Sysinternals Suite 2023 05 24

In einem Musik liebenden Elternhaus in Rotterdam aufgewachsen – der Vater war Uhrmacher – nahm sie Gesangsunterricht bei Jo Bollekamp, Sem Dresden und seiner Gattin Jacoba Dresden-Dhont, Bodi Rapp und Pierre Bernac in Paris.

Paavo Järvi (Estonian pronunciation: [ˈpɑːʋo ˈjærʋi]; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian-American conductor. He has been chief conductor of Zurich's Tonhalle since 2020.

29 October 1923 was a date steeped in history. In the middle of a year of political and economic crises, the age of public radio in Germany was ushered in with the first broadcast of the "Berliner Funkstunde" (Berlin Radio Hour) from the attic of an office building on Potsdamer Platz. Radio offered entirely new possibilities for the production and reception of music. The two compositions on this CD not only benefited from these developments but also played an active role in shaping them.

Following their first album for Linn (Dvořák: Legends Op. 59, Czech Suite Op. 39), the WDR Sinfonieorchester and Cristian Măcelaru pursue the same folk vein with two orchestral works by Béla Bartók. Based on a rather childish tale (prince, princess, fairies, and of course a happy ending!), the music of the ballet The Wooden Prince – recorded in full here – has all the ingredients of a masterpiece: masterful scoring for large forces, use of musical themes, an effortless amalgam of folk and late-Romantic elements.

In 1945, Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981) completed the composition of the Zodiac Suite. Each movement corresponded to an artist’s portrait associated with an astrological sign. It was a pretext to escape the rigidity of the musical forms for which Williams had previously written, and to experiment with the sonorities of the music of European composers such as Berg, Hindemith or Schoenberg.

American Roots Music thrives on growing new branches from its grand traditions, and the band Mr Sun, and its individual members, have long been actively re-shaping the acoustic musical landscape. For Mr Sun’s tenth anniversary, this celebrated company of virtuoso string players has reinterpreted the legendary Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker Suite, bringing this monumental reimagining of the iconic Tchaikovsky piece into the acoustic string band world.

At the height of her art, the composer and jazz pianist Lorraine Desmarais offers a new work that celebrates the estuary of St. Lawrence River, connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean.

Jowee Omicil, who plays a multitude of wind and brass instruments, is like no other. Originally from Haiti, he was born in Montreal and now lives in Paris. He recorded his first ‘international’ album in the south of France as part of a long-running session during a week when the full moon shone above, alongside a dozen militants of groove. In his total mix music, which speaks to both body and mind and in which melodic storytelling is essential, his Creole roots blend with gospel, soul, hip hop culture and world folklore, while also including nods to his forefathers from Charlie Parker to Ornette Coleman to Wayne Shorter.

Critically acclaimed pianist/composer Aaron Diehl's penchant for the past influencing the future has come full circle with his fully realised suite of Mary Lou Williams' Zodiac Suite - the first fully-fledged professional recording of this incredible music. Solely paying tribute to Mary Lou Williams was not the goal, as Diehl's mission is to give honour and praise to one of the greatest composers of the 20th century and the forgotten rich history of Black Classical Music.