THE ETUDES PROJECT
Identifying affinities among old and new music, and among familiar and unknown pieces, is a knack Lin
has demonstrated again and again throughout her career—and it’s part of what makes her not only a persuasive interpreter, but also an invaluable guide and companion. Stated simply: you are in
extraordinarily sure hands here.
—Steve Smith
ICEBERG New Music is thrilled to announce its first full-length album, created in collaboration with renowned pianist Jenny Lin and released by Sono Luminus Records.
On Friday, October 25, 2019, Sono Luminus released The Etudes Project, Volume One: ICEBERG, an album of twenty concert etudes – including ten new works by the member composers of ICEBERG New Music – performed by the celebrated pianist Jenny Lin. On the same day, the complete score of the new works from The Etudes Project, Volume One: ICEBERG were published by NewMusicShelf, and Jenny performed a concert of all ten new works (as well as selected other works from the album) at the National Opera Center in New York City. This was the culmination of a multi-year collaboration between Jenny and the ICEBERG composers.
Jenny Lin explains The Etudes Project’s genesis: “I have always been fascinated by the intricate history of piano études, and how throughout written music it has continued to be one of the most important genres in keyboard literature. How did we get from Bach’s Clavier-Übung to Philip Glass’s Piano Etudes? And where is the form going now? I hope to explore these questions through The Etudes Project."
Rather than provide a specific étude prompt for each member of ICEBERG, Lin gave them free rein to challenge her technique. Then, after the pieces were written, she paired each new work with an existing “partner” étude from the Western canon (including works by Messiaen, Glass, Ligeti, Unsuk Chin, Debussy, Ruth Crawford Seeger, and others) with which she, and each composer, found a kindred musical relationship.
ICEBERG New Music’s Alex Burtzos explains, “Jenny and the ICEBERG member composers have gone back and forth for over a year about every aspect of this album - from specific technical questions about the pieces themselves to questions regarding their companion repertoire works and ordering in the finished program. What listeners will hear in the album is the result of 11 artists thinking deeply about the étude as a concept, and their personal places in the ongoing history of the genre.
In the 10 new works, the ICEBERG composers explore everything from aleatoric atmospheres to Chicago house music, forcing Jenny to demonstrate her immense virtuosity in a variety of different styles. This, we think, is a new approach to designing concerts (and albums), one that challenges artists and rewards listeners by demonstrating the depth and breadth of contemporary composition.”
Featuring insightful liner notes from music writer Steve Smith, and a sonically intimate recording mastered by Daniel Shore, this album provides a fascinating, engaging celebration of and journey through a technical, poetic form for the piano.
Jenny Lin
The Etudes Project, Volume One: ICEBERG
DSL-92236
PRODUCER: Dan Merceruio
RECORDING, MIXING & MASTERING ENGINEER: Daniel Shores
RECORDING TECHNICIAN: Allison Noah
EDITING ENGINEERS: Dan Merceruio, Daniel Shores
PIANO TECHNICIAN: John Veitch
PIANO: Steinway Model D #590904 (New York)
PHOTOGRAPHY/ART: Taichung Jazz Festival/Jean Christophe Charrier (cover)
Richie Guzmán (pp. 6-7), Liz Linder (p. 8)
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Caleb Nei
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Collin J. Rae
RECORDED AT Sono Luminus Studios, Boyce, Virginia — April 15-17, 2019
Mixed and mastered on Legacy Audio speakers. legacyaudio.com
Recorded with Merging Technologies Horus.
Mastered with Merging Technologies Hapi. Recorded in DXD at 24 bit, 352.8kHz.
sonoluminus.com • info@sonoluminus.com
℗ & © 2019 Sono Luminus, LLC. All rights reserved.
Accretion (2018) Max Grafe 2:19
Quatre Etudes de rhythme I “Ile de feu” (1949) Olivier Messiaen 2:22
Etude No.1 “Corona” (2018) Victor Baez 2:43
Etude No. 6 “Grains” (2000) Unsuk Chin 4:16
To the Convergence (2018) Yu-ChunChien 2:26
Etude for Piano I “2 Lines”(2011) ToshioHosokawa 3:45
Etude for Melancholy Robots III: Trains (2018) Will Healy 3:54
Etude No. 1“Désordre” (1985) György Ligeti 2:31
Etude No. 1 “Unleashed”(2018) DerekCooper 2:29
Study in Mixed Accents (1930) Ruth Crawford Seeger 1:14
“Lilac” (from Flower Catalogue) (2018) Stephanie Ann Boyd 3:22
Etude No. 11 “Pour les arpèges composés” (1915) Claude Debussy 4:56
Walk (2018) Drake Andersen 2:36
Etude Op. 8 No. 2 (1894) Alexander Scriabin 2:16
Obstinata 1: Barbed Wire (2018) Harry Stafylakis 4:18
Etude-Tableaux Op. 33 No. 4 in D Minor (1911) Sergei Rachmaninoff 3:36
Knuckles (2018) Jonathan Russ 3:31
Etude No. 13 (1994) Philip Glass 3:57
Should the Wide World Roll Away (2018) Alex Burtzos 3:36
Etude Op. 10 No. 4 (1830) Frederic Chopin 2:15