Roxanna Panufnik: Heartfelt Sacconi Quartet, M. Bevan, N. Daniel, A. Harman, A. Marshall, C. Owen, R. Williams

• Roxanna Panufnik (b. 1968): Private Joe:
• 1 Panufnik: Private Joe: I. Letter 1 04:11
• 2 Panufnik: Private Joe: Ii. And When I Die 02:21
• 3 Panufnik: Private Joe: Iii. The Letter 03:38
• 4 Panufnik: Private Joe: Iv. From Albert to Bapaume 03:18
• 5 Panufnik: Private Joe: V. Letter 2 06:31
• Roxanna Panufnik:
• 6 Panufnik: Canto 07:57
• Letter from Burma:
• 7 Panufnik: Letter from Burma: I. Aung-ze Paing-ze 03:40
• 8 Panufnik: Letter from Burma: Ii. Young Birds Outside Cages 01:48
• 9 Panufnik: Letter from Burma: Iii. Thazin 02:55
• 10 Panufnik: Letter from Burma: Iv. Kintha Dance 02:17
• Roxanna Panufnik:
• 11 Panufnik: Hora Bessarabia 07:32
• 12 Panufnik: Cantator and Amanda 13:55
• 13 Panufnik: Second Home 09:50
• Heartfelt:
• 14 Panufnik: Heartfelt: I. Uzbek Processional 05:43
• 15 Panufnik: Heartfelt: Ii. Lament for a Bulgarian Dancing Bear 05:39
• Total Runtime 01:21:15

Info for Roxanna Panufnik: Heartfelt

Since Westminster Mass (2000) established Roxanna Panufnik’s firm place among today’sleading British composers, she has often been celebrated for her choral music. Her instrumental and chamber works, however, are equally striking, filled with dazzling imagination and poetic lightness of touch. Her latest album Heartfelt encompasses compassion, tragedy and irresistible humour, while demonstrating her passion for exploring diverse musical cultures, from East Sussex to Myanmar.

Featuring a stellar line-up of leading British soloists (including soprano Mary Bevan, pianist Charles Owen and baritone Roderick Williams) and led by the Sacconi Quartet, the title work includes a musical translation of the heartbeat of a young European Brown Bear named Albie: captured by a digital stethoscope, Bristol Zoological Society’s Wild Place Project was generously able to send Panufnik a recording of Albie’s heartbeat whilst he underwent a small surgical procedure, the anaesthetic possibly resembling the bear’s hibernation. Albie himself is pictured on the album’s front cover.

Sacconi Quartet
Mary Bevan, Sopran
Charles Owen, Klavier
Roderick Williams, Bariton

Sacconi Quartet
The award-winning Sacconi Quartet is recognised for its unanimous and compelling ensemble, consistently communicating with a fresh and imaginative approach. Performing with style and commitment, the Quartet is known throughout the world for its creativity and integrity of interpretation. Formed in 2001, its four founder members continue to demonstrate a shared passion for string quartet repertoire, infectiously reaching out to audiences with their energy and enthusiasm. The Quartet have enjoyed a highly successful international career, performing regularly throughout Europe, at London’s major venues, in recordings and on radio broadcasts. The Sacconi is Quartet in Association at the Royal College of Music and Associate Artist at the Bristol Old Vic.

The 2015/16 season saw the Quartet focusing on the works of Jonathan Dove, Graham Fitkin and John McCabe, culminating in CD recordings of all three composers. Their commission with Mark Padmore of Jonathan Dove’s new song cycle In Damascus, with words by Syrian poet Ali Safar, was premiered in Folkestone, Aldeburgh and London. Other highlights of last season included return performances at William Walton’s house in Ischia, Italy, and collaborations with Freddy Kempf, Charles Owen, Roger Chase, Pierre Doumenge, Miloš Karadaglić, Tim Boulton, Simon Rowland-Jones, Garfield Jackson and David Waterman. They also recorded John McCabe’s Horn Quintet, written for them and David Pyatt in 2011.

In Summer 2015 the quartet launched HEARTFELT, their most innovative project to date. A radical re- interpretation of Beethoven’s iconic String Quartet in A minor opus 132, HEARTFELT pushed the boundaries of chamber music through combining sound, light and touch, for a truly unique performance in which audience members connected with each performer’s heartbeat through holding robotic ‘hearts’. Developed in a unique collaboration with robotics designers Rusty Squid and lighting designer Ziggy Jacobs-Wyburn, and funded by Arts Council England, HEARTFELT received 4-star reviews from The Guardian and The Independent, and was described by the latter as “a powerful way to experience the visceral physicality of Beethoven’s profound thanksgiving”.

Now in its tenth year, the Sacconi Chamber Music Festival in Folkestone, Kent is an established event in the cultural calendar and is expanding year on year with challenging programming and exciting collaborations. 2016’s festival featured Jonathan Dove as resident composer and included a rare performance of Steve Reich’s Triple Quartet with twelve players.

Firm believers in the importance of bringing chamber music to the next generation, the Sacconi Quartet dedicates much passion, time and energy to education work. They regularly lead workshops and give school and family concerts as part of the Sacconi Chamber Music Festival outreach programme and the CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust. Their latest project, an educational show entitled The String Thing, with script by Matthew Sharp, went down a storm wherever it was performed.

Booklet for Roxanna Panufnik: Heartfelt