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David Greilsammer

scarlatti: cage: sonatas

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Scarlatti: Cage: Sonatas - David Greilsammer - Sony Classical
David Greilsammer: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
David Greilsammer en interview avec Michel Field - LCI
YARON HERMAN & GENEVA CAMERATA IMPROVISE ON PURCELL
1 Sonata in D Minor, K. 213: Andante  
2 Sonatas and Interludes: Sonata XVI & XV "Gemini"  
3 Sonata in D Minor, K. 141: Allegro  
4 Sonatas And Interludes: Sonata XIII  
5 Sonata in E Major, K. 531: Allegro  
6 Sonatas and Interludes: Sonata XI  
7 Sonata in B Minor, K. 27: Allegro  
8 Sonatas and Interludes: Sonata I  
9 Sonata in B Minor, K. 87: Andante Mosso  
10 Sonatas and Interludes: Sonata XII  
11 Sonata in A Minor, K. 175: Allegro  
12 Sonatas and Interludes: Sonata XVI  
13 Sonata in E Major, K. 381: Andante commodo  
14 Sonatas and Interludes: Sonata V  
15 Sonata in D Major, K. 492: Presto  
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The juxtaposition of tracks – alternating between the two composers – highlights some unique similarities between two completely different worlds. In Greilsammer's words, this is "Music from another planet. This is how I always felt when listening to the sonatas of John Cage and Domenico Scarlatti. As true visionaries they treated the sonata not as a rigid and momentous form but as a magic space devoted to creation and experimentation." Greilsammer has previously performed a similar solo programme, leading the New York Times to comment that he "finds fascinating ways to juxtapose pieces spanning centuries, aiming to highlight surprising musical resonances among works vastly different in language and style."

The two composers are characterised by their radical attitude. In 1938, when invited to write music for dance, Cage initially envisaged a work for a large number of percussion instruments, but the stage was too small. His solution was to insert objects between the strings of a piano, turning it into a percussion orchestra. The resultant sounds revealed an imaginary troupe of dancers combining African, Indian and Western rhythms. The sonatas on Greilsammer's new album are for prepared piano, mostly using screws and bolts, but also pieces of rubber and plastic, several nuts and one eraser. Cage was one of the first western composers to use the ideas and rhythmic structures of traditional Indian music, whereas the Scarlatti sonatas often refer to Andalusian Flamenco, derived from the music of gypsies, some of whom originated in northern India. A man who was always attracted to the unknown, Scarlatti (1685–1757) led a restless artist's life between Naples, Rome, London, Lisbon and Seville, distancing himself from his Baroque contemporaries and escaping from the shadow of his famous father Alessandro. Eventually he settled in Madrid and wrote more than 550 keyboard sonatas during the final years of his life.

  • David Greilsammer enchants with the sound of Satie / the namibian
    Posted At: July 12, 2022 12:00 AM
    the namibian's Martha Mukaiwa writes….THE music of Erik Satie was the sublime centre of David Greilsammer's solo piano concert held at the National Theatre of Namibia in Windhoek on Friday.Presenting a new programme designed especially for the occasion of his African debut, the world-renowned conductor and pianist treated a full house of classical music lovers to a selection of Beethoven, Scarlatti, Schuber...
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  • David Greilsammer appointed music director and chief conductor of the Medellin Philharmonic Orchestra
    Posted At: February 15, 2022 12:00 AM
    David Greilsammer becomes the new Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín, one of the most important and dynamic orchestras in Latin America. As part of his four-year contract, which begins in August, he will lead the renowned Colombian orchestra in numerous symphonic performances, concert tours, educational activities, and social projects. David Greilsammer will continue ...
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  • David Geilsammer creates musical labyrinth, a study in opposites / The Jerusalem Post
    Posted At: December 13, 2020 12:00 AM

    A labyrinth is more than a puzzle. For Israeli pianist/conductor David Greilsammer, it is the name of a new solo piano album he's released worldwide on the French Naïve label. "It is miraculous," says Greilsammer from his home in Geneva, Switzerland, where he is music director of the Geneva Camerata Orchestra, "that I recorded it in January 2020, edited it during the first difficult days of coro...
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  • David Greilsammer's new recording charts a fantastical and disorienting adventure through works spanning centuries / The New York Times
    Posted At: November 18, 2020 12:00 AM

    Three years ago, in the underground crypt of a church in Harlem, I watched the pianist David Greilsammer perform "Labyrinth," a program that daringly juxtaposed pieces from across centuries. As a young man, Mr. Greilsammer had a dream that strange, alluring sounds were guiding him through a labyrinth. This recital was his attempt to share that sensation. Playing without pause, Mr. Greilsammer audacio...
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  • David Greilsammer assembles similarly strange bedfellows for NPR: Tiny Desk
    Posted At: December 3, 2017 12:00 AM

    Like a good mixtape from a friend, performances by David Greilsammer tend to range widely in repertoire and surprise with cunning juxtapositions. On a recent album for example, the Israeli pianist alternated sonatas by avant-garde pioneer John Cage and baroque master Domenico Scarlatti. For this Tiny Desk appearance, Greilsammer assembles similarly strange bedfellows. He begins with his muse Scarlatt...
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  • EIBF review of Scarlatti and Cage with David Greilsammer and David Mitchell / Edinburgh Reporter
    Posted At: September 5, 2017 12:00 AM

    David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas muses on the nature of boundaries – namely, the boundaries between noise and sound. The novel suggests that all boundaries are conventions, that one may cross "if only one can first conceive of doing so". It doesn't seem beyond the realm of possibility that Mitchell had this thought in mind when he and the acclaimed conductor and pianist David Greilsammer collaborated f...
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  • David Greilsammer - Baroque Conversations on WFMT: Critical Thinking
    Posted At: May 2, 2017 12:00 AM

    WFMT: Chicago - Critic-at-Large Andrew Patner presents an hour-long weekly program of conversation about the arts each Monday night at 10:00 pm. Known for his eclectic and fascinating programs, conductor and pianist David Greilsammer is recognised as one of today's most audacious classical artists. The New York Times recently selected his recital Scarlatti:Cage:Sonatas as one of the ten most important mu...
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  • David Greilsammer. Crypt Keeper in Washington Heights / The New York Times
    Posted At: March 31, 2017 12:00 AM

    A searching artist who likes to play old and new music against (or, more accurately, for) each other, the pianist David Greilsammer arrives in New York on Wednesday, April 5, for the latest installment in the Crypt Sessions, a way-downstairs, intimate series at the Church of the Intercession in Washington Heights. The program, "Labyrinth," is organized around "On an Overgrown Path," Janacek's moody ...
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  • David Greilsammer finds an undeniable link between Scarlatti and John Cage / The Jerusalem Post
    Posted At: December 29, 2016 12:00 AM

    Israeli-born pianist and conductor David Greilsammer blends the works of Domenico Scarlatti and John Cage, written some 200 years apart. Aside from both being composers, there appears to be no connection between Domenico Scarlatti and John Cage. One was born in Spain in the Baroque era while the other came of age in the modern milieu of American classical music. Yet David Greilsammer finds an undeniable ...
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  • David Greilsammer set to play Hong Kong's City Hall / Time Out Hong Kong
    Posted At: April 24, 2015 12:00 AM

    Take every preconceived notion you may have about classical musicians and conductors, and turn them on their heads. Now you're left with an image of David Greilsammer, the conductor and performer who brings his unique fusion of contemporary and classical music to City Hall on May 4. Though he was classically trained in his formative years, it was the prohibition of music during his time in the mi...
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  • David Greilsammer brings daring musical adventure to Israel's 'Eilat Chamber Music Festival'
    Posted At: January 30, 2015 12:00 AM

    If anyone had told pianist and conductor David Greilsammer three years ago that one day there would be a classical chamber orchestra in which one member could suddenly pick up and start playing a Baroque instrument, a double bassist from the jazz world would start improvising with him and finally the entire ensemble would be jamming to the applause of a sold-out audience of conservative concertgoers, he ...
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  • David Greilsammer and the Bournemouth Orchestra
    Posted At: August 28, 2012 12:00 AM

    David Greilsammer stepped in last minute with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, a performance praised by the public and the press. http://davidgreilsammer.com/...
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  • David Greilsammer to play with Geneva Orchestra
    Posted At: August 28, 2012 12:00 AM

    David Greilsammer will play and conduct the complete 27 Mozart Piano Concertos this coming season with Geneva Chamber Orchestra. http://davidgreilsammer.com/...
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  • David Greilsammer signed exclusive contract
    Posted At: August 20, 2012 1:49 PM

    Sony Classical locked in David Greilsammer into an exclusive long-term recording agreement with Sony Classical.  He first debuted at Lincoln Ceneter in 2004, with this compositions that transcend classical barriers.  He often combines Renaissance and early Baroque works with contemporary ones.  He is also the artistic director of the Suedama Ensemble in New York.  He states that '...
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  • David Greilsammer takes baroque to extremes
    Posted At: August 20, 2012 1:44 PM

    David Greilsammer's 'Baroque Conversations' is described as not a baroque album.  The Israeli-born pianist takes the listener on a ride that pairs baroque music with modern 20th and 21st century work.    He does this with such excellence, that these tracks still do not take away from the traditional baroque styles.  He goes through an entire Handel suite, incorporates ...
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  • David Greilsammer creates a fantasy
    Posted At: August 20, 2012 1:35 PM

    David Greilsammer's album Fantasie Fantasme, brilliantly brings together pieces from Bach, Cage, Ligeti and many more.  The Jerusalem native begins his fantasy with Bach's 'Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue' then goes directly into 'Fantastrophes' by Jonathan Keren.  Afterwards, there are bits from Brahms's Intermezzo in A minot, Schoennberg's Six little Piano Pie...
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  • David Greilsammer plays mostly Mozart festival
    Posted At: August 20, 2012 1:22 PM

    Described as imaginative and elegant, David Greilsammer is set to perform  in the 2012, Mostly Mozart music festival, Night Music.  He has won acclaim for his performances, especially for Mozart.  He makes bold leaps from one piece to the next usually without interruption.  His 2008 recording called "fantaisie fantasme" brings together Bach, Brahms, Mozart, Janacek, Schoenberg, Cage, ...
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  • David Greilsammer: Connecting Disparate Worlds
    Posted At: August 10, 2012 4:57 PM

    Internationally acclaimed pianist and conductor David Greilsammer's Baroque Conversations is the artist's first release of an exclusive long-term contract with Sony Classical. The program of Baroque masterpieces and four contemporary works explores the artist's passion for contrasting musical worlds. Full of unexpected transitions, his journey through eras, styles and idioms tracks ...
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