The Chopin Project

by Alice Sara Ott

Overview

This week's entry in the very-much-like-nothing-you've-ever-heard-before sweepstakes comes from Icelandic electronic musician and composer Olafur Arnalds and German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott, whose recording of Chopin waltzes inspired the project. What you get are recordings of Chopin piano compositions, plus original compositions by Arnalds based on motifs from Chopin. In one case, "Eyes Shut/Nocturne in C minor" (track six), the two are combined. Arnalds' pieces employ his own electronic keyboard textures, plus a live string quintet. On top of this, the pianos are vintage instruments hunted down in Reykjavik, and the ambience, if you will, was manipulated by recording in various venues and with various microphones there. And, on top of all this, Arnalds adds ambient soundscapes (noise, sounds of conversation, whispers, etc.) to the music. The ideas seem packed in a bit thick. The string quintet, for example, was a sound unused by Chopin, and it introduces an element that seems discordant with the source material. But there is a major X factor working in favor of this release: nobody has ever tried anything much like this, either with Chopin or with any other composer, and it just might be the beginning of something new and important. Check it out and decide for yourself! ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	09/27/2024
Label:	Decca
UPC:	0028948761326
Rank:	163045

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Olafur Arnalds   Primary Artist,Synthesizer,Piano
Alice Sara Ott   Primary Artist,Piano
Mari Samuelsen   Primary Artist,Violin
Hallgrimur Jonas Jensson   Strings
Unnur Jonsdottir   Strings
Viktor Orri Arnason   Strings
Bjoerk Oskarsdottir   Strings
Þorarinn Mar Baldursson   Strings

Technical Credits

Bergur Þorisson   Engineer
Snorri Hallgrimsson   Engineer
Hedjinn Eiriksson   Cover Photo,Photography
Olafur Arnalds   Recording Producer,Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Liner Notes
Nils Frahm   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Alexander Buhr   Executive Producer
Jonas Valtysson   Design,Art Direction
Antonio Stradivari   Instrument Design
Nathan Milstein   Arranger
Frederic Chopin   Composer,Original Material
Finnur Hakonarson   Engineer