lau andren besta 3'41
13. Txori Erresiñula 3'21
14. Makilekin 2'48
15. Matapitx 2'42
16. Irunea jota 1'47

All tracks are arranged by Kalakan, except « Kantuz » piano composing and arrangement written by Joel Merah.

Background sounds on tracks 4, 11 & 12 recorded by Kalakan at Sarako bestak, Donibane Ziburuko estropadak and Izpegiko txalaparta topaketak 2010

"KML Recordings release Shape of My Heart, an album of unique duets featuring Sting, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and more"


Pianist Katia Labèque is one of the most acclaimed classical musicians of our day, an artist whose breathtaking virtuosity and dazzling live performances have seen her garner respect from all corners of the musical spectrum. As well as her legions of fans across the globe, Katia’s friends and admirers in high places range from Madonna, who cites her as one of her “favourite pianists in the world”, to Miles Davis, who dedicated two songs to her on his 1985 album You’re Under Arrest (‘Katia Prelude’ and ‘Katia’).

In addition to experiencing considerable success as one half of classical duo The Labèque Sisters, Katia’s seemingly endless enthusiasm for new music has led to past collaborations with artists as diverse as Sting, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. Shape Of My Heart is a fascinating album that brings together a selection of these collaborations alongside brand new recordings of the music of Satie, Chopin and Radiohead.

The album opens with two of Sting’s compositions, Moon Over Bourbon Street and Shape Of My Heart; the singer’s bold emotion combining with Labèque’s refined but assertive lyricism to excellent effect. Alongside four mesmerising solo piano pieces, a dynamic version of Radiohead’s Exit Music and the compelling Purple Diamond written by producer and guitarist David Chalmin, there are piano duets with Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Labèque clearly enjoys the challenge of playing with three of jazz’s finest practitioners and whether it’s the graceful balance of emotion and technical lyricism she reaches duetting with Corea on Bill Evans’ We Will Meet Again, or the surges of rhythmic energy during My Funny Valentine with Herbie Hancock, Labèque proves that she is an adventurous, imaginative musician at the peak of her creativity.

PRESENTATION

Red Velvet is the eponymous debut album from a young French/Italian duo comprised of David Chalmin (guitarist, singer-songwriter) & Reeks (drums, electronics, synth & sampler), a stirring and eclectic mix of styles that incorporates such elements as the fiery thrust of modern indie-rock, the shifting tempos and melodies of post-rock and the complexity of contemporary electronic, all with a distinctly personal slant that comes from years of close collaboration between Red Velvet’s two protagonists.

Influenced by groups as diverse as Sonic Youth, The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin and Aphex Twin, it was at Brancaleone in Rome, where they meet to rehearse and record, that Red Velvet found its sound, discovering a rare common ground between opposites; analog and digital, rock and electronic, live and sampled.

Inspired by their involvement with the band B For Bang and after several performances in European festivals (Montpellier Radio France, Ruhr, Ravello, Bremen, Ferrara, Barcelone/Sitges and more), Chalmin and Reeks decided to record their first album.

The preparation and production of the album have given the duo the opportunity to develop a new sonic dimension in their sound, delivering a dark indie rock, chaotic full of contrasts. Red Velvet is released by KML Sonic Invaders.

1.  prayer for the dead, prayer for you (6:18)
2.  poison (4:07)
3.  stay & stare (3:36)
4.  blood on the white carpet (3:48)
5.  lab rat (5:49)
6.  waste of time (3:43)
7.  crystal ball (4:12)
8.  wake up (2:38)
9.  red velvet (3:49)
10. the bird song (3:19)
11. my very own stranger (3:50)
12. my funny valentine (3:02)
13. purple diamond (3:41)

PRESENTATION

Iconic figures of the 20th century, The Beatles embraced the changing world. Their music still resounds in people’s mind, whatever their generation, country, language. It’s part of our heritage.

Nine of their songs have been newly arranged by David Chalmin, Nicola Tescari and Massimo Pupillo, intertwined with new compositions on the edge of improvisation. They create a multicoloured sound atune to our times, an encounter of diverse traditions and energies.

This innovative enterprise has been undertaken by Katia Labèque, unconventional pianist from a classical background to whom Miles Davis dedicated two songs, David Chalmin, alternative rocker (Red Velvet), and Nicola Tescari, contemporary composer.

B for Bang was born out of their desire to create a dynamic of energy, movement, and curiosity - with the instinct to retain the differences of their backgrounds.

Joining them are, Massimo Pupillo (Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth/Mike Patton), and Marque Gilmore (Nitin Sawney/Talvin Singh). They also invited some of their friends to collaborate, improvise and join in the making of the album – Giovanni Sollima, Viktoria Mullova, Katell Keineg, Meg, Nadeah, Patti Smith, Daniel Day Lewis.

1.  Ouverture (0:29) (Nicola Tescari)
2.  Being for the benefit of Mr. Kite (3:06) (Lennon/McCartney)
    Arranged by Nicola Tescari
3.  Interlude 1 (1:00) (David Chalmin)
4.  Helter Skelter (3:41) (Lennon/McCartney)
    Arranged by David Chalmin 
5.  Golden Slumbers (3:12) (Lennon/McCartney)
    Arranged by David Chalmin
6.  I Want You (3:59) (Lennon/McCartney)
    Arranged by Nicola Tescari 
7.  Reminiscence (2:25) (Giovanni Sollima)
8.  Happiness is a Warm Gun (4:02) (Lennon/McCartney)
    Arranged by David Chalmin 
9.  Julia (4:08) (Lennon/McCartney)
    Arranged by David Chalmin, Nicola Tescari 
10. Interlude 2 (0:22) (David Chalmin)
11. Between those Rocks (3:28) (Katia Labèque/Giovanni Sollima)
12. Interlude 3 (0:19) (David Chalmin)
13. Blackbird (4:19) (Lennon/McCartney)
    Arranged by Nicola Tescari
14. Come Together (2:47) (Lennon/McCartney)
    Arranged by Nicola Tescari
15. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (2:39) (Lennon/McCartney)
    Arranged by Nicola Tescari - 
16. Notes to the Future (1:52) (Patti Smith/David Chalmin) 
17. The Last Man on Earth (6:52) (David Chalmin/Massimo Pupillo) 
18. One More Song (4:20) (Nicola Tescari)

PRESENTATION

"....a journey of the incredible...."

The path-treading encounter of Massimo Pupillo, Chris Corsano and David Chalmin –rock/noise/experimental improvisers - with the universe of the 50s cult science-fiction radio show Dimension X.

Based on stories from the show, each track unfolds the strange world of thinking machines, robots, chaos, Martians, madness ... and humankind’s quest for emotion, truth and hope.

Building on many hours of raw, instinctive and live improvised material, David Chalmin returned to the studio to create an album of strong personality.

1. almost human (13:14)
2. the empire never ended (6:18)
3. hello tomorrow (5:34)
4. the martian chronicles (4:45)
5. dr. Grimshaw's sanitorium (8:08)
6. beyond infinity (5:27)

PRESENTATION

The following text was written especially for the forthcoming album recording: Unspoken by the Katia Labèque Band. It's author, Alessandro Baricco, is globally known for his highly acclaimed novels which include: Silk, City and Ocean Sea.

When I first started listening to the Katia Labeque Band, the thing that fascinated me was trying to understand where that music came from. As for those three, I knew more or less where they came from, but that wasnt much help. Their artistic biographies dont tell the whole story about the freedom they have obviously cultivated inside: both the pleasure of discovery and an instinctive feel for creative subversion. Above all, this is music that tends to cover its own tracks, making it hard to work your way back to the source, to some clearly identifiable point of departure. In short, an enigma. Every so often, some patch of jazz, or an echo of Schumann, would give me a breathing space, enabling me to make a temporary identification that would then promptly vanish into the acoustic landscape that followed. It was a stubborn enigma, which mocked my capacity to understand and left me suspended in an enchantment without a name.

Then I stopped wondering where it came from and, enthralled, I began to look at where it was going. In a sense, a very physical one, I began to watch it move, to observe the way it spontaneously developed, to listen to its strange way of becoming. Not a lot of music becomes this way: apparently anarchic, aimless, free to the point of blindness, always unpredictable. If this music has a path to follow, it is the path of its own freedom, and none other. You cant even say that in the end it attains anything, and this, in an age when artistic creations are only means for the attainment of ends, struck me as almost a gesture of rebellion perhaps that very gesture of rebellion for which a long time ago they coined the term: poetry. Apart from the pleasure of listening for me particularly bound up with the slower pieces, less cluttered in terms of rhythm and timbre I still react to this music with the satisfaction you feel when you find yourself in the presence of a lesson. I have learned to remember that the things we invent have a right to infinity and not merely a duty to matters like form and a certain rationality. It is a lesson that I accept with gratitude and, as far as I can, one that I will stubbornly defend.

Alessandro Baricco, July 2003
(Translated by Alastair McEwen)

1. Unspoken - 2:16
2. Fields - 6:15
3. Hyper (from 'Falling to the Sky') - 6:10
4. Sketch - 6:12
5. Breathe [Invocation] - 9:33
6. Runtime - 5:52
7. With No Name - 9:49
8. Katia - 6:44
9. Exit Music (for a Film) - 8:17