La voix Callum Smart & Richard Uttley

• 1 I. Allegro con fuoco 06:50
• 2 II. Intermezzo: Tres lent et calme 06:09
• 3 III. Presto tragico 05:35
• 4 I. Allegro molto 09:24
• 5 II. Andante 07:00
• 6 III. Allegro vivo 04:14
• 7 IV. Allegro quasi presto 05:52
• 8 Tzigane 10:35
• 9 Piece en forme de habanera 03:19
• Total Runtime 58:58

Info for La voix

The starting point for the album was French music for violin and piano, but a theme that emerged as we rehearsed and explored these works was that of the voice. As such, we decided ‘La Voix’ would make a fitting title. A vocal quality is central to all of this music, and each piece speaks or sings with its own particular type of voice. Poulenc’s Sonata has a distinctly Spanish accent, and at the same time as being a commentary on the tragedy of war, it demonstrates Poulenc’s feelings for one of Spain’s great literary talents, Federico García Lorca. The Fauré is nothing if not an extended love song, and a highly personal one at that – Fauré had hoped (in vain, alas) that it would help him woo Marianne Viardot, the sister of the work’s dedicatee. The two Ravel pieces, as with the Poulenc Sonata, are examples of a composer adopting the voice of another and in the process revealing something about themselves – the gypsy music of Tzigane and the sensual hispanic vocalise of the Pièce en forme de Habanera both a kind of tribute to the Basque-Spanish heritage of his mother, to whom Ravel felt so close.

Callum Smart, violin
Richard Uttley, piano

Callum Smart
attracted wide public attention at the age of 13 having won the strings category of the 2010 BBC Young Musician Competition performing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Vasily Petrenko and broadcast on BBC 2 and Radio 3.

Also in 2010, Callum became the top European prizewinner in the Menuhin Competition in Oslo. He has since appeared at a number of European festivals including the Dvořák Festival in Prague, the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Les Sommets Musicaux in Gstaad and the Valdres Sommersymfoni Festival with pianist Gordon Back, Mecklenburg Vorpommern with the Polish Chamber Orchestra and the Malmö International String Festival with Jonas Vitaud. UK recitals include Birmingham, the Cheltenham Festival, Glasgow, Leeds, the Lichfield Festival, Manchester, Newport and Perth. In March 2016 he gives recital performances with the pianist Richard Uttley in Birmingham, London’s Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin and the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris.

January 2015 saw Callum make his Royal Festival Hall debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto under Michael Collins. Previous concerto appearances include venues such as Cadogan Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, London and performances with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales with Glazunov’s Concerto under Grant Llewellyn and Mozart Violin Concerto No.5 as part of a North Wales tour with Nicholas Collon, Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No.2 in Liverpool with Vasily Petrenko, Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.5 with the European Union Chamber Orchestra, and Britten’s Violin Concerto with the Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra at Lichfield and Cheltenham Festivals and the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. In 2013 he performed Tchaikovsky’s Concerto with the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera and made his North American debut with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Grant Llewellyn. In September 2016 he has been invited to perform Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Matthew Halls.

2014 saw Callum release his first recital album on Orchid Classics (ORC100040), which was met with critical acclaim. Described by Christopher Dingle from BBC Music Magazine as ‘an exuberantly assured debut’ the recording received four stars and was selected for special mention as June’s ‘The Strad Recommends’. He was also named as a BBC Music Magazine Rising Star: Great Artists of Tomorrow.

Callum began violin studies at the age of six and at nine became a student of Maciej Rakowski whose tutelage continued alongside his studies at Chetham’s School of Music. Currently in Indiana as the recipient of the Premier Young Artist Award from the Jacobs School of Music, he studies with Mauricio Fuks. Callum plays on a c.1730-35 violin by Carlo Bergonzi.

Richard Uttley
has given solo recitals or played concertos in the UK’s major halls, and his playing has frequently been broadcast on BBC Radio 3. He has been recognised for his ‘musical intelligence and pristine facility’ (International Record Review), ‘amazing decisiveness … tumultuous performance’ (Ivan Hewett, The Daily Telegraph), and featured as a Rising Star in BBC Music Magazine.

He studied at Clare College, Cambridge, graduating with a Double First in Music, and with Martin Roscoe at the Guildhall School. His awards include first prizes in the Haverhill Sinfonia Soloist Competition and the British Contemporary Piano Competition, and he was selected for representation by Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) in 2011.

Recently, Richard has attended the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove (Thomas Adès Masterclasses and Open Chamber Music), given regular recitals and made recordings with BBC New Generation Artist Mark Simpson (including Wigmore Hall and The Sage Gateshead live on Radio 3, and a film for Sky Arts), collaborated with visual artist Nat Urazmetova, and released his third solo disc Ghosts & Mirrors to critical acclaim.

Highlights of 2015/16 include Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time and the premiere of a new work by Rolf Hind at Cheltenham Festival; recording for NMC; commissioning and premiering works by Francisco Coll, Matthew Kaner and Naomi Pinnock; solo recitals in Bridgewater Hall and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival; and recitals with Callum Smart in Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin and Auditorium du Louvre.

Richard is a trustee of New Dots, a charity promoting contemporary music.

Booklet for La voix