Bryce Dessner has announced his official partnership with Sony Music Masterworks, which will see the guitarist and member of The National’s classical compositions released via Sony Classical. Meanwhile, the artist’s soundtracks will be a part of sister label Milan Records to gain ultimate creative control over his deliverables.
Functioning as his Sony Classical debut, Dessner will drop Solos on August 23, 2024, a sequence of unaccompanied instrumental works written by the composer over the past years. The collection taps into both the musician’s genre and soundtrack tendencies, accentuated by acclaimed collaborations, cellist Anastasia Kobekina, violinist Pekka Kuusisto, pianist Katia Labèque, harpist Lavinia Meijer, violist Nadia Sirota, and percussionist Colin Currie.
“Writing a solo piece for me is always a great challenge and joy, as you have all the personality and talent of the player plus the physicality and resonance of the solo instrument, a bit like a Shakespearean monologue. These solo pieces for violin, viola, cello, harp, percussion, guitar and piano represent many years of my compositional process,” revealed Dessner via press release.
He continued, “When I began composing, I mainly wrote solo pieces for myself to play and I have always loved unaccompanied instrumental music – including the solo Bach lute and cello suites and the Renaissance lute fantasies of John Dowland, which I used to play myself on the classical guitar. These pieces of mine are often written like poems, where the musical language itself dictates the form and evolution of the piece, and were often opportunities for me to explore more deeply my relationship to the instruments they were composed for.”
Concluding, “They also represent in each case close collaborative relationships and friendships I have been very lucky to develop with the incredible musicians who play them. Katia, Pekka, Anastasia, Nadia, Lavinia and Colin are all exceptional artists who brought so much of their amazing talent to these recordings.”
As a preview of the Solos set, Dessner shared “Lullaby for Jacques et Brune,” a piano-driven lullaby the prolific composer generated for his godchildren. Listen below.
Pre-order Solos.
Solos Tracklist
1. Lullaby for Jacques et Brune 2:26
Katia Labèque piano
2. Francis 2:19
Bryce Dessner guitar
3. Tuusula 11:24
Anastasia Kobekina cello
4. Song for Octave 3:42
Katia Labèque piano
5. Tromp Miniature 6:59
Colin Currie percussion
6. Ornament and Crime I 4:16
7. Ornament and Crime II 2:14
8. Ornament and Crime III 6:28
Pekka Kuusisto violin
9. A Good Person 2:42
Katia Labèque piano
10. On a Wire 11:02
Lavinia Meijer harp
11. Walls 2:58
Bryce Dessner guitar
12. Delphica I 7:31
13. Delphica II 4:32
Nadia Sirota viola
14. Ornament III Piano 7:21
Katia Labèque piano
15. Song for Ainola 1:19
Anastasia Kobekina cello
No Comments comments associated with this post