New Sorabji Album! Ullén: 100 Studies, Vol. I.

[ryguillian]

Alistair put it decently and since I don't think the great Sorabji propagandist will mind me advertising Sorabji, I'll reproduce it here:

The long awaited Vol. I of Swedish pianist Fredrik Ullén's series of
recordings of Sorabji's 100 Transcendental Studies is now available!
Its official release date is 25 January 2006 but you may be wise to
get your orders in as soon as possible. The disc is on the Swedish
label BIS and its catalogue number is CD-1373. This disc containd
the first 25 of the studies.

Mr Ullén has already recorded Sorabji's two pastiches on
Chopin's "Minute" Waltz on a dics entitled "Got a Minute?" on the
same label some years ago. He has already started to record volumes
2 and 3 of the cycle of 100 Transcendental Studies last month and a
couple more recording sessions are planned for this summer; he hopes
that, by then Volume II (and possible even Volume III) will be
ready. He then hopes to keep a more regular release schedule now
that Volume I is out. His current plan is to fit the entire cycle
onto 6 volumes; he thinks that this will be possible, according to
the following new disposition:

vol I 1-25
vol II 26-43
vol III 44-62
vol IV 63-74
vol V 75-93
vol VI 94-100

I think that he may be a little over-optimistic about a mere 6 CDs
but we will wait and see; at lest it is now possible confortably to
get 80+ minutes ont one disc.

Best,

Alistair

Well, it is long-awaited and we're all—er, at least I'm excited.

—Ryan

[stevie]

fantastic!

where can i download it free? 

[ahinton]

fantastic!

where can i download it free? 

Why don't you go ask BIS that question? In the meantime, while you're pondering (or not) on the wisdom or otherwise of so doing, may I nevertheless recommend you to visit the pianist's own website
www.fredrikullen.com
where you can at least listen to various extracts from his performances of several of Sorabji's 100 Transcendental Studies (not just those first 25 included on this CD).

And yes, I am indeed very appreciative of Ryan's advertising the existence of this new CD.

Best,

Alistair

[I Love Xenakis]

I randomly find the Sorabji 100 Transcendental Studies to be some of his most boring work, and I also find that Ullen plays them like a little girl.


I personally don't recommend buying these.

[ahinton]

I randomly find the Sorabji 100 Transcendental Studies to be some of his most boring work, and I also find that Ullen plays them like a little girl.


I personally don't recommend buying these.

What is the intended meaning of "randomly" in your first sentence? Do you think the studies to be "some of his most boring work" sometimes but not at other times, at random? Do think think that some of the pieces in the cycle are boiring but others not, at random? A little clarification may go a long way for readers.

As to your view of Ullén's performances of them, I presume that, unless you've heard him live, your experience of this has been from the extracts on his website. Here's another couple of estimations / comments that have been posted earlier today on another piano forum (neither were written by me, I hasten to add):

"Excellent news...well done the fearless Fredrik Ullén."

"I have several of Mr. Ullen's previous BIS recordings, including his two volumes of Ligeti, which included all of that composer's piano Etudes right up through the 15th and 16th, plus many other works (BIS CD-783 and CD-983) -- he's a remarkable pianist! This is a phenomenal project, and many of us will eagerly await each volume through to completion!"

So - each to his/her own, of course - and Mr Ullén would have to be quite the tallest "little girl" that I've ever encountered...

As to the music itself, there are indeed a few numbers from this vast cycle that can fairly be said not quite to represent Sorabji at his very best, but there remains plenty of interesting material within its 864 pages, otherwise I doubt very much that Hamelin, Abrahams and Abercrombie would have spent so much time editing it nor Mr Ullén preparing performances of it nor BIS recording it (although, at the time of writing, much of BIS's time still remains to be spent, of course).

Best,

Alistair

[pseudopianist]

I've been waiting for this one for so long. 

[musicsdarkangel]

I really like the transcendental studies

[I Love Xenakis]

What is the intended meaning of "randomly" in your first sentence? Do you think the studies to be "some of his most boring work" sometimes but not at other times, at random? Do think think that some of the pieces in the cycle are boiring but others not, at random? A little clarification may go a long way for readers.

As to your view of Ullén's performances of them, I presume that, unless you've heard him live, your experience of this has been from the extracts on his website. Here's another couple of estimations / comments that have been posted earlier today on another piano forum (neither were written by me, I hasten to add):

"Excellent news...well done the fearless Fredrik Ullén."

"I have several of Mr. Ullen's previous BIS recordings, including his two volumes of Ligeti, which included all of that composer's piano Etudes right up through the 15th and 16th, plus many other works (BIS CD-783 and CD-983) -- he's a remarkable pianist! This is a phenomenal project, and many of us will eagerly await each volume through to completion!"

So - each to his/her own, of course - and Mr Ullén would have to be quite the tallest "little girl" that I've ever encountered...

As to the music itself, there are indeed a few numbers from this vast cycle that can fairly be said not quite to represent Sorabji at his very best, but there remains plenty of interesting material within its 864 pages, otherwise I doubt very much that Hamelin, Abrahams and Abercrombie would have spent so much time editing it nor Mr Ullén preparing performances of it nor BIS recording it (although, at the time of writing, much of BIS's time still remains to be spent, of course).

Best,

Alistair

Sorry.  "Randomly" is lingo I picked up from the forum "daSDC" which I'm sure you're not familiar with but are at least aware of.  Although I don't know about the "tallest little girl" statement.  We have the WNBA here and I knew a girl who was 5'11" in the fifth grade (she terrified me!), so there are probably taller little girls than Ullen.  I have heard a few complete Studies along with the excerpts on Ullen's website, and personally found them to be very unexciting for Sorabji.  They all seem sort of repressed in their own little way, of the ones I've heard.  I'm sure that there are ones that are very interesting and powerful pieces, but I certainly haven't come across them, and since I have heard quite a few, I therefor assume that at least the majority lie in this category, hence me not recommending these, although if someone has been trepidatious about listening to Sorabji because they fould his OC too dissonant (generally the only work most people have heard) then these are probably a pretty good buy to sort of start you off on Sorabji.


But I know I'm not buying this.  I still have to buy the Sonata No. 2 x.x

[joell12068]

Who can it be ordered from?  It's not yet listed on Amazon, Tower Records,  or Crotchet.

[minor9th]

Who can it be ordered from?  It's not yet listed on Amazon, Tower Records,  or Crotchet.

Qualiton is a good source for BIS, and their prices are lower. I would just keep checking their monthly updates. www.qualiton.com

[I Love Xenakis]

fredrikullen.com

[ahinton]

Sorry.  "Randomly" is lingo I picked up from the forum "daSDC" which I'm sure you're not familiar with but are at least aware of.

Apology accepted. And correct on both counts. Others may likewise be either unfamiliar with or even unaware of "daSDC" so may have been similarly puzzled by your intended meaning here.

Although I don't know about the "tallest little girl" statement.  We have the WNBA here and I knew a girl who was 5'11" in the fifth grade (she terrified me!), so there are probably taller little girls than Ullen.

There may indeed be - although I can confirm that, although I am not aware of Mr Ullén's exact height, I understand on reliable authority that he is a good deal taller than 5'11''...

I appreciate the better tempered content of the remainder of your statement about the 100 Transcendental Studies.

I have been away from the office since midday Friday last and have just returned to find a complimentary copy of Mr Ullén's Vol. I awaiting me, so I will listen to this later today with interest.

Best,

Alistair

[ryguillian]

I have been away from the office since midday Friday last and have just returned to find a complimentary copy of Mr Ullén's Vol. I awaiting me, so I will listen to this later today with interest.

Then you might let us know how it is and what the cover looks like?

—Ryan

[ahinton]

Then you might let us know how it is and what the cover looks like?

—Ryan

I might - but on the other hand I might just as easily wait until others offer their oponions rather than pitching in first with my own! I think - if you'll pardon me for so doing - I'll choose the latter option...

Best,

Alistair

[ryguillian]

I might - but on the other hand I might just as easily wait until others offer their oponions rather than pitching in first with my own! I think - if you'll pardon me for so doing - I'll choose the latter option...

...well, I guess some of us just don't have confidence in our opinions...

At least you can tell us what the cover look like.

—Ryan

[ahinton]

...well, I guess some of us just don't have confidence in our opinions...

At least you can tell us what the cover look like.

—Ryan

But you should have - and develop - confidence in your opinions and, dare I have the sheer temerity to suggest it, you must! Our rôle at The Sorabji Archive includes disseminating information, encouraging new editions and performances and all that kind of thing - not laying down the "law" (or any breach thereof) as to people's performances of his music. As a matter of fact, it is a matter of delight to us that we now have people who have already developed and are continuing to develop the requisite skills to edit Sorabji's scores without having to refer to us all the time. We own the exclusive rights to Sorabji's music - we do NOT, however, own the right to tell everyone that we know best about how it should be edited and played, for, after all, we will not be here forever! Of course we have our opinions and they are informed ones - but they are not there for the purpose of riding roughshod over anyone else's opinions, even if, on occasion, we happen to disagree with them.

Do get this CD - and others of other music by Sorabji - and then be moved by them to make your own remarks about the music itself and how it is performed by the various artists who currently have their performances of Sorabji's works available on CD...

Best,

Alistair

[ryguillian]

But you should have - and develop - confidence in your opinions and, dare I have the sheer temerity to suggest it, you must! Our rôle at The Sorabji Archive includes disseminating information, encouraging new editions and performances and all that kind of thing - not laying down the "law" (or any breach thereof) as to people's performances of his music. As a matter of fact, it is a matter of delight to us that we now have people who have already developed and are continuing to develop the requisite skills to edit Sorabji's scores without having to refer to us all the time. We own the exclusive rights to Sorabji's music - we do NOT, however, own the right to tell everyone that we know best about how it should be edited and played, for, after all, we will not be here forever! Of course we have our opinions and they are informed ones - but they are not there for the purpose of riding roughshod over anyone else's opinions, even if, on occasion, we happen to disagree with them.

Do get this CD - and others of other music by Sorabji - and then be moved by them to make your own remarks about the music itself and how it is performed by the various artists who currently have their performances of Sorabji's works available on CD...

Well, we do know you won't be here forever... and thank God. But, still, you haven't told us what is on the COVER of the ALBUM!

—Ryan

[I Love Xenakis]

hahahaha ryan you're letting Hinton play with you?  I thought you were intellectually above that!!

[ahinton]

hahahaha ryan you're letting Hinton play with you?  I thought you were intellectually above that!!

No, he isn't - or at least I don't think that he is; at least I'm not seeking to encourage him or anyone else to do so. I quite genuinely meant exactly what I said - let's have some opinions from others before I wade in (if indeed I do)...

Best,

Alistair

[I Love Xenakis]

OMG a direct insult from hinton!!!  this is unprecedented in all of pianoforum!



hahahaha this post will surely go down in the history books.... of pianostreet.  Well if there were pianostreet history books i'd vote to put it in o.o


EDIT:  oh wait I thought you were refering to this part of the statement:

I thought you were intellectually above that!!

or were you...


Either way you replied to this topic again without describing the cover art so he's probably gonna throw a fit.

[ahinton]

OMG a direct insult from hinton!!!  this is unprecedented in all of pianoforum!



hahahaha this post will surely go down in the history books.... of pianostreet.  Well if there were pianostreet history books i'd vote to put it in o.o


EDIT:  oh wait I thought you were refering to this part of the statement:


or were you...


Either way you replied to this topic again without describing the cover art so he's probably gonna throw a fit.

Mais non. Again - as I have already said - no insult intended by me toward Ryan, you or anyone else here - not by me, anyway.

As to the matter of the cover of the CD, you, Ryan and everyone else can go buy one if any of you choose so to do and then form an opinion on that cover just as you may or may not do about the music, its performance, the quality of the recording, the instrument, the liner notes and anything else.

No change here, then...

Best,

Alistair

[ryguillian]

Alistair "Cattle Ass" Hinton,

As to the matter of the cover of the CD, you, Ryan and everyone else can go buy one if any of you choose so to do and then form an opinion on that cover just as you may or may not do about the music, its performance, the quality of the recording, the instrument, the liner notes and anything else.

Odd, just a few days ago on the Sorabji Group you wrote...

I don't know; I haven't seen it yet. Mr Ullén is kindly sending us a copy and I will be able to answer that question (n.b. the question of what the cover art is) as soon as it arrives here. in the meantime, it should be possible to place an order with any good classical record store or other similar outlet (try the mail order company Records International, for example) for a recording if one has the catalogue number and the name of the record company that has produced it.

I guess we all know how much the word of Alistair Hinton is worth. Less than Sorabji's cheapest scores (if I were Alistair, I would list the least expensive scores here in an unnecessary Sorabji reference / pedantic display of trivia), that's for sure.

Best,

Ryan

[I Love Xenakis]

oh ryan, you and your shinannegans....  (sp)

[ahinton]

Odd, just a few days ago on the Sorabji Group you wrote...

Indeed, I wrote:
"Mr Ullén is kindly sending us a copy and I will be able to answer that question (n.b. the question of what the cover art is) as soon as it arrives here. in the meantime, it should be possible to place an order with any good classical record store or other similar outlet (try the mail order company Records International, for example) for a recording if one has the catalogue number and the name of the record company that has produced it."
Please note that I wrote that I would be able to answer a question (which you do not in any case specify), not that I would necessarily answer it. In any case, what's all the fuss about the CD cover? "Never judge a book by its cover" surely applies equally well to CDs, does it not? - and, in any case, I would have thought that you and anyone else genuinely intereted in this one would be wanting first and foremost to know what it sounds like - which will be possible in due course if my advice above is followed.

I guess we all know how much the word of Alistair Hinton is worth. Less than Sorabji's cheapest scores (if I were Alistair, I would list the least expensive scores here in an unnecessary Sorabji reference / pedantic display of trivia), that's for sure.

Well, first of all, you are not the person whose name you mention. Secondly, any point of the remainder of this gratuitous statement seems to be missing; why would you seek to do this here in the present context, whoever you might be? Anyone who wants to know what we supply and for how much has only to send a email to us, so there would appear to be little purpose to be served by posting any such "listing" hereabouts.

Enjoy the CD when you get it.

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

I suppose, on reflection, there is no harm to be done by telling Ryan (and anyone else interested) about the front cover of this CD, although I would hope that its sonic contents would be of far more interest to anyone. It is credited as "Photographic Study I" by Juan Hitters; no further information is provided, although I have no doubt that anyone interested could conduct a little research about the photographer on the internet (most such items appear to be in Spanish). The photograph consists of horizontal stripes of varying hue. I do not know who chose it for the CD front cover.

Perhaps you'll be happy now! - although I'd be far more interested to hear what people make of the performances / instrument / music / recording quality, etc. when they have had opportunities to listen to the CD.

Best,

Alistair

[ryguillian]

I suppose, on reflection, there is no harm to be done by telling Ryan (and anyone else interested) about the front cover of this CD, although I would hope that its sonic contents would be of far more interest to anyone. It is credited as "Photographic Study I" by Juan Hitters; no further information is provided, although I have no doubt that anyone interested could conduct a little research about the photographer on the internet (most such items appear to be in Spanish). The photograph consists of horizontal stripes of varying hue. I do not know who chose it for the CD front cover.

Perhaps you'll be happy now! - although I'd be far more interested to hear what people make of the performances / instrument / music / recording quality, etc. when they have had opportunities to listen to the CD.

Best,

Alistair

Thank you! I apologize for getting a bit hostile. I will certainly buy the CD as soon as it's available and provide here (and elsewhere) my opinions of it. I've been trying to preorder it but that doesn't seem possible anywhere as of right now.

—Ryan

[ryguillian]

Wasn't this supposed to come out today (2006-01-25)? What happened? I don't see it on Amazon.com, BIS's site, etc.

—Ryan

[ahinton]

Wasn't this supposed to come out today (2006-01-25)? What happened? I don't see it on Amazon.com, BIS's site, etc.

—Ryan

Yes, I do believe so - and no, I am sorry to say that I do not at present know the answer as to why it appears not to have appeared. If it doesn't show very shortly, I will send an email to Mr Ullén to try to find out what the problem is and when it will be officially released; I will respond as soon as I have some more information.

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

I thought that "there is no time like the present" (as the saying goes) and so I've accordingly written to Mr Ullén already about this, having first just checked the BIS website again and still found that the CD of Vol. I of Sorabji's 100 Transcendental Studies is not yet featured there.

I'll be back on this as soon as I have something useful to report; in the meantime, apologies once again for my inability to provide more news just yet.

Best,

Alistair

[ryguillian]

I thought that "there is no time like the present" (as the saying goes) and so I've accordingly written to Mr Ullén already about this, having first just checked the BIS website again and still found that the CD of Vol. I of Sorabji's 100 Transcendental Studies is not yet featured there.

I'll be back on this as soon as I have something useful to report; in the meantime, apologies once again for my inability to provide more news just yet.

Thanks for the update. I'm really eager to listen to this album (I've been plugging some of the music into Sibelius to get an idea of what it sounds like); I've been checking the BIS page literally every ten minutes to see if the album is available for purchase.

—Ryan

[ahinton]

Thanks for the update.

That's a pleasure (although it would be a greater one if only I could provide more information).

I've been checking the BIS page literally every ten minutes to see if the album is available for purchase.

I mean not to appear rude but merely to save you time and frustration when I urge you not to waste too much of your time in this pursuit right now (much as I applaud your concern and determination); as I promised previously, I will respond about it as soon as I have some information with which I can do so - and I am trying to get just that!

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

Whilst I regret that I remain unable to give the more specific information that I would like, I can report that Mr Ullén's written response to my question of yesterday evening is:

None of the Jan releases are seen yet, maybe they appear on the 30th - should come any day, though. As for Amazon, I think it might take a little while before the new CDs are available there!

By this, I take him to mean none of BIS's January releases.

I'll keep on top of this and report back as soon as I know more.

Best,

Alistair

[minor9th]

It looks like Feb 20 is the day!

https://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=126813&album_group=1

[ahinton]

At last - some more news! - though how helpful it may turn out to be in practice has still to be put to the test, i guess.

We have just received this from Fredrik Ullén:


"I can at least tell you it's possible to order from the Swedish Naxos site www.naxos.se with release date Jan 16. So it's presumably a matter of weeks before the other Internet sellers have it as well. As to why the Jan releases are not yet up on www.bis.se, I have no idea: the best is probably to ask people to contact BIS directly at info@bis.se for accurate info."


I have visited the Swedish Naxos site and put "sorabji" in the search (sök) box; the CD does indeed come up, so anyone who wnats to try that themselves CAN NOW SEE WHAT THE FRONT OF IT LOOKS LIKE!

Good luck!

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

Here is the news on this subject just received from BIS itself:


"All our distributors are now in the possession of Fredrik Ullén's new Sorabji CD. BIS has as a policy to give distributors 3-4 weeks to organise sales before putting new releases on the website. I guess that by the end of February you can track Sorabji's CD on the web.
 
Please be free to contact our distributor in the UK:
 
Select Music & Video Distribution Ltd.

cds@selectmusic.co.uk

3 Wells Place
Redhill, Surrey RH1 3SL

Tel: +44-1737-645600
Fax: +44-1737-645065
 


The UK distributor contact details will, of course, be of little use to any forum membes located in other countries, but the general information does appear to suggest that going to a good classical record retailer and quoting this (along with the CD catalogue number) shold produce the desired results.

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

This CD is now at last anmnounced on BIS's website as of today!

https://www.bis.se/index.php

Best,

Alistair

[pseudopianist]

This CD is now at last anmnounced on BIS's website as of today!

https://www.bis.se/index.php

Best,

Alistair

That took a while. I got the cd a week ago. I love it! It has been in my stereo along with Messiaens Eclairs sur d'lau dela ever since.

[ahinton]

Anyone who peruses this thread will note that there was a considerable amount of enthusiasm for this then shortly forthcoming CD yet, since its actual emergence, no one has reported his/her thoughts about it, as might have been expected from some of the posts here.

Any opinions, anyone?

Best,

Alistair

[minor9th]

OK, I'll boldly go where no one has gone yet--in a word, it's wonderful! Sure, many of them live up to Sorabji's penchant for excess, but several are relatively delicate and impressionistic. Ullen's performance is quite staggering--he handles the massive difficulites with ease. I would prefer a slightly closer perspective, but the sound is very clear.

[searchfgold6789]

I love listening to these on Spotify! I wish I had enough money to buy the CDs themselves and get better sound quality...
I think Ullen generally does better interpreting pieces that are less feisty. But in this case he pulls of the more vigorous etudes quite convincingly. He pulls off monumental difficulties with ease.
I can't wait for the next volume (IV) to come out. Does anyone know when it is going to be released?

 - R

[ahinton]

I love listening to these on Spotify! I wish I had enough money to buy the CDs themselves and get better sound quality...
I think Ullen generally does better interpreting pieces that are less feisty. But in this case he pulls of the more vigorous etudes quite convincingly. He pulls off monumental difficulties with ease.
I can't wait for the next volume (IV) to come out. Does anyone know when it is going to be released?
- R

I for one wish that I did! I have written recently to Mr Ullén to ask but still await his response. It's been quite some time now since Vol.III appeared. He has more recentgly issued a CD of Liszt and Messiaen and another on which he is the soloist in English composer John Pickard's Piano concerto, but I've no more news on the studies as yet, I'm sorry to have to say.

Best,

Alistair