World Premiere Recordings – 2020 Grammy Award Winner for Classical Compendium

Nadia Shpachenko’s Reference Recordings release The Poetry of Places features World Premiere recordings of works for solo piano, for two pianos, percussion, electronics, voice, and toy piano in a fascinating mélange inspired by great architecture and places. This is Nadia’s second album at NativeDSD, following her earlier release Quotations & Homages.

The eight compositions monumentalize places as wildly diverse as the Copland House in Cortlandt, NY, The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Louis Kahn’s National Assembly Buildings in Bangladesh, Newgrange Ancient Temple in Ireland, and Frank Gehry’s House in Santa Monica, CA.

Included is a significant new work from Andrew Norman, Frank’s House, for two pianos and percussion, and another large work from Nina C. Young, Kolokol, for two pianos and electronics (a ‘fantasy’ inspired by Russian Orthodox Church Bells).

Additionally, six solo works were written specifically for this project by Amy Beth Kirsten, Hannah Lash, James Matheson, Harold Meltzer, Lewis Spratlan, and Jack Van Zandt. The composers use very different musical approaches and sonic techniques in response to their chosen spaces.

The album was recorded with Steinway & Sons, Model D pianos and a Schoenhut 37 key Traditional Deluxe Spinet Toy Piano.

This recording was funded in part by The Aaron Copland Fund For Music, The Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University in the City of New York and the Cal Poly Pomona RSCA Grant and Provost’s Award.

Nadia Shpachenko Gottesman – Piano, Toy Piano & Vocals
Joanne Pearce Martin – Piano
Nick Terry – Percussion
Cory Hills – Percussion