Kramer Durcan Duo

Performers

Notes on the performers

The Kramer Durcan Duo‘s partnership began on a Eurostar train to London in 2004, when Miriam and Nicholas were each returning from separate performances in Paris. Since then, they’ve given over 500 performances together, broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, WQXR (USA) and recorded an acclaimed disc of music by Szymanowski on the Naxos label, described by the American Record Guide as ‘a superlative recording’ . Their performances have taken them to Hong Kong, USA, the Middle East, New Zealand and across Europe. They are based in London, where they have given recitals for the London Chamber Music Series and Rothschild’s Classical Recital Series, and have performed at London’s South Bank, Wigmore Hall, St. John’s Smith Square and Kings Place. Future performances include recitals in South Africa, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Cincinnati and across Israel. They will also be releasing a new recording of their own arrangements of music by Gershwin and by popular demand, Volume 2, of Side by Side.

Miriam and Nicholas are known for their heartfelt and fiery performances, along with colourful programming, making them a firm favourite with audiences.

Miriam Kramer began studying the violin at age four,giving her first public performance at the age
of seven, with Mozart’s Concerto in G Major. Since then, her solo recitals and concerto performances have taken her round the world to such venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center (USA), Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, King’s Place, St.David’s Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall (UK), Vienna Konzerthaus and Thestre Champs Elysees (France).

Praised by Strad Magazine as a violinist of superior natural talent,an exceptionally sensitive interpreter and a phrase maker of uncommon expressivity’ and by the NY Times as a ‘ soulful and virtuosic performer’, Miriam had also received critical acclaim for her 6 CDs, including Editor’s Choice for her recording of the violin music of Ernest Bloch, from Gramophone Magazine who has said ‘’Kramer’s playing could hardly be more heartfelt. Scanning the catalogue for rivals, her musicianship is irresistible.’’ This disc has been listed in the 2017 guide -1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear -compiled by Matthew Rye and Steven Isserlis. Miriam had also been included in David Milson’s book, A-Z of String Players, 300 Great String Players. Alongside her performing and recording schedule, Miriam maintains a busy private teaching practice and is regularly invited to give masterclasses at the Darlington Festival and for the Benslow Music Trust. She champions the music of new composers and her latest project, a
recording of Elegy, by British composer Andrew Pearce,with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, has led to invitations from other composers in France, Belgium and the USA, to record and perform their music. Miriam has broadcast on Classic FM,BBC Radio 3 and international radio, as well as on BBC television in a tribute to Yehudi Menuhin.

Programme

Programme notes

Astor Piazzolla

Libertango

Libertango is a composition by tango composer and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla, recorded and published in 1974 in Milan. The title is a portmanteau merging “Libertad” (Spanish for “liberty”) and “tango”, symbolizing Piazzolla’s break from classical tango to tango nuevo.

Source: Wikipedia

Astor Piazzolla

Oblivion

Source: Wikipedia

Robert Schumann

Fantasiestucke, Op.73

1. Zart und mit Ausdruck (Tender and with expression)
2. Lebhaft, leicht (Lively, light)
3. Rasch und mit Feuer (Quick and with fire)

Robert Schumann wrote the pieces over just two days in February 1849, and originally entitled them “Soirée Pieces” before settling on the title Fantasiestücke. The title is one Schumann was fond of, since he used it in several works. This poetic title promotes the fundamental Romantic notion that creative expression is the product of the artist’s unrestricted imagination. In addition, the connotations of “fantasy” justify the sudden mood changes.

Source: Wikipedia

Camille Saint-Saëns

Fantasie on Carnival of the Animals (arr. Kramer Durcan)

1. Introduction et marche royale du lion (Introduction and Royal March of the Lion)
2. Poules et coqs (Hens and Roosters)
3. Hémiones (animaux véloces) (Wild Asses (Swift Animals))
4. Tortues (Tortoises)
5. L’Éléphant (The Elephant)
6. Kangourous (Kangaroos)
7. Aquarium
8. Personnages à longues oreilles (Characters with Long Ears)
9. Le Coucou au fond des bois (The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods)
10. Volière (Aviary)
11. Pianistes (Pianists)
12. Fossiles (Fossils)
13. Le cygne (The Swan)
14. Final (Finale)

The Carnival of the Animals is a humorous musical suite of 14 movements, including “The Swan”, by the French composer Saint-Saëns. It was written for private performance by two pianos and chamber ensemble; Saint-Saëns prohibited public performance of the work during his lifetime, feeling that its frivolity would damage his standing as a serious composer. The suite was published in 1922, the year after his death. A public performance in the same year was greeted with enthusiasm, and it has remained among his most popular.

Source: Wikipedia

Sergei Rachmaninov

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 (arr. Kramer Durcan)

1. Adagio Sostenuto

The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, is a concerto for piano and orchestra composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between June 1900 and April 1901. The piece established his fame as a concerto composer and is one of his most enduringly popular pieces. This is movement 2 from the concerto.

Source: Wikipedia

George Gershwin

Fantasia on an American in Paris (arr. Kramer Durcan)

An American in Paris is a jazz-influenced symphonic poem (or tone poem) for orchestra by American composer George Gershwin first performed in 1928. It was inspired by the time that Gershwin had spent in Paris and evokes the sights and energy of the French capital during the Années folles.

Source: Wikipedia