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Michael Fine

For a Friend-Lina Vartanova, Ekaterina Ayzenshtadt

self-released
Release Date: August 18, 2023

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Chamber Symphony
LIVING MUSIC Interview
Arkansas Symphony Orchestra - in conversation
The Producer's Role
Michael Fine - Concierto del Luna
Michael Fine - Chamber Symphony, Prague Philharmonia, Emmanuel Villaume
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Michael Fine releases ‘For a Friend’ featuring: Lina Vartanova, Ekaterina Ayzenshtadt

One of the greatest joys of composing music is creating something special for a friend, with their unique sound and artistic sensibilities in mind. Everyone who subsequently plays the piece contributes their own personal vision to music originally conceived for a specific person. In this case, the dedicatee is Lina Vartanova, an amazing Armenian violinist whom I met while recording with the Russian National Orchestra where she lead the 2nd violins. She was extremely helpful both with her positive leadership and musicality in these very demanding sessions, playing a leading role in helping us get the best results. I listened to several recordings of her in solo and chamber music repertoire with great pleasure and with her agreement decided to write a piece for her as a thank you and gesture of friendship. There is no officially recognised musical genre or style called 'quirkily tonal' but that is how this music works, with hints of the Romantic Period as it leans into the early 20th century. The piece is in four distinct sections: the first (Moderato assai) opens with a broad theme played by piano; the violin joins taking over the theme but then shifts between extroverted virtuosity and introspective moments. The second movement, a Scherzo has an appropriate scherzando character with quick and hopefully witty rhythms and some old-fashioned American walking bass lines in the piano. A Lullaby - gently rocking - follows. It is perhaps my favorite music in the piece. (Yes, composers have favourite moments in their own music.) 'For a Friend' concludes with a traditionally quick and challenging last movement though a hint of the lullaby returns before the rapid conclusion……….

  • Michael Fine's 'Suite for Strings' is a Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen celebration of musical wanderlust
    Posted At: September 29, 2022 12:00 AM
    Is Sir Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations a portrait of the composer's friends or an attempt to get to know himself? And what was the enigmatic theme Elgar always refused to disclose? Chief Conductor Kristiina Poska embarks on an epic artistic journey in search of the answer. We will travel together from England to Scandinavia and finally the Baltics. Next stop: Carl Nielsen's moving and romantic Violin Conce...
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  • Michael Fine's recording of the five quintets constitutes an excellent opportunity to know this composer / ResMusica
    Posted At: May 31, 2020 12:00 AM

    If Michael Fine is a well-known American producer of classical music, few people today know his talents as a composer. This recording of the five quintets, for wind instruments and string quartet, constitutes an excellent opportunity to fill this gap… All the works presented here are served by excellent soloists. Starting with the Bassoon Quintet (2017) with Fei Xie, in turn playful, a bit jaz...
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  • Michael Fine creates an atmospheric drawing with Five For Five / NIEUWE NOTEN
    Posted At: April 30, 2020 12:00 AM

    The American Michael Fine is initially known as a producer - he received a Grammy Award for it in 1992 - working from his company Fine Sound Productions, based in Rotterdam. In addition, Fine is active as artistic director, for example for the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Gergiev Festival. In addition, this centipede plays the clarinet and composes since 2013. Recently Evidence Classics publi...
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  • Top notch music and performances on Michael Fine's 'Five For Five.' A truly attractive release / pizzicato
    Posted At: April 9, 2020 12:00 AM

    If you are not yet familiar with the name Michael Fine as a composer, it is because he only got into this metier in 2013. Before that, he worked primarily as producer and program director. The five works of this Evidence CD are written for a woodwind instrument and a string quartet. Michael Fine's music is clearly tonal. When dealing with a composition, sound and personality of a musician he is familiar ...
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  • Michael Fine - Five For Five deserves to be listened to / froggy's delight
    Posted At: March 28, 2020 12:00 AM

    Five for Five, or five quintets with five different solo instruments: bassoon, English horn, clarinet, oboe and transverse flute accompanied by and dialoguing with a string quartet was written by Michael Fine. Before being a composer, Michael Fine was a clarinetist, label director, artistic orchestra manager, conductor and a popular producer. We find there what makes the quintessence of the musi...
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  • Record producer Michael Fine reveals another side to himself in five lyrical quintets for wind and strings / Planet Hugill
    Posted At: March 18, 2020 12:00 AM

    Michael Fine is perhaps best known as a recording producer, having worked with many major classical labels in the last thirty or so years, but he has another side. On this disc, Five of Five, from Evidence Classics we hear a selection of Fine's recent chamber music compositions (all written since 2013). All are quintets for wind instrument plus strings, with works for bassoon, cor anglais, clarinet, ...
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  • Michael Fine - Five For Five is the WFMT: Featured new Release
    Posted At: March 17, 2020 12:00 AM

    Evidence Classics releases their second album of Michael Fine's music: "Five for Five: Quintets for Winds and String Quartet." The recording was made following performances at Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo, California, with musicians from leading musical organizations, including the Metropolitan Opera, Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Atlanta Symphony. Fine says, "As a clarinet player, ...
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  • Michael Fine - Five For Five is the KDFC: Download of the Week
    Posted At: March 4, 2020 12:00 AM

    Michael Fine's 'Five for Five' – Five Quintets for five woodwind soloists and string quartet, on Evidence Classics was recorded following performances at Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo with musicians from leading musical organisations including the Metropolitan Opera, Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Atlanta Symphony among others. These are all world premiere recordings...
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  • Michael Fine - Five For Five is the KUSC: Download of the Week
    Posted At: March 4, 2020 12:00 AM

    Michael Fine's 'Five for Five' – Five Quintets for five woodwind soloists and string quartet, on Evidence Classics was recorded following performances at Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo with musicians from leading musical organisations including the Metropolitan Opera, Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Atlanta Symphony among others. These are all world premiere recordings...
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  • Michael Fine - Five For Five makes PublicRadio90 - Genre Fluid Fridays
    Posted At: February 7, 2020 12:00 AM

    Genre Fluid Fridays on Classiclectic: Music exploration and discovery through the lens of classically-minded composers and musicians.  Explore beyond the horizon of classical music, Fridays on Public Radio 90, beginning just after 9:30am ET. Paris based Evidence Classics release their second recording of Michael Fine's music: Five for Five – Five Quintets for five woodwind soloists and...
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  • Michael Fine's 'Chamber Symphony' has world premiere at Colorado College Summer Music Festival / Colorado Springs Gazette
    Posted At: June 20, 2019 12:00 AM

    Radar on. Six incoming entities detected. Alert! It's the annual contemporary chamber-music program in Packard Hall at the Colorado College Summer Music Festival. In a classical-musical world dominated by DWEMCs (Dead White European Male Composers), this concert's compositions were penned by five composers who are alive and thriving. The prevailing sentiment is that such a concert wouldn't be of ...
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  • Orchestra soars in Michael Fine premiere and Philip Mann farewell / Arkansas Democrat & Gazette
    Posted At: May 5, 2019 12:00 AM

    Maestro Philip Mann's nine-year tenure as music director and conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra ends this weekend with a spectacular program at Little Rock's Robinson Center. Opening with a world-premiere composition, the sixth and final concert of the season looks forward to the ASO's future artistic growth, nurtured by Mann, and offers through a well-loved composer a link to the m...
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  • For final Philip Mann concert, the ASO is set to perform, world premiere of Michael Fine's 'Concerto for Oboe Section' / Arkansas Democrat & Gazette
    Posted At: April 26, 2019 12:00 AM

    The scores of composer Michael Fine are born from his improvisations on the piano and are nourished by his travels and his readings: his music derives from a poetic imagination and carries therefore lots of visual evocations. A sound immersion all the more successful due to the fact that Michael Fine is also a Grammy winning producer for his expertise in sound recording. What's more, as himself a per...
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  • World premiere of Michael Fine's 'Triple Concerto for Oboe Section' set with ASO / 89.1KUAR Q&A's
    Posted At: April 16, 2019 12:00 AM

    Michael Fine is renowned the world over for his compositions, inspired by his fierce love of nature. But he makes his living as one of the top producers of classical music recordings in the world. A clarinetist himself, Fine was commissioned by Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Music Director Philip Mann to write a "rather unusual" Triple Concerto for Oboe section. Fine and Mann will debut the piece on May 4 a...
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  • Fine Finding Home on HPR's Classical Pacific
    Posted At: March 13, 2019 12:00 AM

    Today on Classical Pacific, musical works identified with nicknames or memorable titles. Sometimes the title identifies the intent of the composer, and/or is named by the composer. Sometimes the work gains a nickname that the composer had nothing to do with. From Jokes to Raindrops to Spinning, the possibilities are endless. I may include a small quiz! From the scores of composer Michael Fine - '...
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  • Cicerone interviews Grammy Award winning producer Michael Fine
    Posted At: February 25, 2019 12:00 AM

    Michael Fine is widely acknowledged as one of the top producers of classical music recordings in the world and holds a Grammy Award for Classical Producer of the Year. He has numerous best sellers to his credit including Gold and Platinum recordings in several countries. Additionally, he has been artistic manager of orchestras including the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France...
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  • Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Director Phillip Mann moderates a wide-reaching discussion with seven-time Grammy Award winner; Michael Fine
    Posted At: February 7, 2019 12:00 AM

    Widely acknowledged as one of the top classical recording producers in the world, seven-time Grammy Award winner and Classical Producer of the Year, Michael Fine has held the post of Vice President of Artists & Repertoire at Deutsche Grammophon – the first American to hold the post of Artistic Director in its hundred-year history. Highlights of Fine's producing career include work wit...
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  • Michael Fine Seasons is the WFMT: Featured New Release
    Posted At: January 31, 2019 12:00 AM

    Grammy Award winner Michael Fine is widely acknowledged as one of the top classical producers in the world. In addition to recording production, he has been active in artistic planning for orchestras and was the first American to hold the post of Artistic Director at the Deutsche Grammophon label. Fine began composing in 2013. His scores are born from his improvisations on the piano and are nourished by ...
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