Daniel Vadner

Daniel Hope's latest album, "Irish Roots" embodies his deep connection to Ireland, inherited from his paternal great-grandfather who left Waterford for South Africa in the 1890s. Although never residing in Ireland, Hope's fascination with its culture led to the creation of the documentary "Celtic Dreams: Daniel Hope’s Hidden Irish History." Supported by musicologist Olivier Fourés and experiences with award-winning Irish band Lúnasa, Hope explores the intersection of folk and classical music. "Irish Roots" reflects this journey, featuring compositions by Ina Boyle and Turlough O’Carolan alongside classics like "Danny Boy" and Vivaldi's L’estro armonico concertos. Daniel Hope is joined on his new album by a stellar line-up of guest artists, including Lúnasa, harpist Siobhán Armstrong, flautists Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway, singer Rea Garvey, multi-instrumentalist and folk musician Ross Daly, fellow violinist Simos Papanas, and the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Geiss.

On October 25, Peral Music releases its latest album, celebrating twenty years of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. In August 1999, Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra as a workshop for Israeli, Palestinian, and other Arab musicians to promote coexistence and intercultural dialogue. In order to celebrate this significant anniversary, Peral Music releases a digital album featuring “Don Quixote” (Richard Strauss) with cellist Kian Soltani and the famous “Boléro”(Maurice Ravel).

As a Chilean-born composer and pianist living in Australia, I have nurtured a penchant for bringing Latin American vernacular music into the classical concert hall. Both of these musical traditions are widespread and possess an immense canon fashioned by many an inspired composer. Just as significant, both have been greatly impacted by a myriad of interactions with vernacular music over several centuries. A brief survey of the Western tradition may identify composers such as Mozart and Beethoven engaging with Turkish music, Bartók with Eastern European folk music, or Bizet and Debussy with Spain.

In this album called “Hope”, created during lockdown, violinist Daniel Hope presents a highly personal, yet distinctive collection of timeless classics by Schubert, Elgar and Pärt, several beloved traditional songs in stunning new instrumental versions and a brand-new arrangement of the inspiring and spiritual Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramírez. “Music has a tremendous power,” says Daniel Hope. “This album is my attempt to send out a ray of hope and to provide people, myself included, with a sense of support and perhaps even consolation.” Well-known favourites from Hope’s childhood such as Amazing Grace and Danny Boy are as integral to this album as Schubert’s Die Nacht and “Nimrod” from Elgar’s Enigma Variations. Several different periods are illuminated in this way, and the same is true of the most disparate styles and musical contexts. Daniel Hope is joined by the Zürcher Kammerorchester as well as prestigious singers like the vocal ensemble Amarcord, baritone Thomas Hampson and jazz-singer Colin Rich.