For their second duo album, cellist Nicholas Canellakis and pianist-composer Michael Stephen Brown curate an eclectic playlist that is close to their hearts. Anchored by five Romances, the album features rarely heard gems alongside their own compositions and arrangements. Ranging from soulful to virtuosic to just plain fun, (b)romance celebrates 15 years of being affectionate, brutally honest, and creatively connected best friends and artistic collaborators.
Maurice RAVEL (1872–1937): Miroirs
Nikolai MEDTNER (1879–1951): Improvisation No. 2, Op. 47
(includes the première recording of two movements not included in the original publication)
Recorded at the Tippet Rise Center, Montana, USA, January 2019
NOCTUELLES Booklet
Tippet Rise DXD Downloads Page
"It’s a truism to declare that Ravel was a master of exquisite new sonorities, but how many pianists realise the luminosity and the quietest dynamics as well as Brown? Melodic fragments are always subtly highlighted; grouping the work in two pairs followed by a numinously majestic epilogue, the pianist makes ‘The Valley of the Bells’ a spellbinding highlight, resonating in mid-air… a treasurable diptych." performance ***** | recording ***** —BBC Music Magazine
"his technique is crystalline, dynamically fluid and deeply expressive" —Classical Music Sentinel
"the whole CD is a real feast for the ears" —Music Web International
"The account of Miroirs can certainly hold its own in what is now a crowded field" —Arcana.fm
"Michael Stephen Brown takes the plunge into a dark tale, rediscovering in Medtner's diabolical dreaminess Ravel's desperate imaginations." —Artamag (Paris)
Michael Stephen Brown, piano
Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847): Preludes and Fugues, Op. 35: Nos. 1, 2, 3 & 6
Leonard BERNSTEIN (1918-1990): Touches (1981)
Michael Stephen Brown (b. 1987): Chant and Fugue (2013); Thoughts (2015)
Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827): 15 Variations and Fugue in E flat major, Op. 35, 'Eroica Variations'
Excerpts from the album [FHR67]
MENDELSSOHN Prelude No. 1 in E minor, Op. 35 - Michael Stephen Brown, piano [FHR67]
Samuel Adler: First Piano Concerto
Michael Stephen Brown, piano
Emily Freeman Brown, conductor
Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt
world premiere recording
March 4th 2018 marks the 90th birthday of one of the twenty-first century’s most influential and prolific composers: Samuel Adler. This three-disc boxed set provides a cohesive overview of his output and includes many premiere recordings.
Olivier Messiaen: Trois petites liturgies de la Présence Divine
Michael Stephen Brown, piano
with Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony
Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony present passionate performances of two rarely recorded masterpieces by Morlot’s countryman, French composer Olivier Messiaen. One work celebrates Messiaen’s love for his wife, the other his commitment to his faith. Together they make up an album of sacred and transcendent beauty, showing two sides of one of the most influential composers of the 20th century.
Samuel Barber: Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 6
Dmitri Shostakovich: Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor, Op. 40
Michael Stephen Brown: Five A.M. “after Allen Ginsberg”
Bulgarian Folk Tunes, arr. Nicholas Canellakis:
Gankino Horo, Daichovo Horo
works by Strauss, Michael Stephen Brown, Ravel, and Amy Beach
Maurice Ravel: Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose)
Samuel Barber: Souvenirs, Op. 28
Gabriel Fauré: Dolly Suite, Op. 56
Michael Stephen Brown: Chant (2013)
George Gershwin: An American in Paris (arr. Gelfini)
Album Review - American Record Guide
As the George Perle centennial year (2015) nears, pianist Michael Stephen Brown makes an important contribution to our knowledge of the American-master's keyboard music. The earliest work on this disc, Classic Suite, as well as the most recently completed composition, Chansons cachées, are world-premiere recordings, with the entire program reflecting the performer's deep involvement with Perle's music over more than a decade. Writing to Michael Stephen Brown in 2003, Perle commented that: "it is a privilege to hear my music performed with such sympathy and understanding. Thank you!" PDF Booklet
“…deliciously played, with all the perkiness and sparkle one could want.”
— American Record Guide
© Michael Stephen Brown, All Rights Reserved. Site by ycArt design studio
