Music for bassoon and piano
The four compositions presented in this collection, all written in the twentieth century, constitute a landmark in the bassoon repertoire. They exceed, each one in its own way, the traditional techniques of the instrument, as far as range, velocity, tone colours, dynamics, articulation, and the physical stamina of the player are concerned.
Duo Palmós
Stefanie Liedtke, bassoon – Lorenda Ramou, piano
NIKOS SKALKOTTAS (1904 – 1949): SONATA CONCERTANTE for bassoon and piano (1943) — Allegro molto vivace – Andantino – Presto
LUCIANO BERIO (1925 – 2003): SEQUENZA XII for bassoon (1995)
ISANG YUN (1917 – 1995): MONOLOG for bassoon (1983/84)
YANNIS KYRIAKIDES (* 1969): PNEuma for bassoon, piano and tape (1999)
— Detailed informations, texts, photos, etc. inside CD (booklet) —
Total recording time: 68.08 | Format: 1 Audio-CD
Recording: February 2008, Athens
English booklet enclosed (28 pages) / Grecian booklet enclosed / German booklet enclosed
Ord. No. SRL4-08035 | (p) & (c) SPEKTRAL 2008 | Series SPEKTRAL MODERN
The members of Duo Palmós, German bassoonist Stefanie Liedtke and Greek pianist Lorenda Ramou, began their professional collaboration in 1999, playing Skalkottas’s Sonata Concertante in the Athens Concert Hall. The combination of bassoon and piano in the chamber music literature is very rare and the existing repertoire rather restricted. To expand their repertoire, Duo Palmós provided commissions to composers with a special interest in different musical traditions and means of artistic expression, such as music theatre and electronics. More than thirty new pieces from composers of different nationalities constitute the main core of Palmós’s repertoire, including also trio pieces with cello (with cellist John Addison as a regular member) and some pieces for larger chamber music combinations.
Palmós, often supported by Gaudeamus Foundation and the Hellenic Institute for Culture, has presented a series of thematic concerts such as: Contemporary Greek composers in Holland, New music with electronics, Homage to Nikos Skalkottas, From Greek Tradition to new Creation, French music for bassoon and piano, The Hague School and Chinese Whispers, a music theatre project in collaboration with Artery. Performances have taken place in important concert halls in Holland, Greece, Germany, France and USA.
Palmós has taken its name from the Greek word meaning pulse, heartbeat and doing something with vibrant energy.
Stefanie Liedtke was born in Germany. A versatile performer, she feels both at home with old music and contemporary repertoire. She studied recorder and bassoon in Germany (Conservatories of Stuttgart and Freiburg) and Holland (Conservatories of Rotterdam and Utrecht). She has been principal bassoon player in the Netherlands Ballet Orchestra from 1989 until 1992 and in the chamber orchestra La Camerata, based in the Athens Concert Hall, from 1996 until 1997. In 1992 she won the second prize at the International Competition “Fernand Gillet” and the same year she was attributed a scholarship from Villa Musica in Mainz, Germany.
She is now settled in Amsterdam, collaborating with orchestras and chamber music ensembles, like the Xenakis Ensemble and Insomnio; she is also co-founder of the ensembles Palmós and Trio Kassandra. Stefanie is regularly performing in international festivals throughout Europe, Asia and the USA with chamber music groups and as a soloist. Her interest in music theatre and performances for children led her to organise and take part in educational projects combining poetry, theatre and music together with Trio Kassandra and Wervelwind Ensemble.
Lorenda Ramou graduated in piano performance, music theory and piano pedagogy from the Athens National Conservatory under Tonis Georgiou and Yiannis Avgerinos, the Conservatoire National de Région de Boulogne-Billancourt (Paris), the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and City University, London. She has especially studied contemporary piano repertoire under Claude Helffer, Marie-Françoise Bucquet and Pierre-Laurent Aimard. She was selected to participate in the Academy of the XXth Century in 1995 (Cité de la Musique, Paris) under the direction of David Robertson and Pierre Boulez.
She has been, for several years, member of the Hellenic Contemporary Music Ensemble and collaborated with the composers Maurice Ohana, George Crumb and Mauricio Kagel. She has given solo recitals and chamber music concerts throughout Europe and the USA. She has recorded Nikos Skalkottas’s ballet music for piano for BIS, highly praised by international music press, the Complete Solo Piano Music of Dimitris Dragatakis for NAXOS and two CDs with chamber works by Yiannis Ioannidis. She is also the editor of the Critical Edition of Dragatakis’s piano works. In her solo recitals Lorenda often combines classical with contemporary repertoire and music theatre works.
Further information: www.palmos-music.com
