“The idea of reacting to spaces is the thread that snakes through this fascinating recital. Programming is clearly a strength of Shpachenko... Shpachenko’s performance is little short of brilliant, the playful aspect almost seeming to capture glints of light from the building as one passes by. … The keyword to this disc is in its title: poetry. There is visual poetry in the images, compositional poetry in the responses that form this program, and performance poetry via Shpachenko. One might even argue that there is a generally unnoticed poetry in the excellence of the recording, which is magnificently managed.”
“The idea of reacting to spaces is the thread that snakes through this fascinating recital. Programming is clearly a strength of Shpachenko, as her disc Quotations & Homages spoke of a similarly adventurous spirit. The superbly produced booklet gives fine background information to the pieces and composers, in tandem with a selection of photographs worth the price of the disc alone. … Shpachenko’s performance is little short of brilliant, the playful aspect almost seeming to capture glints of light from the building as one passes by. … The keyword to this disc is in its title: poetry. There is visual poetry in the images, compositional poetry in the responses that form this program, and performance poetry via Shpachenko. One might even argue that there is a generally unnoticed poetry in the excellence of the recording, which is magnificently managed.”
“The variety of this repertoire is remarkable. Shpachenko performs a veritable tour of structures ancient and modern, producing extraordinary colours and textures from her Steinway D. Her composers sometimes add a second piano, voice, a toy piano, percussion and electronics to build their works. … Each composer provides a few notes on the subject of the commission and it’s immediately striking how much common ground they share with Shpachenko on this abstract challenge. The strong affinity between the principal performer and the composers has produced a thoroughly engaging disc.”
“The variety of this repertoire is remarkable. Shpachenko performs a veritable tour of structures ancient and modern, producing extraordinary colours and textures from her Steinway D. Her composers sometimes add a second piano, voice, a toy piano, percussion and electronics to build their works. … Each composer provides a few notes on the subject of the commission and it’s immediately striking how much common ground they share with Shpachenko on this abstract challenge. The strong affinity between the principal performer and the composers has produced a thoroughly engaging disc.”
“With the experience of space at its core—and the piano at its heart—this album presents works by living composers inspired by buildings and spaces from Ireland to Santa Monica, Baltimore to Bangladesh, and Massachusetts to New York. The result is an expertly produced multimedia project distilled into sound that startles and transports the listener in waves and jumps (Norman’s Frank’s House), through passage graves (Van Zandt’s Sí an Bhrú), personal trauma (Kirsten’s h.o.p.e.), and melodic mazes (Lash’s Give Me Your Songs)... Spot-on performances, excellent engineering.”
“With the experience of space at its core—and the piano at its heart—this album presents works by living composers inspired by buildings and spaces from Ireland to Santa Monica, Baltimore to Bangladesh, and Massachusetts to New York. The result is an expertly produced multimedia project distilled into sound that startles and transports the listener in waves and jumps (Norman’s Frank’s House), through passage graves (Van Zandt’s Sí an Bhrú), personal trauma (Kirsten’s h.o.p.e.), and melodic mazes (Lash’s Give Me Your Songs). It locates places in time and music in space, evoking culture, and even projecting a nation’s hope (Spratlan’s Bangladesh). Shpachenko and her co-performers’ intuitive musicianship bring it all to life… spot-on performances, excellent engineering.”
“As in her two previous releases, Nadia Shpachenko’s devotion to the music of her time yields vividly contrasted and dazzlingly executed collection of stimulating new piano works. Everything about this disc is world-class: the extensive booklet notes and photos, the clear and full-bodied engineering, and, of course, the incisively committed performances by Shpachenko and her guest artists.”
“As in her two previous releases, Nadia Shpachenko’s devotion to the music of her time yields vividly contrasted and dazzlingly executed collection of stimulating new piano works. Everything about this disc is world-class: the extensive booklet notes and photos, the clear and full-bodied engineering, and, of course, the incisively committed performances by Shpachenko and her guest artists.”
"The final work Future Feelings is a good deal of Nadia Shpachenko on piano per se. There is a slightly rhapsodic Romantic remnant-ory overbite in terms of a rhapso-element to this music and glistening arpeggios as well. It is more situated in both a sort of capturing of "beauty" as well as the motility of some Improv Jazz, yet all is decisively resituated in a personal aural cocoon so to speak... It is music that provokes and takes you on a traveling movement, a sojourn. I recommend it for a palate cleanser that gives of itself to change the scene for you aurally."
"The final work Future Feelings is a good deal of Nadia Shpachenko on piano per se. There is a slightly rhapsodic Romantic remnant-ory overbite in terms of a rhapso-element to this music and glistening arpeggios as well. It is more situated in both a sort of capturing of "beauty" as well as the motility of some Improv Jazz, yet all is decisively resituated in a personal aural cocoon so to speak. The distinctively shifting moods and presences of the three works lend themselves well to vinyl and its expectations of physically turning the disk over halfway and the psychology of that... It is music that provokes and takes you on a traveling movement, a sojourn. I recommend it for a palate cleanser that gives of itself to change the scene for you aurally."
“…a superb and superbly recorded program of pieces as fresh as they are ready to pay respect to the traditions that led to their creation… Shpachenko’s playing is everything it needs to be and more… Eras seem not to exist for her, and neither does musical dogma, allowing her the freedom to speak the music’s multifarious dialects.”
“…a superb and superbly recorded program of pieces as fresh as they are ready to pay respect to the traditions that led to their creation… Shpachenko’s playing is everything it needs to be and more… Eras seem not to exist for her, and neither does musical dogma, allowing her the freedom to speak the music’s multifarious dialects.”
“The genius of this album is in its effortless flow. Each work follows naturally from one to the next. Though unified by the common theme of homage, each piece is wholly individual and unrelated to the others, enabling continuous listener attention… The concept is creative, the program well constructed, and Shpachenko’s pianism is of the highest caliber. The recording is sure to remain a mainstay of the contemporary discography for posterity.”
“The genius of this album is in its effortless flow. Each work follows naturally from one to the next. Though unified by the common theme of homage, each piece is wholly individual and unrelated to the others, enabling continuous listener attention… The concept is creative, the program well constructed, and Shpachenko’s pianism is of the highest caliber. The recording is sure to remain a mainstay of the contemporary discography for posterity.”
“Shpachenko is a brilliant and thoughtful artist. There is a huge range of dramatic and technical effects within this collection, and she captures them all with remarkable precision and expressivity… In all, this is a most invigorating and distinctive release.”
“Shpachenko is a brilliant and thoughtful artist. There is a huge range of dramatic and technical effects within this collection, and she captures them all with remarkable precision and expressivity… In all, this is a most invigorating and distinctive release.”
“Rare, not to mention refreshing, is the classical recording that balances seriousness with humour… [Shpachenko] executes all the material with conviction, her connection to the material unwavering no matter the works’ differences. Above all else, there is joy in her playing, and it transfers infectiously to the listener.”
“Rare, not to mention refreshing, is the classical recording that balances seriousness with humour… [Shpachenko] executes all the material with conviction, her connection to the material unwavering no matter the works’ differences. Above all else, there is joy in her playing, and it transfers infectiously to the listener.”
“Nadia Shpachenko‘s new Reference Recordings album Quotations and Homages is a clear winner… Coming on the wings of her Grammy-nominated album Woman at the New Piano: American Music of 2013, also on Reference Recordings, Quotations and Homages showcases Shpachenko’s prodigious pianism and her ability to conceive and execute innovative and accessible programs… Shpachenko’s technique and interpretation are above reproach… The album is a fascinating and approachable glimpse into the music of then and now realized through the hands and mind of a most interesting and dedicated musician.”
“Nadia Shpachenko‘s new Reference Recordings album Quotations and Homages is a clear winner… Coming on the wings of her Grammy-nominated album Woman at the New Piano: American Music of 2013, also on Reference Recordings, Quotations and Homages showcases Shpachenko’s prodigious pianism and her ability to conceive and execute innovative and accessible programs… Shpachenko’s technique and interpretation are above reproach… The album is a fascinating and approachable glimpse into the music of then and now realized through the hands and mind of a most interesting and dedicated musician.”