"Nimbus" - Second album by the pianist and mathematician Laura Farré Rozada

Nimbus is the second conceptual part of my debut album The French Reverie (2018). This completes a tribute to the French piano repertoire of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and specifically to the figure of the composer Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992).

The album explores the creative and conceptual possibilities of water, with the aim of continuing to disseminate the contemporary piano repertoire to the general public, and with a special emphasis on contemporary Asian music. The project presents some of the most important works by French composers Maurice Ravel and Pierre Jodlowski; Japanese Tōru Takemitsu and Dai Fujikura; South Korean Unsuk Chin; and Icelandic Anna Þorvaldsdóttir. Moreover, the album includes two record premieres: a work by the Catalan composer Josep Maria Guix, and a commission from Chinese composer Yixuan Zhao.

Repertoire

Pierre Jodlowski (b.1971) - Série Blanche (2007)

Unsuk Chin (b.1961) - Etude n.5 'Toccata' (2003)

Unsuk Chin (b.1961) - Etude n.1 'In C' (1999, rev. 2003)

Tōru Takemitsu (1930-1996) - Rain Tree Sketch II ‘In Memoriam Olivier Messiaen’ (1992)

Josep Maria Guix (b.1967) - Drizzle Draft (2007)

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) - Gaspard de la nuit (1908)

I. Ondine

II. Le Gibet

III. Scarbo

Anna Þorvaldsdóttir (b.1977) - Scape (2011)

Dai Fujikura (b.1977) - Frozen Heat (1998)

Yixuan Zhao (b.1993) – Still Life 'dedicated to Laura’ (2020)

Who am I?

I am a pianist and mathematician specialized in contemporary music, deemed a ‘Rising Star’ by BBC Music Magazine. I am currently a PhD candidate at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where I have secured an AHRC-Midlands4Cities scholarship. I was selected for the residencies 2017 WRCMS in Canada, BCMG: NEXT Scheme 2018/2019 in the UK and Ensemble Evolution 2019 at the Banff Center, where I received a Cyril and Elizabeth Challice Fund for Musicians Award.

My debut album The French Reverie (2018) was crowdfunded by 208 patrons from 28 countries across the 5 continents. Phillipe Sommerich from Classical Music Magazine described it as 'a model for young artists making their recording debuts'. During a concert tour of more than 25 concerts, I presented it in 5 countries, including the cities of New York, Toronto, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Montreal, San Francisco, Colorado Springs, Barcelona, Madrid, Girona, Sofia and London, among many others.

As a soloist, I have performed in Spain, France, Germany, Canada, the United States, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom. My concerts have been programmed in venues such as University Club of Montreal, Fundación Eutherpe, Ateneo de Madrid, Art Share LA, Packard Hall, Heller Center for Arts & Humanities, McAninch Arts Center, Spectrum, Gallery345, Rolston Recital Hall, CBSO Centre, Bulgaria Hall, Steinway Hall, Southbank Centre, V&A Museum, Maureen Forrester Recital Hall, Britten Theatre, MNAC and L’Auditori. I have performed at the festivals Delicatessen Musiquem Lleida, Festival Abbaye de Saint-Savin et Vallée des Fresques, XIII Festival de Música ‘Ciudad de Chipiona’, 2a Primavera Musical de Vistabella, Mostra de Piano dels segles XX i XXI, Oasis Musicale, Music Fridays @ Noon, UCCS Presents, Classically Alive Series, Sunset Music & Arts Concert Series, Flatpack Film Festival: Soundscreen and Festival ‘Ligeti in Wonderland’, commissioned by Pierre-Laurent Aimard.

I have worked with conductors Edmon Colomer, Timothy Lines, Jean Deroyer, Steven Schick, Tyshawn Sorey, Thomas Foskett-Barnes, Matthew Hardy, Tomàs Grau, Xavier Pagès-Corella and Jean-Bernard Matter. I have also performed with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Ensemble Court-Circuit and International Contemporary Ensemble. Various national and international media have echoed my career, and I was selected for the traveling exhibition 'D’ONES:(R)evolution of women in music', commissioned by Enderrock magazine.

I have worked with renowned composers including George Crumb, Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Finnissy, Rebecca Saunders, Pierre Jodlowski, Márton Illés, Feliu Gasull, Rolf Hind, Josep Maria Guix, Nino Russell, Yixuan Zhao and Albert Sardà. I have also given 16 world-premieres and 30 national premieres of works written by Philippe Manoury, David Lang, George Lewis, Dai Fujikura, Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, Unsuk Chin, Vladimir Djambazov, Thierry Escaich, Ofer Ben-Amots, Tyshawn Sorey, Miya Masaoka, Alex Baranowski, José Martínez, Joel Järventausta, Lara Poe and Piyawat Louilarpprasert, among others. Foundations Ambache Charitable Trust and PRS Foundation have funded my commission of a Piano Concerto from British composer Angela Elizabeth Slater.

I have been invited as a guest lecturer at Boston University, Colorado College, the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Chilean Fundación Teatro del Lago and Conservatori Municipal de Música de Barcelona. My research connects music and mathematics to develop a method for memorizing post-tonal piano music. I have also been a collaborator at Spanish National Radio, disseminating the connections between music and mathematics.

I completed my Master of Music degree at the Royal College of Music in London as an RCM Patrons’ Award Holder, where I received an 'Exceptional' Distinction for one of my final recitals. Previously, I graduated with Distinction from my Bachelor and Master piano studies with Jean-François Dichamp at the Catalonia College of Music (ESMUC), and from my Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC).

How I will allocate your contributions

Nimbus will be published in the Premium collection of the Catalan label Seed Music, which subsidizes part of the project. The money raised in this campaign will be used to fund the following activities:

• Recording with a Steinway grand piano (model D) at Albert Moraleda's studio, editing and mastering.

• Graphical design, layout and manufacturing of 1000 copies of the Book-Album(CD), with 36 pages in Catalan, Spanish and English. Texts by Edmon Colomer, Josep Maria Guix, Yixuan Zhao and Laura Farré Rozada.

• Legal paperwork, royalties and digital distribution at the main platforms.

• Promotional materials.

All money raised beyond the funding goal will be invested in subsidizing the costs of a presentation tour in the composers' home countries (France, South Korea, Japan, China, Spain, Iceland), in addition to the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, the United States and Canada.

About the rewards

The range of contributions to make Nimbus a reality goes from a minimum of 10€ to a maximum of 1000€. All are needed, welcomed and have their reward.

Once the project is completed, everyone who has collaborated will receive their compensation. All shipping costs are covered in the respective patronage amounts, as well as transport and subsistence allowances for concerts and conferences held in Spain or the United Kingdom. In the case of concerts in other countries, if the cost of travel and accommodation exceeds the contribution to the campaign, the difference must be paid (to be distributed among all the patrons of the same country and patronage modality).

The money raised will only be collected at the end of the campaign, and in case the funding goal has been reached. If successful, I will contact each patron in order to arrange the delivery of the respective reward.

Schedule

• August-October 2020: Recording, editing and mastering.

• October-November 2020: Legal paperwork, photos and program notes.

• November-December 2020: Promotional materials, design, layout and manufacturing.

• December 2020: Album teaser.

• January-February 2021: Delivery of the rewards referring to the digital album, Book-Album, mentions, dedicated photo, album 'The French Reverie'.

• January-February 2021: Book-Album release and digital distribution at the main platforms.

• From March 2021: Presentation concerts in the main cities of Spain, and tour of the peninsula. As the pandemic allows, presentation concerts and touring in the countries of the composers and the patrons. Planning the delivery of rewards for concert tickets, video conference recitals, masterclasses, music and maths lectures and in-person recitals.

• 9 and 10 May 2021: Presentation concerts at Fundación Juan March in Madrid.

+ Info

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