Donald Sulzen,
piano
Repertoire includes:
Poulenc's Sonata, L.
Boulanger's Nocturne, Ravel's Pièce en Forme de Habanera,
Gieseking's Sonatine, Martinu'sFirst Sonata, Hoover's
Kokopeli, andMuczynski's Sonata.
Fanfare The Magazine for Serious
Record Collectors
July/August 2005
...a delight from beginning to
end...real musical substance...performances are impressive, enjoyable, and
satisfying... Don Bailey boasts a brilliant technique and a bristling sense
of excitement. Donald Sulzen is an adept and vigorous accompanist. The
performance is excellent, highly charged, and exciting. The Poulenc Sonata
is played brilliantly. The program is leavened by three works of lesser
dimensions, each of which is performed beautifully. ~ WalterSimmons
Dear
Don, this is just a short message to congratulate you on your exquisite CD.
I love your playing. You have a beautifully distinctive style for each piece
and the remarkable collaboration with your outstanding pianist is apparent
with each moment. Your performances are touching and an absolute pleasure to
hear. You should be very proud. All best wishes, Jeannie
Don, I
can't remember if I wrote to you about your new CD, but it is great. I loved
the repertoire too, especially the Gieseking. This must be a first
recording. It did cross my mind how much study and preparation went into
the making of this.
BärliNugent (Asst. Dean, Dir. of Chamber Music, The Juilliard School,
Flutist Aspen Wind Quintet):
Tribute
captivates the listener with a gorgeously effervescent gift of musical gems,
played with joy and heartfelt artistry.
The CD is beautifully played from beginning to
end. Kokopeli is just wonderful - you really have the totality of the piece,
as well as the inner phrases, contrasts, etc. Excellent!!! Kokopeli stands
out for the reason that we can easily hear your inflections, dynamics, and
tone colors. Both of you are obviously terrific players, and the ensemble
is tight. Congratulations all around!
ArthurHoule ( Founder & Director, International Festival for Creative
Pianists):
Wow! I just had to tell you what a
GREAT CD "Tribute" is! Everything about it -- choice of repertory,
performances, sound quality, liner notes -- is absolutely top-notch! You and
Don make a terrific team. Nice blend of well-known with less well-known
pieces. Listening to it transported me to another world -- thoroughly
entrancing and convincing, so imaginative, free and expressive! Also a bit
bittersweet, for it reminds me that while Boise is a perfect place to raise my
family, it affords me less opportunities to work
with people of your caliber.
Rick Rowley (Concert Pianist,
Faculty University of Texas at Austin):
I listened to KMFA
yesterday and heard your CD! They played the Nocturne by Lili Boulanger and the Poulenc Sonata. It is terrific!! I was most impressed. The
recording and more importantly the performances are wonderful. I will be going
to your website to order a copy.
"Tribute" is beautiful
and interesting. ...My
favorite pieces are the Boulanger Nocturne which is
played with the quiet yet lush romanticism it deserves, Ravel's always
gorgeous Piece en forme de Habanera, and Martinu's First Sonata,
which came through with great joy and energy. New York City is so lucky
to have this great flutist/great person. We're
all lucky that these CDs are available to listen to, learn from, and enjoy.
This
recording pays tribute to the long standing friendship between the
performers, to composers of the 20th Century, and to great chamber music.
"Donald Sulzen and I have been friends
for more than twenty years. We were both graduate music students at the
University of North Texas until we completed our degrees and our careers
led us in separate directions – his to Europe, mine throughout the United
States. We have never performed together — until now.
Before committing to the recording
project, Donald and I asked ourselves whether the music world really
needed another CD of flute works already on disc. What could we say that
others had not, and how would we go about choosing the repertoire? After
much discussion and careful consideration of our musical strengths and
interests, we concluded that we could indeed add something of value to the
ever growing collection of recorded music.
We chose works composed during the
20th Century. Not only does each piece stand on its own merit, but we
believe the collection as a whole displays a range of compositional style
and dramatic diversity that makes for an interesting and enjoyable
recording.
Three days before recording the
album, we performed the selections to an enthusiastic audience at the
Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich’s Gasteig. A matching concert
at The Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City had been canceled
with only an hour’s notice due to the power blackout on August 14, 2003.
In concert settings, the repertoire proves almost too ambitious — four
complete sonatas, plus interludes — but the result is a well-balanced and
enjoyable program."
Don Bailey, flute Arcata String Quartet plus harp & bass
"Easy listening,"
yet quality classical music from around the world....
"This disc
showcases the talents of New York-based flutist Don Bailey in a
smorgasbord of music from around the world, all of it either composed or
arranged for flute and strings. Many of the selections, such as the Ravel
Sonatine, the Paderewski Minuet or "November" from Tchaikovsky's 'Seasons'
originated as piano works. The title track, John Corigliano's 'Voyage,'
was in fact written for chorus, but several of the more unusual and
interesting items, such as Arthur Foote's 'Night Piece' or Alberto
Ginastera's 'Impressiones de la Puna' are heard in their original
instrumentation. The entire recital is permeated by a sense of rhythmic
relaxation and melodious repose, both in the choice of pieces as well as
the gentle manner in which Bailey plays them. As voyages go, this one
enjoys a calm sea."
Tower Records
"...impeccably
controlled sound... full of artful colors and nuances..exceptional
attention to detail…unfailing precision…deceptively free-feeling melodic
momentum…fresh and interesting."
American Record Guide
"...a nicely
conceived collection covering a broad spectrum. The original works are
particularly effective. John Corigliano's Voyage...is immediately
involving. Performances are very fine. Bailey has a good, solid
technique and produces a nice sound...a generous collection with a great
deal to enjoy."
Fanfare
I
sat down last night and took your VOYAGE, and a very elegant cruise it
was, indeed. Clarity seems to be a hallmark of your playing: tonal,
articulative, technical, and conceptual. In short, you sound terrific.
Bravo!
Linda Chesis(Manhattan
School of Music, concert flutist):
The CD is just
wonderful - a real labor of love. Beautiful music beautifully performed.
It
is excellent!!!! I really do love to hear some other interpretation of
those great Swedish pieces. Good thing you did to change the octave up,
you know where I mean... that is what the arranger Jerker Johansson
wanted. I will let him listen to your great playing when I see him next
time.
Nadine Asin (Flute/Pic, Metropolitan
Opera Orchestra):
Your CD is VERY beautiful and I know you will have much success with
it...your sound is very Rampalian,..it's fabulous!
Not
only is the playing first rate, but the concept of VOYAGE is well thought
out, the pieces work well together, the arrangements are beautiful and the
overall feeling of this CD is a very pleasing and enjoyable one. I highly
recommend it.
Bärli Nugent(Asst. Dean,
Dir. of Chamber Music, The Juilliard School, Flutist Aspen Wind Quintet):
It
is beautiful. I think people should be grabbing this up - it is so
refreshing to not just hear the same old warhorses done yet again by yet
another flute player. You should be doing lots more recording.
Carol Dale
(Flute Professor, University of Mississippi):
Don
Bailey has released a CD that showcases a number of lesser-known flute
jewels, and the flute world should be grateful to him for it. These pieces
are beautiful, and the musicians offer lovely and convincing
interpretations. The recording quality is superb, the energy level high,
and the flute playing extraordinary. Add this CD to your collection,
because it's one you'll listen to again and again.
Trygve Peterson
(Former Faculty, Arizona State University):
I
am very impressed with VOYAGE. Excellent recording quality and superb
playing. First rate all the way. The repertoire on the CD is fresh and
different, the playing top-notch: I don't see how you can go wrong with
this one.
Grace Paradise (Harpist on VOYAGE,
Lauryn Hill’s Grammy CD; also Mandy Patinkin's CDs):
Your sound is just wonderful
and the pieces were all delightful. The positioning and variety of pieces
make for a great program. Great mix job too - I thought the string quartet
sounded like a chamber orchestra.
Don
Bailey’s VOYAGE is a truly outstanding CD, with first-rate performances of
beautiful music known and unknown. I am proud to be represented on this
disc.
Margaret Jacob (Wife of Gordon Jacob,
composer):
I
just put on 'Four Fancies' to give me a taste of your playing and I was
charmed by it. It is a superb piece played to perfection. I am so glad
you like playing Gordon’s music and sincerely hope you will eventually
manage to get the concerto on disc. I wish you every success in your
musical career.
Helen Spielman
(Performance Anxiety Coach)
Voyage, Don's first CD...containing music from around the world (UK,
Sweden, Russia, USA, France, Poland, and Argentina), is beautifully
packaged and contains illuminating program notes about the music and
musicians. I particularly liked the lovely Four Fancies by Gordon Jacob
and W. Peterson-Berger's Frosoblomster, a longtime favorite of mine, which
Don performed with sensitivity and elegance. His interpretation of H.
Alfven's Herdsmaiden's Dance showed clear articulation and the joyful
lightness that the piece requires. I was fascinated by Papillion by
Kohler. I've played and heard this piece for flute and piano, but here
Don presents it arranged by Adam Manijak for string accompaniment. This
arrangement wasn't any better than for piano, nor worse - just different,
a new alternative. I thought it was a creative, innovative endeavor. I
enjoyed list member Katherine Hoover's On the Betrothal of Princess
Isabelle of France, Aged 6 Years, especially, as well as the Tschaikowsky,
Foote, and Ginastera works included. The Paderewski Minuet in G was
another charming arrangement that ends this sophisticated, thoughtful
recording.
Don's playing is expressive
and he has a clear, pristine tone. His judicious use of vibrato gives him
a great variety of tone color. Most of all, I appeciate how Don takes time
in the music, never rushing, phrasing with care and musicality.
The
disk is very beautiful. I like this format of the Corigliano piece, and I
particularly love the haunting piece by Katherine Hoover - it feels like
the place where the entire disc gravitates. There are a lot of flute
recordings out there, but VOYAGE is one of the few that I’ve enjoyed
listening to from start to finish.
Tom Strom (President of the
Peterson-Berger Society):
I
enjoyed VOYAGE very much. I will review it for our next Peterson-Berger
newsletter. You may be sure I will have nice things to say. I hope you
have a lot of success.
From a graduate flute student at an
American university:
I
have listened to VOYAGE several times as I make my daily trip to the
practice rooms in the early hours of the morning. An absolutely beautiful
thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. As I was nearing the music
building, I looked out across Lake Michigan. I then looked towards the
sky and there were pink and blue clouds stretched about the sun. I was
listening to "Sommarsang" (#6 on your CD) and when I lifted my face
upwards, an interval rose with me. A quietness settled over me that I had
not felt in some time. The remainder of the day I felt a calm presence
about me, and the past few weeks have been the most beautiful of the
entire year. I don’t know exactly what came over me or if it will even
stay, but I wanted to let you know that a very simple melody triggered a
very deep reverie.
"Scherzo" from Muczynski's
Sonata for flute and piano from Tribute (Genuin Musikproduktion Records)
