Tamara-Anna Cislowska (piano)
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Johannes Fritzsch (conductor)
ABC
2MBS presents the world premiere recordings of two major works by renowned composer Elena Kats-Chernin: Ancient Letters, inspired by 1,700-year-old writings from the Silk Road, and Lebewohl, her third piano concerto, composed especially for celebrated Australian pianist Tamara-Anna Cislowska. These deeply expressive concertos are brought to life by Cislowska’s extraordinary blend of technical brilliance and emotional depth.
Kats-Chernin and Cislowska share a creative partnership spanning over 30 years, marked by exceptional artistic synergy. Their previous collaborations, Butterflying (2016) and Unsent Love Letters (2017), topped the ARIA Classical charts. With the support of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, this new recording once again showcases works written specifically to reflect Cislowska’s distinctive musical voice and interpretive power.The Ancient Letters are the earliest known writings of the Sogdian people, who lived in what is now Uzbekistan, where I was born. Discovered in a watchtower east of Samarkand, these 4th-century letters reveal stories of exile, trade, and longing. One letter features “Tiger Cub,” a woman abandoned by her husband for three years along the Silk Road, I composed a portrait of her spirit in music, where the harpsichord embodies her humanity against the harsh orchestra. In Musk Trade, Sogdian commerce in musk, silk, and silver is evoked through contrasting movements, aromatic calm and frenzied bargaining. Goodbye Samarkand closes with a ballad to home, shaped by wind and memory, echoing exile, distance, and the ache of never returning.
2MBS Fine Music Sydney subscribers have an exclusive opportunity to a copy of Elena Kats-Chernin’s new CD, Ancient Letters.