Sir Richard's lovingly crafted canvas from which the performers extract full measure. First & foremost - beautiful, touching music. There is a plaintive quality throughout, a wistful murmur that throbs right below(or is it above?) the surface.

1 MP3 Songs in this album (7:36) !
Related styles: Classical: Chamber Music, Classical: Sonata, Type: Instrumental

People who are interested in Gervase De Peyer Richard Rodney Bennett Richard Stoltzman should consider this download.


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The playing is excellent; wonderfully wide coloristic & dynamic range. A convincing interpretation of the piece. The piano has a rich, warm tone. Great playing. TAXI

Sir Richard's lovingly crafted canvas from which the performers extract full measure. First & foremost - beautiful, touching music. There is a plaintive quality throughout, a wistful murmur that throbs right below (or is it above?) the surface. KC

Ballad in Memory of Shirley Horn
World Premier Recording.
Composed in 2005 in memory of Shirley Horn.

"Shirley was one of the musicians I admired most, over many years, and a good friend." Richard Rodney Bennett

Among present-day musicians, there can be few more versatile than SIR RICHARD RODNEY BENNETT: composing for concerts and films; playing the piano in contemporary music and in jazz idioms; singing and playing classic show tunes in cabaret. Bennett was born in 1936 into a musical family and began composing as a child. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Howard Ferguson and Lennox Berkeley. He attended the Darmstadt summer music courses and spent two years in Paris as a student of Pierre Boulez. Bennett taught at the Peabody Institute and was the Chair of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music.

As one of Britainâs most respected and versatile musicians, Sir Richard has produced over two hundred works for the concert hall, concertos for almost every instrument, song-cycles, instrumental solos and fifty scores for film and television, as well as having been a writer and performer of jazz songs. Early on, he found success by writing music for feature films and television; among his scores are three which were nominated for an Academy Award: Far From the Madding Crowd (1967), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), Murder on the Orient Express (1974). His cello concerto, Reflections on a Scottish Folk Song, was written at the request of HRH The Prince of Wales in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. He was awarded the Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in 1998.

SHIRLEY VALERIE HORN (May 1, 1934 â October 20, 2005) was a master vocalist and jazz pianist. Ms. Horn collaborated with her good friend Richard Rodney Bennett and with many jazz greats including Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. Horn was nominated for nine Grammy Awards during her career, winning in 1999 for Jazz Vocal Album. She was officially recognized by the U. S. Congress for "her many achievements and contributions to the world of jazz and American culture" and performed at The White House for several U.S. presidents.


Clarinetist THOMAS PIERCY is a critically acclaimed musician with orchestral, concerto, solo recital and chamber music appearances throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. His performances have been described by critics as "passionate," "pulling out all the stops," and âthe best Piazzolla in NYC,â and by the New York Times as âbrilliant,â âplaying with refinement and flairâ and âevoking a panache in the contemporary works.â Mr. Piercy performs varied concerts of standard classical music, jazz-inspired programs, contemporary works, pieces written specifically for him and his own original arrangements, compositions and collaborations. He performs and records on rare English-bore rosewood clarinets made for him by Luis Rossi of Santiago, Chile. He studied at the Juilliard School and Mannes College of Music in NYC in addition to Shenandoah Conservatory and Virginia Commonwealth University. He studied extensively with the English clarinetist Gervase De Peyer; additional studies were with Stephen Johnston, Kalmen Opperman and Leon Russianoff.

Mr. Piercy has performed at many of the worldâs acclaimed concert halls including Carnegie Hall (NY, NY), Lincoln Center (NY, NY), the Kennedy Center (Washington, DC.), Centre Pompidou (Paris, France), Wigmore Hall (London, England), Accademia di Santa Cecilia (Rome, Italy) and Parthenon (Tokyo, Japan). A frequent performer of new music, Piercy has premiered numerous compositions, many of them written for him. Pulitzer Prize winner and Grammy Award-winning composer Ned Rorem wrote his only clarinet and piano piece, "Four Colors," for Mr. Piercy; the work had its premiere at a concert celebration for Mr. Rorem at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Piercy has recorded many of Roremâs chamber works featuring the clarinet.

A versatile artist defying categorization - the clarinetist on the Emmy Award-winning Juno Baby CDs and DVDs; performing Mozart with mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade; playing Broadway songs with Raoul Julia; working with the composer Leonard Bernstein; appearing in a KRS-ONE rap music video; performing concert improvisations with pianist Donal Fox; recording with members of Maroon 5 - as an instrumentalist, singer, director/music director/conductor and actor, he has performed and recorded for Broadway and Off-Broadway, commercial recordings, television, radio, videos, and movie soundtracks.

CLAUDINE HICKMAN, born and raised in New York City, began her piano study at an early age with her father, Thames Hickman, a student of Rosina Lhevinne at the Juilliard School. Claudine went on to study on full scholarship in the Honors Program at the Mannes College of Music Preparatory Division with Arkady Aronov, and was selected for special study of the music of J.S. Bach with Edward Aldwell. Ms. Hickman was awarded high honors and scholarships from the Mannes College of Music, Manhattan School of Music and The Julliard School and holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music.

Ms. Hickman's performances have been described by critics as "practically telepathic, emotionally rich", with "bright yet haunting precision" and "vivid, Brubeck-esque melodicism". She has performed as a chamber musician in the United States and in Europe, including the International Music Festival at Taos, NM, La Jolla, CA and Bolzano, Italy. Her passion for the music of Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla has led to her frequent collaboration with clarinetist Thomas Piercy and Argentinian bassist and Latin Grammy nominee Pablo Aslan, premiering many of Piercy's arrangements of Piazzolla's music.

As a duo, Piercy and Hickman have worked with and premiered works and arrangements by such composers as Ned Rorem, Donal Fox, Yohei Kurihara, Joe Hisaishi and Richard Rodney Bennett. Mr. Bennett was very helpful to their preparation for this world premier recording of "Ballad in Memory of Shirley Horn."

____________________________________________________________________________
World Premier Recording. Recorded and mastered at MacIntyre Music by Reed Robins.
NY, NY August 25, 2010 www.macintyremusic.com

Cover/booklet design: Junya Kurita, Thomas Piercy.
Producer: Thomas Piercy

Clarinet: Rossi Bb English-bore Rosewood.
Mouthpiece: Lelandais/Holdsworth-1010. Reeds: Handmade. Ligature: String.
Piano: 1917 Steinway 7-foot grand.

Microphones: Clarinet - double miced: Neumann - TLM103 and U87.
Piano: Neumann - KM-184's (Matched pair).

Microphone Preamp: Millennia Media - HD-V3. (used for all mics). Audio Interface: MOTU - 828 MK3. Computer: Apple MacIntosh - MAC Pro 4 core 2.66 GHZ machine, 9 GB RAM, Seagate hard drives. Software: DAW: MOTU - Digital Performer (7.21). Plug ins: Audioease - Altiverb 6; PSP - VintageWarmer 2; PSP Xenon mastering limiter. Final CD submaster prep: Bias Inc. - Peak 6. Monitoring: ADAM Professional Audio - System 1-10 speakers; Mackie - Big Knob Studio Control Center. Control Surface: Mackie - MCU and 2 extenders.

Tonada Productions NY, NY www.TonadaProductions.com