Today Odradek Records turns 1 year old! What have we achieved in the past year?
15 artists from 9 different countries.
6 CDs to market, 7 more slated for this year.
Dozens of glowing reviews.
1 BBC Music Magazine Award.
30 concerts across Italy last year.
90 scheduled across Italy and Spain for this fall.
But above all, proof that there is merit to our idea – a truly independent label by artists, for artists.
Video of MeiYi Foo receiving the BBC Music Magazine’s “Newcomer of the Year” award at King’s Place, London, with introduction of Dai Fujikura and Mei Yi’s performances of works from the winning album, Musical Toys.
Geoff Brown of the Times had this to say about Mei Yi’s BBC award winning album, Musical Toys:
Immediately we were her devoted fans… Liberating, that’s what this CD is, as well as a joy for ever.
Mei Yi performed her a selection of Musical Toys, including works from her album interspersed with works of Dai Fujikura and Helmut Lachenmann, to a wildly enthusiastic audience on April 17. The concert was reviewed by noted musicologist, author, and critic David Nice at the ArtsDesk:
I doubt if there are many other pianists in the world who would dare the entire sequence [of Chin's etudes] live. But Foo… negotiated them all without breaking a sweat. Her modesty is endearing; her genius is now unquestionable.
I am thrilled to be receiving this award from the prestigious jury of the BBC Music Magazine. The award is important to me, not least for the invaluable endorsement of the Odradek Project which I am proud to be part of, but also for the immense encouragement to myself, one artist among thousands, to forge ahead playing and creating with fearless commitment.
©Kaupo Kikkas
If Odradek carries on at this level, it should have a few more award-winners on its hands.
Our first triple signing – welcoming Spanish pianist José Menor, Japanese pianist Aki Kuroda, and our first non-pianist and also by far the youngest addition to our roster, Russian violin virtuoso Yury Revich. We expect their CDs to be released in early fall, and will feature the following programs:
José Menor – Spanish Piano Music of Soler, Mompou, Montsalvatge, Albéniz, Granados, and Hector Parra.
Aki Kuroda – 20th Century Piano Transcriptions including Schoenberg Kammersymphonie No. 1, Stravinsky-Agosti “Firebird”, and Debussy “Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune”
Yury Revich – “Steps through Centuries” including works of Biber, Pergolesi, Mozart, Debussy, Prokofiev, Kreisler, Williams, Christopher Caliendo, Wen Liu, and Benjamin Rota.
A hearty congratulations to our new members!
Odradek Records announces a new partnership with the UK distribution company, ProperNote. Odradek joins the small but illustrious family of classical labels they represent to UK markets, including ECM, Avie, Telarc, Arts Music, Challenge Classics, Simax, and Naive classique. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership. A special thanks to Mr Eddie Wilkinson and Mr David Fraser.
German radio station RBB (Kulturradio) broadcast Mei Yi’s live concert from Berlin, featuring George Benjamin (Piano Figures), Dai Fujikura (sec sec, ayatori, Deepened Arc, Frozen Heat) and Unsuk Chin (Piano Etudes), as well as offering Sofia Gubaidulina’s Musical Toys from her album.
Originally broadcast March 6 2013 from 21.00-22.00 CET. Music list available here.
Listen here:
Project Odradek listed among International Piano Magazine’s top picks for 2013 Festivals – over 100 events are being organized for our roster members, across Italy and Spain, for this fall. Stay tuned for more…
On February 26 Spanish Radio Clásica RNE “Album de Discos” was dedicated to Javier Negrín’s disc of the Scriabin Travel Preludes – listen here!
