Crowdfunding: World premiere recording of Moses Pergament's 1st piano concerto

[fnork]

Hello, dear Pianostreet members!

After a long absence, I thought I'd pop by here to share exciting news about an upcoming project that I'm involved in, namely the world premiere recording of Moses Pergament's 1st piano concerto. Pergament was a Jewish Finnish-born composer who moved to Sweden quite early on, but who has remained neglected in our music life. His first piano concerto was performed by several pianists, and none less than the famous Polish-born pianist Felicja Blumental wanted to record the work on CD. In spite of many efforts, this never worked out, and the work has remained unrecorded.

Fortunately, a recording is now about to happen, already in early August, with myself as soloist. The rest of the CD will be recorded next year and we already have a fine record label willing to release the final result. And not only do we plan to record the work, but there is also a concert tour planned for next year.

Since recording for orchestra is very expensive, we've decided to start a crowdfunding campaign, to cover the final costs related to this project. Welcome to read all about it on the link below!


https://mesenaatti.me/en/2204/hmo-moses-pergament-recording-and-concert-tour/



Perhaps this project will be of interest for some Pianostreet members! The music is absolutely fascinating, and everyone involved is highly enthusiastic about the project as such. There are more CDs being planned with Pergament's music, as well as concerts focusing on his music. It deserves being brought back to public attention.

Anybody unfamiliar with his music could start by listening to his violin sonata, and his magnum opus "Den judiska sången" ("The Jewish song"), a massive choral symphony with soloists, written towards the end of WW2.

[fnork]

The only existing recordings of the piece are live performances. Here is an early performance from the 1950s, with pianist Käbi Laretei as soloist:

[felixblumenfeld]

If you are asking people to fund your project, would it not be appropriate to identify yourself with your full name? I had to go to the page linked to and it is only in the fourth paragraph that I finally found your name and that of the conductor.

[lostinidlewonder]

What about funding from a local/state government?

[fnork]

To answer your questions, if you read my initial post then I'm not specifically asking for anything from anyone, and of course I have no problem with identifying myself with my full name. It simply didn't come to my mind to add it to my post, since the crowdfunding campaign does mention me by name very early on in the text. Literally after a few sentences.

Regarding funding from a local/state government, as is mentioned in the campaign we have received substantial support from different cultural organisations, rather than governmental support. The latter is more generally given to orchestras that indeed are state-funded; this orchestra is a new initiative and does not fall into that category. However, thanks to kind support, our campaign has already come close to reaching our minimum target, in relatively short time. So, we are on a good track!

My post was intended to spread awareness of the composer and the project as such, which is one project of many that's aimed at bringing his music back to public attention. Some of the biographical details in the text are published for the first time here, and are the result of my own research over the past year. I find his life story and his music to be fascinating, and I hope that writing about it will generate new interest in the music. I made this post without "asking" anyone to fund anything. The campaign has already resulted in some renewed interest in his music, which makes me very happy, regardless of if people decide to contribute to the campaign or not.

[quantum]

Have you explored research grants?

[lostinidlewonder]

Regarding funding from a local/state government, as is mentioned in the campaign we have received substantial support from different cultural organisations, rather than governmental support. The latter is more generally given to orchestras that indeed are state-funded; this orchestra is a new initiative and does not fall into that category.

Usually government are rather open minded and will give money to anyone who presents a good looking community project. Most people are afraid to approach government because they don't think they will get anything but one would be surprised if they just try. This kind of project deserves government assistance as classical music is very often supported by tax dollars all over the world. How does one fall into the category to deserve government assistance? I guess you simply need to approach them and apply for it!