Morgan Hayes: (b1973)
Violin Concerto & other works
Keisuke Okazaki, violin ~ Jonathan Powell, piano
Esbjerg Ensemble
Christopher Austin, conductor
NMC D163
• Morgan Hayes won the Guildhall School of Music & Drama's coveted Lutoslawski Prize in 1995; he subsequently studied with Michael Finnissy, Simon Bainbridge and Robert Saxton.
• This is Morgan's first full-length CD.
• A CD launch concert, with performances by Keisuke Okazaki and Jonathan Powell, was held at Schott Recital Room, London on 22 October 2011.
• Port Rhombus is a transcription of a work by drum & bass/electronica artist Squarepusher who appears on Warp Records.
• “Morgan Hayes captured an elegiac melancholy in his transformation of Squarepusher's Port Rhombus.” Tom Service, The Guardian
• This is the first time leading Danish group Esbjerg Ensemble has recorded for a UK label.
Morgan Hayes' delicate yet manic Violin Concerto forms the centrepiece to this debut release on NMC showcasing his instrumental and ensemble music. Included are his transcription of Squarepusher's Port Rhombus, commissioned for the South Bank Centre's 2003 Ether Festival, which captures the beauty and fragility of this experimental drum'n'bass work from 1996; Lucky Speech for solo violin, inspired by a character from Beckett's Waiting for Godot; a collection of piano miniatures Strides Book I & II; and the dramatic solo piano work Puppet Theatre, which refers to the title of the painting by Paul Klee, featured on the front cover of this CD.
TRACK LISTING
01. Port Rhombus for ensemble 3'56
Strides: Book 1 for piano
02. I 1'52
03. II 1'16
04. III 2'02
05. Lucky's Speech for violin 2'04
06. Violin Concerto 17'38
07. Puppet Theatre for piano 7'38
08. Lucky's Dream for violin 4'05
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Three Distressed Surfaces for piano
09. Corrugated 1'59
10. Flaking Yellow Stucco 3'02
11. Chipped Marble 3'47
12. Slippage for piano & ensemble 8'03
Strides: Book 2 for piano
13. I 1'55
14. II 1'31
15. III 2'17
16. IV 1'23
17. V 1'15
18. Lute Stop for piano 7'10
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NMC Recordings are distributed in Australia by
Rockian Trading, P.O.Box 44, Briar Hill, Vic, 3088, Australia
Telephone (03) 9432 4149 ~ Facsimile (03) 9444 6879
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