Our new CD
“Havana Moon”
Compositions by
http://transcentury.blogspot.com/2016/08/latin-touches-and-others.html
Havana Moon from Steinway & Sons, for example, mixes a couple of short, evocative, authentically Latinate piano works by Heitor Villa-Lobos (Skyline of New Yorkand Valsa da Dor) with Latin-influenced pieces by three contemporary composers. The three are Paquito D’Rivera (born 1948), who contributes The Cape Cod Files(four movements), Habanera, Contradanza and Vals Venezolano; Miguel del Águila (born 1957), whose Tango Trio, Nocturne and Silence are heard here; and bandoneón player J.P. Jofre (born 1983), whose works on this CD are Sweet Dreams and Primavera. Several of the pieces are world première recordings, and all are quite well handled by performers who are clearly comfortable playing “fusion” music …
The Havana Moon title and the presence of Cuban reedman Paquito D’Rivera at the beginning of the program might give the impression that this is a collection of Cuban crossover music; in fact, the program is pan-Latin; composer Miguel del Águila is Uruguayan, Heitor Villa-Lobos is Brazilian, and JP Jofre is an Argentinian bandoneón player and composer. The music is for a small chamber ensemble headed by German pianist Evelyn Ulex; hence the connection to the piano-oriented Steinway label (and the Transatlantic moniker, for clarinetist Mariam Adam is American)…
“I just finished listening to my Silence from your new Havana Moon CD; and both my friend and I were in tears by the beginning of the coda. Your interpretation is so beautifully moving, lyrical, refined, deep and most of all the feelings and expression of the music sound so sincere. … as if you two are alone seating somewhere in the dark, improvising absentmindedly whatever comes to mind… my favorite type of performances. Bravo Evelyn Ulex and Mariam Adam, you’ve got a hit!Nocturne sounds beautiful, very lyrical and introspective. Tango Trio sounds fun and dramatic as you captured so well all the passion, melodrama and sultriness of this piece. Thank you for this amazing recording of my works and all other excellent tracks on the Havana Moon album.”
Miguel del Aguila
June 2016
“Clarinettist Miriam Adam, a fonding and former member of Imani Winds, steps out with pianist Evelyn Ulex in their guise as the TransAtlantic Ensemble for a splendid voyage of discovery through the western hemisphere.”
“It’s a great honor to be part of this unique album that features some of my favorite composers. Now’s days is very hard to find albums with diverse styles of contemporary-tonal music, but in this case, the Transatlantic Ensemble did a wonderful work in the selection of the works and the performance is excellent.“
JP Jofre
Monterey native Mariam Adam made a welcome return to the area on Friday evening, March 7, 2014 to play at All Saints’ Church, Carmel in a fund-raiser for Youth Music Monterey, of which she is an alumna. Now based in New York, Mariam has made an international reputation with the wind quintet Imani Winds in the past 15 years, and she also has formidable ability in the clarinet and piano repertoire, as she demonstrated in this recital together with equally accomplished Berlin-born pianist, Evelyn Ulex…
By David Beech – March, 10, 2014
Erzbischöfliche Liebfrauenschule – Cologne – Germany see pdf
Amerika Haus – Cologne – Germany see pdf
Amerika Haus – Nordrhein-Westfalen – Germany see pdf
Mississippi University Recommendation, German-American Institute Nürnberg see pdf
Ost-Thueringer Newspaper see pdf
German Consulate, NYC see pdf
German Consulate, Miami see pdf
New Jersey City University see pdf
Icelandic Consulate, Berlin see pdf
Symphony Hartford, capriccio see pdf
Transatlantic Ensemble’s Friday night performance at (le) Poisson Rouge might have created a new dictionary entry for “classical music.” It doesn’t need to be played for white-haired men dragged to the theater by their wives; it can be captivating, artistic, and if done right, reflect the inner emotions of our life.
By David Artavia – April 14, 2013
Last Friday at (le) Poisson Rouge, Transatlantic Ensemble actively expanded the boundaries of classical music. The dynamic duo, comprised of Imani Winds clarinetist Mariam Adam and German pianist Evelyn Ulex, presented an engaging concert that featured an array of music by living composers, most of which can found on their debut album, Crossing America.
By Melanie Wong – April 16, 2013
