Fazil Say and Nicolas Altstaedt - 4 Cities (2017)

This bracingly eclectic recital opens with Fazıl Say’s Four Cities, a musical celebration of four Turkish locations the composer describes as “full of personal memories”. Originally a BBC commission, it was premiered in June 2012 during the City of London Festival by Nicolas Altstaedt and José Gallardo. “4 Cities is a dive into the world of poetry, mysticism, into the history, the secrets and passions of the Orient.I have never been more fascinated exploring the miracles and the stories of people’s daily life challenging the limits of my own instrument. The cello is transformed into a flute, a fiddle, a percussion instrument until it becomes the voice of the people inviting us to a world that feels closer to us than ever before having encountered it through its music.”

TRACKLIST

01. Cello Sonata, 'Four Cities': I . Sivas
02. Cello Sonata, 'Four Cities': II. Hopa
03. Cello Sonata, 'Four Cities': III. Ankara
04. Cello Sonata, 'Four Cities': IV. Bodrum
05. Cello Sonata in D Minor, L. 135: No. 1 Prologue
06. Cello Sonata in D Minor, L. 135: No. 2 Sérénade
07. Cello Sonata in D Minor, L. 135: No. 3 Final
08. Pohádka (Fairy Tale; 'The Story of Tsar Berendyey'), JW 7/5: No. 1 Con moto
09. Pohádka (Fairy Tale; 'The Story of Tsar Berendyey'), JW 7/5: No. 2 Con moto
10. Pohádka (Fairy Tale; 'The Story of Tsar Berendyey'), JW 7/5: No. 3 Allegro
11. Presto for cello & piano, JW 7/6
12. Cello Sonata in D Minor, Op. 40: No. 1 Allegro non troppo
13. Cello Sonata in D Minor, Op. 40: No. 2 Allegro
14. Cello Sonata in D Minor, Op. 40: No. 3 Largo
15. Cello Sonata in D Minor, Op. 40: No. 4 Allegro