“Shades of Night” – forthcoming Divine Art album from American pianist Andrew Brownell

Divine Art Records is delighted to announce the new album from Andrew Brownell, one of the labels’ latest signings. Titled “Shades of Night” the album is a potpourri of exquisite gems with Romantic overtones though the music ranges from the baroque to the present day.

The pianist explains the ethos of the album:

“Since the invention of artificial lighting, night has been nothing more than that part of the day without sunlight. But before this, night was something altogether more alluring, particularly in the fertile imaginations of Romantic composers. The absence of the sun gave cover of darkness to magic and mystery; it was a time for drunken revelry, passionate love, and encounters with the supernatural.”

Shades of Night is an eclectic anthology of piano music that explores the theme of the night, from well-known works like Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata or Chopin’s Nocturnes, to lesser-known pieces from the French Baroque and 20^th-century America. Debussy’s sounds and perfumes swirl sensuously in the evening air, icy arabesques float over hypnotic melodies in a nocturne by Liebermann, and a forbidden affair angers the gods in a heated tableau by Schumann.  For most of human history, the night was a strange and mysterious time. Take a journey through its many hues with Shades of Night.

Andrew Brownell, a native of Portland, Oregon, was the first American pianist ever to win a prize in the International J S Bach competition (in 2002) and he is renowned for his creative programming and interpretive insight. Musical Opinion has described him as “potentially one of the most significant pianists of his generation”.  He performs internationally and has appeared as soloist with major orchestras such as the Hallé and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and his performances have been broadcast on BBC TV and radio, Classic FM, NPR (USA) and several European stations.  He earned his doctorate at the Guildhall School of Music, London. He is now (since 2017) a member of the faculty of the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas.

Shades of Night (DDA 25233)

• Piano Sonata (Moonlight), Op. 27 No.2 – First movement, Adagio sostenuto (Ludwig van Beethoven)
• Nocturne in D flat, Op. 27/2 (Fryderyk Chopin)
• Suite 1922, Op. 26 – Nachstuck (Paul Hindemith)
• Preludes Book 1 – Les sons et les parfums… (Claude Debussy)
• Le Rossignol en amour (From 14^ème Ordre) (François Couperin)
• Nocturne No. 5 in D major, Op. 55 (Lowell Liebermann)
• Double de Rossignol (from 14ème Ordre) (François Couperin)
• Out of Doors – Musique Nocturne (Bela Bartók)
• Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48/1 (Fryderyk Chopin)
• Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 – In der Nacht (Robert Schumann)
• Nocturne, Op. 33 (Samuel Barber)
• Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5 –  2^nd movement, Andante (Johannes Brahms)
• Suite bergamasque – Clair de lune (Claude Debussy)

Recorded in London 19-21 October 2015; Recording engineer Michael Ponder.

Release date to be confirmed but between July – October 2022