Two fantastic and inspiring days – recording Justin Connolly’s violin quartet Ceilidh and his String Trio – with Peter Sheppard Skaerved, Neil Heyde, Muriel Oberhofer and Tiago Soares Silva. We gave the premiere of the string trio and performed Ceilidh at a wonderful event in February at the Royal Academy of Music, which also featured his Celebratio super Ter in lyris Leo (for three violas and accordion), alongside talks by Neil Heyde, Andrew McBirnie and Michael Finnissy, exploring Connolly’s vibrant musical practice.
The album, featuring his music, will be realeased by Métier – more information here:
The brilliant cellist Yoni Gotlibovich, who premiered my piece “wind/hills/waves” in 2018, will be performing it on the 24th December as part of Meitar Ensemble’s “Contemporary Encounters” festival in Tel Aviv, Israel.
I admire this fantastic group for keeping the festival going in such difficult times, and it is a privilege to be included in their programme.
My new solo violin piece “blue spiral, white waves” is inspired by the amazing work by artist Joanna Jones – in particular, her recent series I am bringing something with me. It will be premiered by Peter Sheppard Skaerved, for whom it was written, this coming Saturday, at the Deal festival:
Excited to take part in the 2023 Britten Pears Arts Aldeburgh Festival!
Kreutzer Quartet and clarinettist Linda Merrick: two programmes including music by Sadie Harrison, David Matthews, Eleanor Alberga, David Horne, Michael Finnissy, Priaulx Rainier, Michael Finnissy, Mozart & Haydn:
A real pleasure to work with the wonderful Macedonian pianist Petar Makarievski – he performed my piece “Ripples – Waves – Bells” in a concert given by his piano trio (also incluing Marjan Milosevski – bassoon, and Tatjana Petrusevska – oboe) last week in Skopje.
The concert was part of the Days of Macedonian Music 2023 festival, and also featured pieces by Kostadin Delinikolov, Goran Nacevski, Risto Avramovski, Tomislav Zografski, Filip Ivanov and Vanja Nikolovski – Gumar.
“Šarenilo for two violins stood out for its energy which grabbed my attention from the opening gesture, and Sandglass was a mesmerising and hypnotic work for solo clarinet. Overall, there is a really personal and curious musical voice. As an introduction to music from the small Balkan nation, this music is truly inviting, and I will explore more from the composer and nation with great intrigue.” Full review (Ben Lunn, the Morning Star)
“… a challenging, but fascinating experience, and one that was rewarding … This is a very interesting and impressive album … Please listen with an open mind because I feel this is a very worthwhile and creative disc.” Full review (Geoff Pearce, Classical Music Daily)
St Davids Music Series, Baltimore 4th November 2022 St Davids Episcopalian Church Baltimore Camera and Sound, Paul Ritterhoff Supported by: Research England/Knowledge Exchange/ Royal Academy of Music London St Davids Music Series
Tonight in Korčula, Croatia: Peter Sheppard Skærved at the Korkyra Baroque Festival, presenting a programme of baroque pieces and two new works by Ivan Josip Skender and myself (premiere of Chaconne, written for him earlier this year):
A glorious day – working with closest friends and collaborators: Peter Sheppard Skaerved, Roger Heaton, Neil Heyde, Hugh Millington, Saki Kato. Fantastic sound by Adaq Khan. It is truly an honour to have my music brought to life by these miraculous musicians.
Roger HeatonPeter Sheppard SkaervedAdaq KhanNeil HeydeWith Saki Kato and Hugh MillingtonRecording at Hastoe Village Hall
I have just spent an inspiring and rejuvenating week in Skopje, where the contemporary music festival Days of Macedonian Music took place.
On 9th April, Meitar Ensemble (Talia Herzlich, Yoni Gotlibovich and Amit Dolberg) from Israel presented a colourful and dynamic programme by Israeli and Macedonian composers: Arik Shapira, Miroslav Spasov, Sotir Golabovski, Eli Korman, Yair Klartag and myself. Thrilling, virtuosic playing by Meitar. My piece ‘Opal’ was premered by Talia Herzlich, and she was fantastic – I could not have asked for a more commited approach and it was a captivating performance.
On 11th April, the Macedonian trio Triptych (piano 6 hands) gave a concert comprised of six new pieces, all written for them. Marija Vrskova, Elena Atanasovska and Sara Projkovska have started such an exciting project, and their playing was brilliant, individually and as a group – works by Damjan Temkov, Ana Pandevska, Darija Andovska, Bete Ilin, Filip Ivanov and my new piece ‘Saati’.
On 13th April, I participated in a panel discussion with fellow Macedonian composer Pande Shahov (also living in the UK) and the journalist / musicologist Angelina Dimovska. I am grateful for the opportunity to talk about my music, and the conversation touched on a number of wider issues regarding contemporary music – I found it stimulating and thought-provoking.
It was a week I will remember – just fantastic to be back in my home country and work with such amazing musicians.
My piece дисторзија – спектар (distortion – spectrum), will be performed next week by violist David Schnee in a concert titled “Balkan Express”, featuring composers from former Yugoslavia.
The programme also includes works by Brina Jež Brezavšček, Hanan Hadzajlić, Mirela Ivičević, Lara Stanić and Vinko Globokar.
I just spent two exhilarating days recording with Peter Sheppard Skærved. Some of our favourite pieces: Bartók’s 44 duos, Scelsi’s Arc-en-Ciel, Peter’s own jewelled duos based on the field cricket and my recent Grain-Song, written for him. Fabulous sound by Adaq Khan – can’t wait until this album is ready. Here is a teaser (camera sound only!) – Bartok’s “Romanian Whirling Dance”:
Here is another review of my album Step(pe)s, recently released by Neuma Records. Great to hear it will likely appeal to jazz / rock audiences 🙂 :
“The result is an attractive CD of improvised sounding music. On ‘Step(pe)s’ Trandafilovski offers three tracks of solo violin. They all clock in at around 10 minutes and with the titles Orbit, Wave, Shore and a cover that implies a water surface (although I believe it is a CGI) bring the association of the play of water, an ebbing and flowing … Trandafilovski uses echos and over-dubs to create a multi-faceted and multi-layered music. All pieces start from quiet beginnings, build to a tremendous climax and ebb off again into a partly near-silent ending …”
Tonight: mavericks Peter Sheppard Skaerved and Roderick Chadwick present a programme full of colour and virtuosity at Goldsmiths – Edward Cowie’s monumental “Bird Portraits” and works by many other friends, as well as my latest piece for Peter, “Grain – Song”:
Macedonian soprano Vesna Ginovska Ilkova and pianist Hajdi Elzeser will premiere my piece “Vnatresni Planini” (The Mountains Within), on the 19th October in Skopje, at the Philharmonic Hall.
It was thrilling to work on a new piece for these two great musicians – Hajdi is one of my closest collaborators, but I am working with Vesna for the first time. The piece is based on a poem by my friend Vladimir Martinovski.
The programme, titled “Ogledalo” (Mirror), also includes music by fellow Macedonian composers Golabovski and Dzambazov, as well as Bellini, Schumann, Giordano, Puccini and Mascagni.
Here is a review and podcast of two recent Neuma Records releases – Juraj Kojs’s “Imagine” and my “Step(pe)s”:
“… Using diverse devices from the studio, [Trandafilovski] leaves the acoustical qualities as such intact in his mixing process but puts them in a new light. His constructions sound very abstract in one way but as they constantly point to the concrete sounds as the topic of his research, they are also very physical. The works are full of details and nuances, which makes concentrated listening to a very rewarding experience.”
Today, a very personal “lockdown project” I was immersed in for four months is released by Neuma Records.
I love live music and performing, and missed it a lot during the lockdowns. In the absence of this crucial aspect of my musical life, I had to find other ways to develop ideas.
Step(pe)s is a piece involving just one violin and computer – it started as an “audio catalogue” of various sounds and techniques that I like to explore, and gradually developed into the current form.
Coming up this Friday: Peter Sheppard Skærved at St Vedast Foster Lane. This concert is a part of Peter’s “Preludes and Vollonteries” series. The programme will include anonymous works from the Klagenfurt Manuscript (1685) and the Rost Codex (ca 1680-1688), plus the World Premiere of my piece “Song” (part of “Grain-Song”), written for Peter. More information here: https://www.facebook.com/events/137142048480195?ref=newsfeed
Wonderful to be back in the studio with my Kreutzer Quartet friends, clarinettist Linda Merrick and composer Martin Ellerby. Great day at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
A couple of months ago, Edward Cowie e-mailed me to let me know he had had a dream in which he and I were walking in a wild estuarine habitat — he had a violin case with his old instrument, and in a conversation about music and nature, he told me that he’d had an idea for a new piece for me — so he took out his violin and played a piece that consisted of a ‘procession’ of ONE-SECOND pieces.
He remembered all the 55 one-second pieces the next day, and weaved them into a multi-dimensional work: a network combining evolution, virtuosity, silent gestures, non-verbal voice patterns, and other things …
This is a ‘live’ (one-take) lockdown performance — 7th February, 2021
Tonight at 19:00 UTC: online concert by Ensemble Horizonte – programme includes my “TRI-O” and music by Feldman, Jana Andreevska, Kiril Makedonski, J.P. Mittmann, M. E. Keller and J. Combier. https://fb.me/e/3gVTGwhjy
Three great musicians and friends: Peter Sheppard Skærved, Roderick Chadwick and Linda Merrick, recording my trio ‘Weaxan’ at the RNCM. Fabulous playing!!!
A wonderful day at the Royal Academy of Music: recording / filming works by Sadie Harrison, David Matthews, Peter Dickinson and Joel Järventausta, and working with composer Tom Metcalf:
Today: my friend and brilliant pianist Hajdi Elzeser performs in Detmold — works by Eggert, Delinikolov, Gesualdo, Pandevska, Jarret and my new ‘Intermezzo’, as part of the 11. Hörfest Neue Musik.
Tonight in Skopje: premiere of my string orchestra piece ‘Aquarelle (cycle)’ and music by Pande Shahov, Toma Proshev, Goran Nachevski and Risto Avramovski. Days of Macedonian music festival 2020. Chamber Orchestra of the Macedonian Philharmonic, conductor Sasho Tatarchevski. Gutted I couldn’t be there!
Peter Sheppard Skærved in his element — a magical evening in the ‘auditory’ of St Mary Abchurch.
It was just wonderful to finally experience again a living, breathing music event — Peter Sheppard Skærved weaving brilliantly music, words and magic. The programme included music by Vitali, Matteis, Colombi, Baltzar, Sainte Colombe, Vilsmayr, words by Anne Finch, Milton, Anne of Winchelsea and Pepys — and my most recent violin piece ‘Grain’ (written for Peter during lockdown), received a fantastic premiere.
Here are some of Peter’s thoughts after the event: After a Concert
Sunday Times: “Quietly frenetic textures act as skein-like support for more forthright material in Cowie’s First Quartet, Dungeness Nocturnes (1969), while the Second, Crystal Dances (1977), is dazzlingly faceted and the Sixth, The Four Winds (2012), reflects upon the winds and seasons. The Kreutzer Quartet’s leader, Peter Sheppard Skærved, give the virtuoso solo violin piece GAD (2017), written during an anxiety episode yet often surprisingly playful.” — Stephen Pettitt
MusicWeb International: “A remarkable new CD. The performances of these four works are ideal. Every bar suggests that violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved and the other members of the Kreutzer Quartet have a great empathy with this music and create a magical and engrossing performance. The musical language of this music is as diverse as its emotional background. The liner notes are impressive. They include the preparatory paintings Cowie made before starting work on his quartets. They are excellent and would grace any art collection. Let us hope that this is really an ongoing project.” — John France Read more
A special and memorable evening: Neil Heyde and Rohan de Saram performing old and new music at the Holywell Music Room in Oxford. Music by Offenbach, Conrad Beck, Reinhold Glière, Richard Beaudoin and two premieres: David Gorton’s Caleuche Chasma and my Kaleidoscope – more info here: Music for Two Cellos: Old and New.
It is an honour and a privilege to be able to work with these maverick musicians. Here they are rehearsing, earlier in the day:
Fantastic day in Detmold, Germany, with my dear friend Hajdi Elzeser. She recorded ‘Ripples-Waves-Bells’, which she premiered in 2018, in the Brahms-Saal of the Detmold Hochschule. Wonderful playing, and great sound by Sascha Etezazi – the recording will be out soon.
Great performance by Ensemble Fractales at Flagey in Brussels for ECCO 2020. The programme included my piece ‘TRI-O’ (represening Macedonia), and works by Elis Hallik (Estonia), Charlotte Torres (Switzerland), Matti Heininen (Finland), Ryszard Lubieniecki (Poland), Vlad Razvan Baciu (Romania) and Johan Svensson (Sweden).
Here are a few photos that capture the atmosphere:
I will be talking about several of my pieces and my current interests as a composer and player this Thursday (31st October) at Goldsmiths – as part of their Contemporary Music Research Unit visiting composers series. The talk is open to the public, so if you are in London and have some free time, please come along:
The virtuoso Macedonian violinist and violist Ljubiša Kirovski will give the premiere of my piece ‘distortion – spectrum’ (дисторзија – спектар), written for him, on Friday 25th October as part of the festival ‘Golden Lyre’.
Totally inspiring day at the Rural Life Centre, Farnham Common. This was a project devised by Peter Sheppard Skærved and conservationist and author Laurence Rose, celebrating the field cricket: one of England’s most threatened species, supported by ‘Back from the Brink’ – a wonderful and ambitious conservation project with the aim “to bring back from the brink of extinction some of England’s most threatened species of animal, plant and fungi.”
We explored Farnham Heath; watched, listened, wrote and admired the fabulously diverse wildlife of this ecosystem; in a salon-style performance in the evening, Peter and I played his new composition Seven Calls (written for this occasion), a selection of my violin duos, pieces by Telemann, Bartók and Scelsi, all related to aspects of the project – and the music was interweaved with words by Laurence Rose and participants in the afternoon workshop.
Beautiful playing by Yoni Gotlibovich: premiere of my piece wind/hills/waves – live recording from the Days of Macedonian Music Festival 2018:
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