David Greilsammer - Sounds of Transformation (2018)

Known for his eclectic and fascinating programmes, conductor and pianist David Greilsammer is recognised as one of today’s most audacious classical artists. The New York Times has recently awarded two of David Greilsammer’s albums as Recording of the Year, in addition to selecting his solo recital “Scarlatti:Cage:Sonatas” as one of the ten most important musical events of the year.

Praised as creator of numerous ground-breaking musical projects, ranging from baroque to contemporary music, David Greilsammer has also been celebrated for his Mozart performances. He has performed in Paris all of Mozart’s piano sonatas in a one-day “marathon” and recently, he has played and conducted in Geneva all of Mozart’s twenty-seven piano concertos, in one season. In the past years, David Greilsammer has released four recordings on the Naïve label, and more recently, three prize-winning albums on the Sony Classical label.

Since 2013, David Greilsammer serves as Music and Artistic Director of the Geneva Camerata (GECA). With this adventurous ensemble, he gives over thirty-five concerts per season, including international tours that have taken him and the ensemble to venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Kings Place in London, NCPA in Beijing, Oriental Art Center in Shanghai, and Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico. David Greilsammer and GECA regularly collaborate with dancers, choreographers, actors, visual artists, as well as jazz, world, rock, and folk musicians.

David Greilsammer has recently performed as guest conductor/soloist with the BBC Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony, Milano La Verdi Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Mexico National Symphony Orchestra, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony. He has also given solo recitals at the Wigmore Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Verbier Festival, Salle Flagey in Brussels, Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, and Kennedy Center in Washington.

As a sports prodigy, Yaron Herman started a very promising basketball career, being one of the stars of the Israeli National Junior Team. But after a serious knee injury, his basketball ambitions were suddenly terminated, leading to his first lessons in piano, at the age of sixteen.

After just a few years of playing the piano, Yaron Herman was discovered by several important jazz musicians and producers of the Paris musical scene. His enthusiasm, virtuosity, and talent, opened many doors for him, and he quickly became the pianist that everyone was talking about with admiration. At the age of twenty one, after just five years of playing the piano, he recorded his first album « Takes 2 to know 1 » on the Sketch Label. The album received extraordinary reviews and Yaron Herman started to give solo performances all over Europe, South America, the United States and China. In 2007, Yaron Herman was already performing more than one hundred concerts per year. During the same period, he recorded his first trio album “A Time for Everything”, alongside Matt Brewer and Gerald Cleaver. His very original version of Britney Spears’« Toxic », and his cover of Police's “Message in a Bottle” brought his music to an even wider international audience.

Since then, Yaron Herman has performed in the most prestigious venues and festivals around the planet, such as the Montreal Jazz Festival, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Berlin Jazz Festival, the Weiner Konzert Haus, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysée in Paris, the Juan Les Pins Festival, the Vittoria Gasteiz Festival, and the Jazz à Marciac Festival. He has collaborated with celebrated artists and ensembles such as Michel Portal, Yael Naim, Dominic Miller, Avishai Cohen, Ziv Ravitz, and the Geneva Camerata.

In 2008, Yaron won the award for best new instrumentalist of the year at the French Music Awards. He has then released two albums on the ACT label, and recently signed a new contract with the legendary Blue Note label. His most recent Blue Note recording, named “Y”, received great critical acclaim from the press in Europe, Asia and the United States. This season, he will take part in various international tours, including a fifteen-date European tour with the Geneva Camerata, for their new innovative project, “Classical & Jazz Madness”.

Tracklist:
01. Le mariage forcé, LWV 20: Bourrée
02. Lully's Diabolic Swing
03. The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Prelude
04. Purcell in Transformation
05. The Unanswered Question, ICI 16
06. Les Boréades, RCT 31: Contredanse en Rondeau
07. Rameau and the Flying Big Band
08. Marais' Night Ballad
09. Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83: Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83: I. Allegramente
10. Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83: Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83: II. Adagio assai
11. Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83: Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83: III. Presto
12. Pièces de violes, Livre IV: No. 87, Le Badinage, IMM 22
13. Rameau's Secret Cavern
14. Platée, RCT 53: L'orage
15. Ives Asks the Moon
16. Purcell Danced with the Planets
17. The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Hornpipe
18. Lully's Last Dream
19. Le bourgeois gentilhomme, LWV 43: Marche pour la ceremonie des Turcs

Composers:
Ives, Charles (1874-1954)
Keren, Jonathan (b.1978)
Lully, Jean-Baptiste (1632-87)
Marais, Marin (1656-1728)
Pinca, Massimo (b.1978)
Purcell, Henry (1659-95)
Rameau, Jean Philippe (1683-1764)
Ravel, Maurice (1875-1937)

Personnel:
Yaron Herman, piano
David Greilsammer, piano, direction
Geneva Camerata