Sibelius Piano Trio - Fire & Fancy

180-gram 45 RPM vinyl LP!

Engineered by Bob Attiyeh and Arian Jansen

Mastered by Steve Hoffman and Bob Attiyeh

Lacquers cut by Bernie Grundman

"... musicians Petteri Iivonen, Juho Pohjonen, and Samuli Peltonen, (have returned) this time with a decidedly different program. The Grammy-nominated Fire & Fancy is definitely a departure in musical style ... Both compositions here were commissioned by Yarlung and the Sibelius Trio for this release. 'Nene' by Diego Schicci takes the listener through four themed movements: I. Jumping on the Walls, II. Dozing on a Hanger, III. Riding a mosquito, and IV. Oozing Away. The compositional style is assuredly tonal, but with enough modern thematic elements to appear new and refreshing. ... On the B-side, the single-movement, through-composed 'Ruminations' by David S. Lefkowitz focuses a bit more on sonics than on melodic development, but produces chilling audible effects to the listener ... Here's the good news, sonically, both sides of this record are a tour de force, I would say they even slightly better those found on the Korppoo Trio recording. All the little details such as note decay, string bite, pizzicato tone, piano weight, are all here in spades. The music will be less crowd-pleasing than the bread and butter chamber repertoire most are familiar with, but by no means does this mean they are not approachable listens. ... Give Fire and Fancy a try, and the music may wow you (the sonics are guaranteed to)." — Music = 8/11; Sound = 11/11 — Michael Leser Johnson, AnalogPlanet.com. Read the entire review here: https://bit.ly/3LLgkzr

As their Latin Grammy and International Classical Music Award nominations for this album demonstrate, the gentlemen of Sibelius Piano Trio feel at home in any musical style. When they play "Nene," written for them by Argentine composer Diego Schissi, you hear Latin musicians offering you South American sunlight and Argentine dance rhythms. "Nene " celebrates the daydreams and fantasy world of a young boy. When Sibelius Piano Trio performs "Ruminations" by David S. Lefkowitz, the Trio conjures the mystical fire of Persian poetry. One can hear musical instruments including the oud, nose flute and Eastern European Klezmer in David?s rhapsodic work inspired by the great 13th Century Persian poet and Sufi mystic Jalal ad-Din Mohammad Rumi.

"'Ruminations' and 'Nene' were audience favorites at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, where the Trio gave their premieres. As a proud Finn and as a representative of the Finnish government, I salute Sibelius Piano Trio for their talent. Petteri, Juho and Samuli embody and exemplify the best of our country, and as someone who lives in Los Angeles, it gives me great pleasure that the Trio is so intimately connected with California and Yarlung Records." — J.P. Markkanen, Consul General of Finland

Music

Sound

Ratings from Michael Fremer @ AnalogPlanet.com

1. Diego Schissi (b. 1969)

2. Nene

3. David S. Lefkowitz (b. 1964)

4. Ruminations

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