Birgit Sawyer

Arba - Borochov's fourth album as leader, was recorded in 2022 with his quartet of in-demand New York musicians and Grammy award-winning producer Matt Pierson, and is due for release on 8th September 2023 on Greenleaf Music. The nine original compositions celebrate an emergence from a time of hopelessness and loss to a recognition of faith in the radiant life-force. Borochov performs on a custom-made Monette 4-valve quarter-tone trumpet which he uses to incorporate Maqams into his playing (the middle-eastern microtonal modes that are the musical language of his traditional upbringing).

Birgit Minichmayr captures the imagination and holds centre-stage on “As An Unperfect Actor – Nine Sonnets by William Shakespeare”. This won’t come as a surprise to people in the German-speaking world, where the Austrian actor is well-known from countless appearances on TV and a substantial filmography. Perhaps equally unsurprising is the deep experience she can bring to Shakespeare: as an ensemble member of the Burgtheater company in Vienna, she has repeatedly lived out the searingly dramatic lives of the Bard’s characters, notably the daemonic anger of Lady Macbeth, the sadness of Ophelia, and even the uncomfortable truths of the Fool in King Lear.