Tag: Piano

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Leaf Music and Fierbois Duo Present Sing to Me Again

(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music and Fierbois announce the release of a new recording Sing To Me Again, being released on January 10, including a live performance at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights at 7:30 p.m.

Sing to Me Again (LM286)presents re-imagined works from Eastern Europe, with a unique blend of traditional folk influences, rich melodies, and the dark, powerful sound of Caitlin Broms-Jacobs’ oboe, paired with the warm and rich resonance of Madeline Hildebrand’s piano.

Two of Winnipeg’s finest musicians, the duo styles themselves after the Joan of Arc’s sword (Fierbois). Fierbois means “proud wood” in Old French (a nod to the piano and oboe;) an iconic strong woman, Joan of Arc never used the sword to inflict harm, only to inspire. Fierbois’s first album features passionate and unusual repertoire sourced by the musicians, representing silenced voices of the 20th century, underplayed composers or those whose voices have been restricted in artistic expression. The works of Gayane Chebotaryan, Fikret Amirov and Holocaust victim Pavel Hass are joined by art songs by youthful Czech composer Vitezslava Kapralova (1915-1940), and lyrical works reflecting the album’s title by Mikhail Glinka, Canadian Srul Irving Glick and Georgi Zlatev-Cherkin.

Known for their joyful and electrifying performances, pianist Madeline Hildebrand and oboist Caitlin Broms-Jacobs have been friends and musical collaborators since 2014 when they first performed together on Winnipeg’s prestigious Millennium Recital Series. Caitlin is the principal oboist of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and has frequently performed as guest principal oboist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Madeline has recently performed with Philip Glass and the Kronos Quartet and currently teaches at Brandon University and the Canadian Mennonite University. Fierbois will tour Western Canada with Prairie Debut in the 2025-26 season; learn more here: https://www.caitlinbromsjacobs.com/fierbois

The new album was produced with the support of the Winnipeg Arts Council, Manitoba Film and Music, The Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, FACTOR and numerous individual donors. It was recorded at the Lorne Watson Recital Hall, Brandon University, in December of 2023. Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada.

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MEDIA CONTACT: 

For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt,  peggy@leaf-music.ca 

(902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).

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New Single from Caitlin Broms-Jacobs and Madeline Hildebrand

(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music releases a new single by oboist Caitlin Broms-Jacobs and pianist Madeline Hildebrand, titled 6 Pieces for Flute and Piano: VI. Nocturne (Version for Oboe & Piano) by Fikret Amirov.  

Like Armirov’s other compositions, the Nocturne is imbued with traditional Azeri elements: melodies, harmonies, and ornamentations, but its magic defies categorization. Although Amirov’s name is nearly unknown in the West, he was one of Azerbaijan’s most esteemed cultural figures. He was a prolific and highly significant composer who wrote numerous large-scale symphonic works, operas, ballets, and chamber music.  

The duo, Fierbois, takes after the name of the sword of Joan of Arc. An iconic strong woman, she never used the sword to inflict harm, only to inspire. Fierbois means “proud wood” in Old French. 

Caitlin and Madeline’s upcoming album debut, Sing to Me Again, will be released on January 10. The album explores and reimagines music from Eastern European countries for oboe and piano. It results from a decade of discovery, growth, and artistic partnership between the two musicians. 

The debut album gets its launch in Winnipeg at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on Friday, January 10, 2025, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM CST. Click here for tickets and more information. 

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MEDIA CONTACT: 

For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt

peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).

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Leaf Music Distributes New Fortepiano and Wind Instruments Album from Anders Muskens

(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music announces the distribution of a new recording from early music specialist Anders Muskens, being released on November 29.  

“Der meint’es treu!” Music for Fortepiano & Winds from the Biedermeier Salon: Mendelssohn, Schubert, Hummel & R. Schumann features compositions associated with German Romanticism (1815-1848), which were often performed in domestic settings. Muskens performs on an original German square pianoforte made by Johann Gottlieb Irmler in Leipzig c. 1823, paired with historical wind instruments. The album is presented by musicians from Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester Kamermusici, including Anders Muskens on fortepiano, Elia Celegato on historical clarinet, and Florencia Gomez on historical flute. 

During the Biedermeier period, social life often revolved around the salon, intimate gatherings typically hosted by women in their homes, where intellectuals, artists, and musicians engaged in discussions, performances, and the exchange of ideas. The famous Schubertiade, named after the composer Franz Schubert, was a more specialized form of salon, dedicated to music and Schubert’s compositions. The German square piano was a popular fixture in homes of the time and was ideal for the smaller living spaces typical of the Biedermeier era. 

Listen to “Der meint’es treu!” Music for Fortepiano & Winds from the Biedermeier Salon: https://leaf-music.lnk.to/am242

Prolific early music specialist Anders Muskens has had other recordings distributed by Leaf, including Beethoven: Waldstein & Appassionata Sonatas and Army of Generals Volume 11: Carl Theodor’s Court Orchestra in Mannheim 1742-1778. Muskens is a Canadian early keyboard specialist and ensemble director, who performs throughout North America and Europe. He completed a Masters in Fortepiano at the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague under Dr. Bart van Oort and Petra Somlai, with Fabio Bonizzoni and Patrick Ayrton for harpsichord. He is represented as a performer by the Sonus Agency for Early Music and is the founder of the ensemble Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester, an international initiative to revive the music of the Mannheim School in the second half of the eighteenth century.  

The new album was produced with the generous support of the Adriana Jacoba Fonds and the Sena Performing Artist Fund, and was recorded at the Lutherse Kerk Delft, May – June 2021. 

Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada. 

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MEDIA CONTACT: 

For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt

peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).

Classical Winds Playlist

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Leaf Music Distributes New Beethoven Album from Anders Muskens

(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music announces the distribution of a new recording from early music specialist Anders Muskens, being released on October 25. Beethoven: The Forgotten Concerto for Pianoforte, Op. 61a offers a fresh interpretation on period instruments of this seldom-heard piano transcription of the famed composer’s own Violin Concerto Op. 61, completed during 1807. Muskens performs the solo on an original fortepiano by John Broadwood & Sons in London c. 1806, restored by Paul Kobald in Amsterdam in 2022.  He is accompanied by the ensemble Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester, jointly led by Muskens and Australian/British concertmaster Rachael Beesley.

Prolific early music specialist Anders Muskens has had other recordings distributed by Leaf, including Beethoven: Waldstein & Appassionata Sonatas and Army of Generals Volume 11: Carl Theodor’s Court Orchestra in Mannheim 1742-1778. Muskens is a Canadian early keyboard specialist and ensemble director, who performs throughout North America and Europe. He completed a Masters in Fortepiano at the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague under Dr. Bart van Oort and Petra Somlai, with Fabio Bonizzoni and Patrick Ayrton for harpsichord. He is represented as a performer by the Sonus Agency for Early Music and is the founder of the ensemble Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester, an international initiative to revive the music of the Mannheim School in the second half of the eighteenth century.

The new album was produced with assistance from The Canada Council for the Arts, and was recorded at WestVest 90 in Schiedam, Netherlands, on February 5-6, 2024.

Listen to Beethoven: The Forgotten Concerto for Pianoforte, Op. 61a on your favourite plateform here: https://leaf-music.lnk.to/am241.

Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada.

We acknowledge that Leaf Music’s work spans many Territories and Treaty areas, and that our home is in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People.

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MEDIA CONTACT: 

For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt,  peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).

Concertos Playlist
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Leaf Music Distributes “Awake and Dreaming” with Katherine Dowling

(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music announces the distribution of a new digital release by pianist Katherine Dowling’s Awake and Dreaming (KD2024), featuring the music of Canadian composer, Alice Ping-Yee Ho.

Praised by the New York Times for her “crystalline performances, gestural expressiveness and careful attention to color,” pianist Katherine Dowling (katherinedowling.com) performs across North America and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician and can be heard on nearly a dozen outstanding recordings. Katherine has premiered over 25 works by young composers, and has worked with John Harbison, Louis Andriessen and Oliver Knussen, always playing from memory so that the music is fully internalized.

This new recording (digital only) includes works ranging from Alice Ping-Yee Ho’s earliest creations (1985) to recent commissions (2023), several recorded here for the first time. Listeners will be drawn in by fresh new sounds, the fusing of different cultural traditions, and the luminous virtuosity of the piano writing. The recording is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Listen to Awake and Dreaming on your favourite streaming platforms: leaf-music.lnk.to/kd2024

About Leaf Music:  Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada.

We acknowledge that Leaf Music’s work spans many Territories and Treaty areas, and that our home is in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People.

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MEDIA CONTACT: 

For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt,  peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).

Classical Piano Playlist
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Leaf Music and Noémie Raymond with Zhenni Li-Cohen Present Dialogues

(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music announces the launch of Dialogues (LM295), a new recording by cellist Noémie Raymond and pianist Zhenni Li-Cohen, available September 20 in digital and physical format. Dialogues includes two major works, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s monumental Cello Sonata in G minor, Op, 19 from 1919, and Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata (Version for Cello and Piano) from 1901.

The album explores the duality between these two masterpieces, created by composers and virtuoso performers born thirteen years apart, who both emigrated to the United States. Despite their distinct styles, the works share a remarkable emotional depth and instrumental virtuosity. Dialogues is a true musical conversation linking two eras, two artistic visions, and two talented artists. The musicians add “a dialogue between you and us.”

Less well known than his orchestral works, Rachmaninoff’s Sonata (composed simultaneously as his famous Piano Concerto No. 2), marked his return to composition after a difficult period following the unfavourable reception of his First Symphony in 1897. Rebecca Clarke, a pioneer of “English impressionism,” wrote her Sonata three years after emigrating to the US, where she experienced an artistic rebirth following a tormented childhood. Recalling works by Debussy and Ravel, the piece placed second in a prestigious competition for composers and today has emerged in its rightful place in the standard repertoire for viola.

The album launch will take place at the Piano Nobile at Place des Arts in Montreal on September 20th. A concert tour will follow, including the opening of the 24/25 season at Chapelle-Historique-du-Bon-Pasteur in Montreal on September 29 (2024), a recital at Carnegie Hall on March 20 (2025), a recital at the Bradshaw Amphitheater in Toronto on April 17 (2025) and a recital at the Berlin Philharmonic in autumn 2025.  

Get your CD copy of Dialogues or listen to it on your favourite streaming platform.    

Dialogues was recorded March 6-8, 2024, in Domaine Forget de Charlevoix, and produced by Jeremy Van Slyke for Leaf Music with sound recording by René Laflamme and editing, mixing, and mastering by Nathan Cann.

Noémie Raymond, critically acclaimed for her exceptional talent and deep, rich timbre, has collaborated with world-renowned artists such as Midori and Pinchas Zukerman. She debuted at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2016 and was recognized as one of CBC’s “30 Classical Musicians Under 30” in 2018.

Steinway & Sons artist Zhenni Li-Cohen is praised for her captivating playing and recordings of rare works. She will soon perform with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, and the National Orchestra of the Dominican Republic.

About Leaf Music:  Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada.

We acknowledge that Leaf Music’s work spans many Territories and Treaty areas, and that our home is in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People.

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MEDIA CONTACT: 

For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt,  peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).

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Leaf Music Celebrates 3 Nominations for  Music Nova Scotia Awards

(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS)  Leaf Music is thrilled to announce that its releases received three nominations at the prestigious Music Nova Scotia Music & Industry Awards. Leading the nominations are two remarkable albums from our label: Catharsis by David Potvin and Zombie Blizzard by Measha Brueggergosman-Lee, both recognized in the Classical Recording of the Year category. Additionally, Defiant Dances by Symphony Nova Scotia, a release under Leaf Music Distribution, has also received a nomination in the same category. Congratulations!
We are equally proud to acknowledge the exceptional work of Cassie Mann, Leaf Music’s video & marketing associate, nominated for Musician of the Year, and Brad Reid, Leaf Music’s digital marketing coordinator, whose album The Bridge has been nominated for Traditional Recording of the Year. Their contributions to our team and the broader Nova Scotia music community have been invaluable.

As we anticipate the Music Nova Scotia Awards in November, Leaf Music is dedicated to supporting and celebrating the creativity of Nova Scotia’s classical recording artists, composers and industry in our region. We’re honoured to work with these nominated artists, among many others, who are passionate and dedicated to their craft.
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Leaf Music Brings Dolby Atmos Experience to Top Albums

(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music is thrilled to announce that two of its best-performing albums, Beethoven: Complete Music for Cello & Piano by Robert deMaine & Peter Takacs and Rock Echoes by Kristan Toczko (HarpistKT), are now available in Dolby Atmos, exclusively on Apple Music and Apple Music Classical. This innovative project has been made possible thanks to the generous support from Apple Music, enabling Leaf Music to elevate these remarkable albums with Spatial Audio technology. Expertly mixed by John D.S. Adams from Stonehouse Sound for Beethoven: Complete Music for Cello & Piano and Jeremy VanSlyke and Ally Cribb from Leaf Music for Rock Echoes, these albums offer an immersive listening experience.

Since its release on July 8, 2022, Beethoven: Complete Music for Cello & Piano has garnered an impressive 1.8 million streams. Rock Echoes, released on February 16, 2024, has already achieved an astounding 2.5 million streams. Listen to both albums now on Apple Music or Apple Music Classical, bringing every note and subtlety to life like never before. Learn how to enable Spatial Audio on your device here.

Robert deMaine is the Principal Cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and sought-after solo artist and chamber musician. His solo repertoire includes concertos by Haydn, Dvorak, Elgar and Penderecki. And as a recitalist, he is known for magnificent interpretations of J.S. Bach’s cello suites. A first-prize winner in many national and international competitions, deMaine was the first cellist ever to win the grand prize at San Francisco’s prestigious Irving M. Klein International Competition for Strings. He is an exclusive Thomastik-Infeld artist, and performs on a cello made in 1684 by Antonio Stradivari.

Romanian-born Peter Takács has performed widely, receiving critical and audience acclaim for his penetrating interpretations. Takács has performed as a guest soloist with major orchestras in the U.S. and abroad, as well as at important summer festivals such as Tanglewood, Music Mountain, Chautauqua Institution, and Sweden’s Helsingborg Festival. Since 2008 he has been a member of the faculty at the Montecito Summer Music Festival in Santa Barbara, California. He performed and recorded the cycle of 32 Beethoven piano sonatas to critical acclaim in 2011.

Kristan Toczko’s innovative videos have been enjoyed by hundreds of millions since she joined TikTok in 2020. Born in Moncton, she received her BMus from McGill University and her master’s at Yale, winning major competitions at both universities. Kristan also won the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Competition and the CBC’s Young Artist award. Kristan discovered the virtual world of performance from her home studio in St. John’s during Covid, when her busy freelance career – playing concerts, travelling, and appearing with major Canadian orchestras and ensembles – came crashing down. She now records a harp-related video a day, including teaching videos and song covers; her arrangement of Nothing Else Matters caught the attention of Metallica, who included her performance in the band’s 40th-anniversary concert in San Francisco. Join Kristan’s fans at @harpistkt on TikTok (where she has 2.6 million followers), Facebook (318K), YouTube (399K), and Instagram (572K).

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Leaf Music Distributes Nerve with Ian Foster

(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music announces the distribution of a new digital recording, Nerve (IF10) with genre-defying composer/performer Ian Foster.  

Nerve takes us into the evocative world of contemporary classical crossover, featuring an intricate blend of piano, strings, and electronic textures. Ian Foster is a seasoned songwriter, film composer and music producer, and the album combines prepared pianos and strings with synthesizers, drum loops and a range of electronic instruments evocative of contemporary film scores and even contemporary ambient music. Intimate piano pieces and lush electronic atmospherics are presented in Nerve by this Music NL and ECMA winner, who continues to evolve and defy genres (visit ianfoster.ca to learn more). Thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts and Music NL for their support of this project, which was recorded in various venues in St. John’s.  

Listen to Nerve wherever you stream your music: https://leaf-music.lnk.to/if10

Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada.

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MEDIA CONTACT: 

For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt,  peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).

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Leaf Music Distributes Light & Dark with Catherine Little & Greg Myra

(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music announces the distribution of a new digital recording, Light & Dark (CG2024) with cellist Catherine Little and pianist Greg Myra.

Light & Dark is an impassioned and energetic interpretation of historic music for modern listeners. Cellist Catherine Little and pianist Gregory Myra’s performance of Mendelssohn’s joyful D major and Shostakovich’s angsty D minor cello sonatas is a storytelling of the wonder and adversities of life. The album is a follow-up to the duo’s 2021 release, Taking Five, which won the 2022 Nova Scotia Music Award for Classical Album of the Year, and was praised by La Scena magazine for “…eloquently balancing graceful repetition and magical moments.” Visit catherlinelittle.com to learn more. 

Listen to Light & Dark wherever you stream your music: https://leaf-music.lnk.to/cg2024

Listen to Taking Five on your favourite streaming platform: https://leaf-music.lnk.to/CL2021b

Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada.

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MEDIA CONTACT: 

For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt,  peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).