Classical Music Magazine, “SFUMATO RECORDS: A LABEL WITHOUT BOUNDARIES” TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2024

Svetlana Andreeva (Piano) and Sergey Neller (Conductor) with the RSNO

I have always been fascinated by Leonardo da Vinci. He was the subject of my first operatic musical – presented at the Casino de Paris during its millennium festivities. Before Claudio Monteverdi in 1607(and well before Wagner), da Vinci had already achieved his gesamtkunstwerk (‘total art’). As well as her famously enigmatic smile and a gaze that follows the viewer around the gallery, the Mona Lisa’s hands evoke to me the ultimate mystery of the Florentine master. In da Vinci’s time, of course, the piano did not yet exist – but I wonder if the mythical pose of the Mona Lisa was already that of a pianist?

Although I am primarily a composer, I spent a delightful decade presenting my Parisian musicals, in all their aspects, from scenography, music, libretto, to production. After 800 performances frenetically marking stages across Europe, I now wanted to refocus on the meaning of my life: music. My privileged relationship with nature and its elements has a ubiquitous influence on my inspiration, and my librettos and four piano concertos, BLEU (2005), WILD (2012), LUX (2019), and AIR (2020) have been the essence of my artistic project to date.

The American conductor John Mauceri said: ‘A painting, you hang it on the wall and wait for the public to be interested, while music does not exist until it is played’. This intimate dynamic between imagination and artistic performance nurtures the blossoming of my musical creations. That is why, in 2022, I created Sfumato Records with my son Aylwin – also a composer and music publisher – to produce world premieres. The label aims to stand out in the landscape of contemporary music by offering productions that represent the dissolution of dogmatic boundaries, reintroducing freedom of thought and sharing. In the image of Sfumato, the atmospheric painting technique championed by da Vinci which uses gradual tonal modulations rather than lines to paint figures in contrast to a dark background, the label’s editorial approach is the erasure of the contours of musical language.

The world of music is undergoing a metamorphosis. New artists have direct access to a global audience via social networks and digital music platforms and so all communication with the public becomes important, right down to something as simple as the posting of artistic content to their fans.

“Peter Jablonski appears courtesy of Ondine Records. »

Young artists do not always have the perspective and relevance to craft the ideal image for their promotion (although some certainly do already have that talent). The experience of a senior artist leading a new label at full speed brings a different breadth from the standard of music industry teams. My partnership with 24-year-old Aylwin is particularly prolific in the exchange of artistic and marketing viewpoints, and we share the thrill of beautiful music and the scouting of young talents, emerging artists, and composers. We take our time to do our mixes and masters in our studio, The Village School. I am sensitive to the old-school analogue sound of vintage while combining today’s audio plugins – we live in an exciting audiovisual era of incredible technological mutation, the possibilities are enormous, and it is up to each one to create their identity.

My production vision is centred on a certain freedom given to performers at the heart of each project. For our latest album Back Home with the Moon, I presented Swedish pianist Peter Jablonski (pictured above) with a series of my preludes, ranging from the most virtuosic to the most refined, and let him develop his delicate personality around what inspired him the most. The concert pianist, endowed with unparalleled technique, opted for a minimalist concept (reflecting his inner peace) and, working in tandem with musicologist Anastasia Belina, selected filmed singles from the album. It seemed natural to me to give them unmediated decision-making on the direction of the project.

For the album AIR, I invited conductor Sergey Neller to give the Royal Scottish National Orchestra his personal ‘Mahlerian’ vision of the second movement of my Piano Concerto No. 4. This singular interpretation gives a unique atmospheric suspension to the score, corresponding to the moment I composed the theme, at the time my half-brother passed away, although I was unaware. Sergey suggested recording Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun following my symphonic poem DAWN, for its obvious dreamy parallel and the century that separates the two works.

By a chance encounter in January 2022, at the time Kremlin boots began their thunderous march to Ukraine, I set to music the peaceful communion of a rare couple of artists, Ukrainian pianist Svetlana Andreeva and her husband Sergey Neller, of German-Russian origin. Other adventures are already in motion; as Rachmaninov said, ‘Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music’.

Press

Utmisol, Magazine Culturel Toulousain, le 7 octobre 2024

REVUE CULTURELLE : LEXNEWS
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1999-2024

translation of the article into English:

“For the past few years, Christian Schittenhelm has mainly, if not exclusively, focused on symphonic poems (Alsatica and Bang in 2018) and piano concertos (Wild in 2012, Lux in 2019). This album confirms this trend, as it features two world premieres by the composer Christian SCHITTENHELM: the Piano Concerto No. 4 “AIR” and Dawn, a symphonic poem in a single movement, alongside Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune.

It is a challenge for any contemporary composer to appear on the same record as the master of French Impressionism. It’s difficult—not even mentioning trying to rival—just to hold up to comparison.

Yet, Christian Schittenhelm rises to this challenge brilliantly, as both his piano concerto and Dawn, with their airy, almost ethereal and very free nature, serve as a fitting counterpart to Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune. This recording feels like a blossoming of life, a constant rebirth, whether in the light arpeggios of the piano concerto or the magnificent communion between the flute and harp in Faune. It is a celebration of a musical ideal at the crossroads between Art and Nature. Schittenhelm’s music is both demanding and accessible: demanding in that it incorporates the sometimes complex legacy of the 20th century, accessible because the composer doesn’t shy away from any style, no matter how “popular” (one might think of his anthem for Paris 2000 or his musicals, which have toured Europe…). This duality is present in the works on this CD: the harmonies are of great finesse and may require a trained ear, but the brilliant orchestration and clear melodic lines temper the subtlety from the very first listen.

Accompanied by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Sergey Neller, Ukrainian pianist Svetlana Andreeva performs Piano Concerto No. 4 with great accuracy and contrast, breathing life into this album, which is a beautiful testament to the vibrancy of contemporary French composition.“

Romain Bastide

Bruno Chiron, BLA BLA BLOG

« Peter Jablonski, très classique, très jazz »

Bruno Chiron, BLA BLA BLOG

De l’Air

https://www.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/podcasts/en-pistes-contemporains/voyage-en-haiti-2008717

OPERATEATRO

Svetlana Andreeva interprets some piano pieces by the Alsatian composer

This meeting between two worlds, on the spark capable of inspiring but also of restoring, in an exchange that never ceases to ignite and fuel, an emotional heritage of refined significance. Synesthesia is the album of miniatures that Christian Schittenhelm entrusts to the piano of Svetlana Andreeva. A series of pages with a poetic and light flavour, frames imbued with a lyricism to listen to, those unraveled with grace and grace by the Ukrainian pianist, but also to retrace with thought, with memory, exactly like the film of a film which precisely in The last projection, the internal one, knows how to release its most intense flashes. Idyllic scenes, moments of life stolen from a glance at the window, games of unusual combinations, like the gray of never-picked cherries, the gust of a shattered toccata. At the center of listening – the only work that escaped the hermetic pen of the Alsatian composer, the Wild Piano Sonata, which rises like a monolith in the center of the landscape.

Svetlana Andreeva interprète quelques pièces pour piano du compositeur alsacien

Cette rencontre entre deux mondes est une étincelle capable d’inspirer mais aussi de restituer, dans un échange qui ne cesse d’enflammer et d’alimenter un héritage émotionnel d’une signification raffinée. Synesthesia est l’album de miniatures que Christian Schittenhelm confie au piano de Svetlana Andreeva. Une série de pages au goût poétique et léger, des trames empreintes d’un lyrisme à écouter, celles dépliées avec grâce et grâce à cette pianiste ukrainienne, mais aussi à retracer des pensées, une mémoire, exactement comme dans une dernière projection, une projection interne sachant déclencher ses éclairs les plus intenses. Scènes idylliques, instants de vie volés à un coup d’œil à la fenêtre, jeux de combinaisons insolites, comme le gris des cerises jamais cueillies, le souffle d’une toccata brisée. Au centre de l’écoute – la seule œuvre ayant échappé à la plume hermétique du compositeur alsacien, la Sonate pour piano sauvage, qui s’élève tel un monolithe au centre du paysage.

27/11/2023

ELIDE BERGAMASCHI