Listen to our Cry

What it's all about.

With this recording, I am realising my most heartfelt wish:we hear heavenly harmonies, the archaic sounds of the Jewish shofar, and volcanic eruptions of trumpet and piano. Soprano Dorothee Mields sings Yiddish texts from the time between the two world wars - «a mesmerising experience». Dreamlike, beautiful melodies become confessions of an inner quality.

My project is special because ...

This is a CD recording with an extraordinary programme. We musicians are all nomads. Each of my five composers has made the voluntary decision to become active outside their country of birth. The different artistic ways of dealing with this diaspora make this selection so exciting! Benjamin Yusupov was born in the Tajik Soviet Republic and now lives in Israel. His musical language combines folkloric traditions from different cultures, from Asia to Africa. Ivan Fischer, born in Budapest, comes from a Jewish family of musicians and now lives in Berlin. As a composer, he is increasingly committed to the preservation of Yiddish traditions and language. Giya Kancheli was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he emigrated to Belgium in 1992 and, as an avant-garde composer, wrote in many eclectic styles, from symphonies to pop songs and film music. Alan Hovhaness, born in the USA, of Armenian/Scottish descent adds a Christian perspective. The piece «Haroutioun» means ’resurrection’ in Armenian. The CD ends with a solo piece by the Italian/Jewish composer Luca Lombardi. This piece for solo trumpet is titled «predáh», which is Hebrew and translates as ’separation’ or ’farewell’. This composition is dedicated to the memory of conductor Claudio Abbado, who died in 2014.

This is what I need backing for.

We need your support for this exceptional and costly CD production with the Georgisches Kammerorchester Ingolstadt (conducted by Ruben Gazarian), soprano Dorothee Mields, as well as with pianist Eriko Takezawa and Reinhold Friedrich! Everything has been recorded, and production is well underway, so now the challenge is to make this unique work accessible to as many people as possible through marketing and video means. This is where I need your help!