Ravel & Bizet: Orchestral Works Uta Weyand, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie & Yves Abel

• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83 (Version for Piano & Orchestra):
• 1 Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83 (Version for Piano & Orchestra): I. Allegramente 08:49
• 2 Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83 (Version for Piano & Orchestra): II. Adagio assai 09:06
• 3 Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83 (Version for Piano & Orchestra): III. Presto 04:16
• Maurice Ravel:
• 4 Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 19 (Version for Orchestra) 06:34
• Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875): Symphony in C Major, WB 33:
• 5 Bizet: Symphony in C Major, WB 33: I. Allegro vivo 09:48
• 6 Bizet: Symphony in C Major, WB 33: II. Adagio assai 09:21
• 7 Bizet: Symphony in C Major, WB 33: III. Allegro vivace 05:43
• 8 Bizet: Symphony in C Major, WB 33: IV. Allegro vivace 06:33
• Total Runtime 01:00:10

Info for Ravel & Bizet: Orchestral Works

It is not often that one is lucky enough to directly observe the creation of unique beauty, perfect craftsmanship, absolute passion and profound dedication. I recently had the wonderful opportunity to experience these with the creation of “Lexposure”, in Cologne at the end of August 2020. This took place in the legendary, state-of-the-art “Riverside Studios”, under the auspices of the producer Ralf Kemper, who actively and artistically directed the entire technical recording at the mixing desk. Thus it came about that the best technology and the best musical skills came together here at one of the most high profile studio locations in the world. With ingenious talents on all of these different levels, it was inevitable that something uniquely beautiful was created. This production was led by the well known Dutch bandleader, pianist, arranger & composer Lex Jasper, and his trio features Vincent Koning on guitar and Frans van Geest on bass. All are masterful veteran musicians in their own right, and complement. So well captured here in this recording, we find a very successful, high-end production of harmonically and melodically beautiful arrangements...Ballads, Bossa Nova and groovy, swinging arrangements of 15 original compositions, which all come together here to form a beautiful “high work of art.” Jasper’s compositions and arrangements all have their own musical horizon, their own claim to timeless beauty and the guarantee and claim to taste and brilliance. You hear it in every note. Its unique sound belongs entirely to him. It runs like a red thread through all of the compositions and arrangements.

Uta Weyand, piano
Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie
Yves Abel, direction

Uta Weyand
German born pianist Uta Weyand comes from a musical family. The daughter of a choir conductor and an organist, she grew up with choir music and the organ repertoire. During her childhood she expressed her extraordinary musical talent not only at the piano, she also played the violin, received voice classes and composed with great success.

The Post and Courier (South Carolina, USA) forecasted her musical career, stating “Weyand demonstrates genius at the piano…she is a pianist of genius, who should have a long career.“ And the Nuremberg News confirms “…especially admirable is her amazing art to have the great Steinway sing and wrest many captivating colors from it.“

After her studies in Freiburg/Germany, Baltimore/USA and Madrid/Spain with Elza Kolodin, Vitaly Margulis, Leon Fleisher and Joaquín Soriano Uta Weyand has had great international success giving numerous piano recitals and appearing with orchestras in most European countries, in Russia, Brazil, Cuba and the United States.

She performed with such orchestras as the Orchestra of Madrid, those of Barcelona and Valencia, the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra and Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Stuttgart Philharmonic and the National Orchestra of Brazil, with such conductors as Jesús López Cobos, José Ramón Encinar, Enrique García Asensio, Manuel Galduf, Jac van Steen, Marc Tardue and Gabriel Chmura.

After several scholarships granted by the German Government Uta Weyand won First Prize in the Steinway Piano Competition in Berlin and in 1996 First Prize in the José Iturbi International Piano Competition in Valencia with two special prizes: one for the best interpretation of Spanish music and the other for Spanish contemporary music.

Since then Uta Weyand has greatly widened her repertoire: it covers all musical epochs from baroque to contemporary music. Having been living in Spain for more than ten years, Uta Weyand is a passionate interpreter of the Spanish piano repertoire. She dedicates herself to unknown or neglected piano works, performing music by Montsalvatge, Guridi, Ohana and Dupont among many others. She worked closely together with such composers as Michael Braunfels and Xavier Montsalvatge.

Uta Weyand received worldwide press reviews with her recordings for Hänssler Classics with music by Schumann, Mozart, Debussy, Montsalvatge, Granados and the Complete Works for Piano Solo by Manuel de Falla.

She combines her dynamic concert life with pedagogical activities giving master classes and conferences in Germany, Spain, Brazil and Cuba. In 2000 she became a professor at the Conservatorio Superior de Musica in Castellon/Spain. Since 2002 she has been teaching at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid. Uta Weyand is regulary member of international piano competition juries such as at Gina Bachauer in Salt Lake City, Franz Liszt in Weimar and José Iturbi in Valencia.

Uta Weyand is the founder and managing director both of the PIANALE Piano Academy for pianists between 18 and 30 and the PIANALE JUNIOR for young pianists between 9 and 17 (www.pianale.com). In addition to that, she is the initiator of an annually organized series of concerts “Schlosskonzerte Osthessen” in Germany, which provides young musicians with a high-standard performance platform.

Yves Abel
designated as Principal Conductor of the San Diego Opera starting in 2020/21 season, is the Chief Conductor of the NordwestDeutsche Philarmonie, Germany.

Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 2005 to 2011, Yves Abel is a regular guest at the world’s great opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, La Scala, Milan, Vienna Staatsoper, Opera National de Paris, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona.

In concert, he has conducted major symphony orchestras world wide in cities which include Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Lyon, Toulouse, Dublin, Liverpool, Toronto, Montreal, New York, San Francisco, Genova, Napoli, Bologna, Porto, Berlin, to name a few.

Founder and Music Director of L'Opéra Francais de New York, he has breathed new life into many rare French operas including the world premiere of Dusapin’s ‘To be Sung’.

In 2009 he was awarded the title Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government.

This summer (2020) he makes his debut at the Choregies d'Orange conducting Samson et Dalila with Roberto Alagna, and at Torre del Lago's Puccini Festival with Madama Butterfly.

Next season, in addition to various concert series with NWD Philharmonie, he will conduct performances of "L'Elisir d'Amore" at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

He then makes his debut as Principal Conductor at the San Diego Opera.

In concerts he has performed with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra at the Tivoli Festival, the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Dublin, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Orchèstre du Capitole de Toulouse, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, and the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini in Parma. He has also conducted the Toronto Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Netherlands Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Orchèstre National de Lyon, Orchestra of St. Luke's New York, the Royal Liverpool, the Haydn Orchestra in Bolzano and the orchestras of Genoa, Naples, and Palermo among others.

A Franco-Canadian, he has a particular affinity with the French repertoire and has won significant critical acclaim for his achievements as founder and Music Director of L'Opéra Francais de New York, with whom he has regenerated rare French operas and also performed the world premiere of Dusapin’s To be Sung. Since 1994, the company has performed regularly to capacity audiences at the Lincoln Center.

His recordings include Thaïs with Renée Fleming and Werther with Andrea Bocelli (Decca), Madama Butterfly with the Philharmonia Orchestra (Chandos), and two discs of French arias, one with Susan Graham and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Erato) and the other with Patricia Petibon and the Orchestra of the Opera National de Lyon (Decca). His most recent recording, ‘Romantique’, is a disc of romantic arias with Elīna Garanča on Deutsche Grammophon.

In 2009 he was awarded the title Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government.

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