Alice Sara Ott

German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott has established herself as one of the most exciting musical talents of today. As well as high profile engagements with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, Ott is becoming increasingly known for her creative collaborations, across music, architecture, design and fashion.

Ott releases her anticipated next album in September 2021, Echoes Of Life, marking over ten years signed as an exclusive recording artist to Deutsche Grammophon. It is her personal musical reflection on the fragments, moments and memories that make up a life. The programme is built around Frédéric Chopin’s Preludes op.28, interspersed with seven works by György Ligeti, Nino Rota, Chilly Gonzales, Tōru Takemitsu, Arvo Pärt, a newly-commissioned work by Francesco Tristano and Alice Sara Ott’s own reflections on fragments of W. A. Mozart’s Lacrimosa.

For the project Ott expands her artistic horizons by collaborating with award-winning architect Hakan Demirel. Together they have created an album-length digital video installation to accompany Echoes Of Life live in concert, debuting in London on 7 November 2021.

In addition to a busy season of international appearances, Ott boasts a number of original creative collaborations which showcase her skills as a designer and illustrator. She is creative advisor to German luxury brand, JOST, for whom she has designed a line of premium leather bags featuring origami elements, and has also designed a range of stickers for Japanese messaging service LINE, which has already reached millions of users. Ott has been global brand ambassador for Technics, the hi-fi audio brand of Panasonic Corporation. She also collaborates with the French luxury jewellery house, Chaumet, part of the LVMH group, as well as German couture brand Marc Cain, for whom she was recently the subject of a short film by Vogue Germany.

www.alicesaraott

Barbara Hannigan

Embodying music with an unparalleled dramatic sensibility, soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan is an artist at the forefront of creation. Her remarkable performances have been called “astonishing”, “phenomenal” and “fearless”, and she was named “une femme-caméléon” by Le Figaro.

As a singer and conductor, the Canadian musician has shown a profound commitment to the music of our time and has given the world première performances of over 90 new creations. Her artistic colleagues include Christoph Marthaler, Sir Simon Rattle, Sasha Waltz, Kent Nagano, Vladimir Jurowski, John Zorn, Andreas Kriegenburg, Andris Nelsons, David Zinman, Antonio Pappano, Katie Mitchell, Kirill Petrenko, and Krszysztof Warlikowski.

In 2017 Barbara Hannigan created ‘Equilibrium Young Artists’, a mentoring initiative for young professional musicians. Equilibrium launched officially in 2018, with 21 participants hand-selected by Hannigan and with whom she worked intensively on, among other works, Mozart’s Requiem, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, and The Rake’s Progress. The latter saw Hannigan make her debut as an opera conductor.

In 2020 Barbara Hannigan launched the major new initiative MOMENTUM: Our Future, Now. MOMENTUM supports young, high quality, professional musicians in the first substantial phase of their career, offering them mainstage performance opportunities. It has already positively impacted on the careers of many young artists across the world.

For the 2021-22 season, Barbara Hannigan reprises her seminal role of Lulu, in Krzysztof Warlikowski’s groundbreaking production. She also continues her residency with Paris’s Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and her Principal Guest conductor role at Gothenburg Symphony.

Barbara Hannigan’s latest album on Alpha Classics, La Passione, with works by Luigi Nono, Haydn and Gérard Grisey – and which she sings and conducts – was released in March 2020 and received widespread critical acclaim and awards including Classica: choc de l’année and Record Geijitsu’s SHOKKU.

www.barbarahannigan.com

www.equilibrium-youngartists.com

MOMENTUM: Our Future, Now

Bryce Dessner

www.brycedessner

Bertrand Chamayou

Bertrand Chamayou is one of today’s most strikingly brilliant pianists, heralded for his revelatory performances at once powerfully virtuosic, imaginative and breathtakingly beautiful. He is recognised as a leading interpreter of French Romantic repertoire in particular, shining a new light on familiar as well as lesser known repertoire. At the same time Chamayou possesses a driving curiosity and is deeply passionate about new music, having worked with composers including Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux, György Kurtág, Bruno Mantovani, Thomas Adès, Michael Jarrell and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

In October 2019 Chamayou was awarded the Gramophone Award for Best Concerto Album for his striking Saint-Saëns album, adding to the long list of accolades for his discography. In autumn 2020 Chamayou released a breathtaking new album of lullabies for solo piano, Good Night!, including an original composition by Bryce Dessner.

Bertrand Chamayou is the co-artistic director of the new Festival Ravel, with the first edition taking place in the Basque Country, the composer’s birthplace, from 22 August to 10 September 2021. The flagship new festival looks set to be a major new fixture on the international music scene.

www.bertrandchamayou.com

festivalravel.fr

Patricia Kopatchinskaja

Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja is one of the most thrilling artistic forces on the global classical music scene today. A musician of the highest-level artistry, integrity and originality, she is increasingly in-demand for her vital and dynamic performances.

Her recording of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden – interspersed with other music – won the GRAMMY Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble performance.

www.patriciakopatchinskaja

Víkingur Ólafsson

www.vikingurolafsson.com

Kate Lindsey

Praised for her “luminous and intelligent singing” and electric acting performances, Kate Lindsey continues to redefine the modern opera star in the world of classical music.

The mezzo-soprano who excels in Mozart and Purcell but who grew up listening to the music of Broadway, Kate Lindsey released her debut solo album on Alpha Classics in May 2017. Thousands of Miles is the alchemical collaboration between Lindsey and the award-winning jazz pianist, Baptiste Trotignon. Featuring works by Kurt Weill and other emigré composers, the album was named one of the top 25 classical recordings of 2017 by the New York Times.

In January 2020 Lindsey released her second solo album on Alpha Classics, ARIANNA, this time featuring works by Haydn, Handel and Scarlatti and performed with Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo, accompanied by a special film by Olly Lambert.

Kate Lindsey joins forces once more with Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo for their anticipated new album, TIRANNO, released in 2021 to widespread acclaim. Gaining an Editor’s Choice, Gramophone magazine stated “Lindsey’s performance is a dramatic tour de force.”

Kate Lindsey appeared at New York’s Metropolitan Opera from February 2020 as Nerone in the all-star production of Handel’s Agrippina.

www.katelindsey.com

Johannes Pramsohler

The entrepreneurial Baroque violinist Johannes Pramsohler founded his own chamber ensemble, Ensemble Diderot, in 2008. For more than ten years the ensemble has become increasingly recognised for its faithful interpretations and world-premiere recordings of little-known Baroque masterpieces. It dedicates itself to the pioneering exploration and performance of the Baroque trio sonata repertoire of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and performs on original instruments.

Pramsohler and Ensemble Diderot’s groundbreaking work shining a light on neglected composers has seen their recording projects met with widespread acclaim, both critical and public. Pramsohler is now developing the label he founded, Audax Records, to sign and develop emerging artists. The latest release on the label features the 2019 winner of the Operalia competition, Adriana González, in her debut recording featuring rare Mélodies by Dussaut & Covatti.

In autumn 2020 Johannes Pramsohler and Ensemble Diderot released the next instalment in their thrilling “cities” series: The Berlin Album, consisting solely of world premiere recordings and offering a rich snapshot of music-making in 18th century Berlin.

2021 sees the release of several new albums on Audax Records, including a brand new recording from award-winning Adriana González and an anticipated new release from Ensemble Diderot of French violin concerti.

www.johannespramsohler
www.ensemblediderot
www.audax-records

Festival Ravel

The first edition of FESTIVAL RAVEL takes place in Nouvelle Aquitaine, south-west France, from 22 August to 10 September 2021, heralding a major new presence on the French cultural and international festival scene.

Firmly rooted in the Basque country, the new three-week festival welcomes today’s top artists and ensembles, with programming reflecting the many facets of Ravel, his universe and his vision. With ambitious plans under the joint artistic direction of pianists Bertrand Chamayou and Jean-François Heisser, the annual festival is set to become the worldwide reference for Maurice Ravel (1875-1937).

Artistic highlights of 2021 include:
– Riccardo Chailly & Orchestre de Paris; Giovanni Antonini & Il Giardino Armonico; Philippe Herreweghe & Orchestre et Choeur des Champs Elysées; Vincent Dumestre & Le Poème Harmonique
– Sol Gabetta; Renaud Capuçon; Bertrand Chamayou; Yulianna Avdeeva; Katia & Marielle Labèque; Jazz from Michel Portal
– World première of Mariage of Louis XIV, an imagined musical programme from the wedding of Louis XIV, performed in the church where the monarch was married in 1660

www.festivalravel.fr