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The Ties That Bind

Chamber Works For Strings

Lee Bradshaw composer

Baiba Skride violin
Ivan Vukčević viola
Harriet Krijgh violoncello

Release Date: August 26, 2022
Catalog #: NV6453
Format: Digital
21st Century
Chamber
Viola
Violin

Navona Records and Australian composer Lee Bradshaw present THE TIES THAT BIND, a collection of chamber music for strings that reveal an explicit and emotionally-charged truth. Brought to life by Baiba Skide (violin), Ivan Vukčević (viola), and Harriet Krijgh (violoncello), the album features works that redefine the expressive possibilities of contemporary string playing; and in which the performers are compelled to delve deeply into their own artistry. Bradshaw’s sensuous and yet muscular compositional style displays a profound intimacy for his craft, which ultimately renders music of a rare and arresting beauty.

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Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 Via Crucis for violin Lee Bradshaw Baiba Skride, violin 4:20
02 String Trio “Trigon”: Lento - Piu lento - Morendo Lee Bradshaw Baiba Skride, violin; Ivan Vukčević, viola; Harriet Krijgh, violoncello 6:50
03 String Trio “Trigon”: Tempo di valse Lee Bradshaw Baiba Skride, violin; Ivan Vukčević, viola; Harriet Krijgh, violoncello 3:27
04 String Trio “Trigon”: Sostenuto - Adagio Lee Bradshaw Baiba Skride, violin; Ivan Vukčević, viola; Harriet Krijgh, violoncello 5:29
05 Sarabande for ‘cello Lee Bradshaw Harriet Krijgh, violoncello 4:01
06 Concerto for Two for violin and ‘cello: OVERTURA PASSACAGLIA - Grave, sostenuto Lee Bradshaw Baiba Skride, violin; Harriet Krijgh, violoncello 3:33
07 Concerto for Two for violin and ‘cello: Moderato assai - Poco alla tedesca - Tempo primo Lee Bradshaw Baiba Skride, violin; Harriet Krijgh, violoncello 8:03
08 Concerto for Two for violin and ‘cello: CRYPTOGRAPH - Adagio cantabile Lee Bradshaw Baiba Skride, violin; Harriet Krijgh, violoncello 4:26
09 Concerto for Two for violin and ‘cello: FINALE - Vivace - Poco meno Lee Bradshaw Baiba Skride, violin; Harriet Krijgh, violoncello 3:07
10 Duo Sonata for viola and ‘cello: DIALOGUE - Moderato Lee Bradshaw Ivan Vukčević, viola; Harriet Krijgh, violoncello 9:33
11 Duo Sonata for viola and ‘cello: THEMA e VARIAZIONE - Thema; Tempo di sarabande - Sostenuto - Adagio - Maestoso e poco rubato - CHORALE - Andante con moto Lee Bradshaw Ivan Vukčević, viola; Harriet Krijgh, violoncello 4:58
12 Duo Sonata for viola and ‘cello: FINALE Lee Bradshaw Ivan Vukčević, viola; Harriet Krijgh, violoncello 2:08
13 Rhapsody for viola solo, after the Concerto Lee Bradshaw Ivan Vukčević, viola 14:25

Recorded November 2021 at Emil Berliner Studios in Berlin, Germany

Recording Producer & Engineer Lukas Kowalski

Recorded, edited, and mastered by Emil Berliner Studios
Immersive Audio Engineer Emil Berliner Studios

Executive Producer Lee Bradshaw

Cover Art Michael Labrie
mikelabriephoto.photoshelter.com

Label Executive Producer Bob Lord

A&R Director Brandon MacNeil
A&R Danielle Lewis

VP of Production Jan Košulič
Audio Director Lucas Paquette

VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Patrick Niland, Brett Iannucci

Artist Information

Lee Bradshaw

Lee Bradshaw

Composer

Lee Bradshaw is a Melbourne-born Australian composer, who’s music reveals an explicit and emotionally-charged truth. His works exhibit a profound intimacy with the craft of composition, compelling the performer to delve deeply into their own artistic and creative reservoirs. His sensuous yet muscular writing redefines the possibilities of expression for the modern musician, whilst the music — rare, uncompromising and arresting in its beauty — offers solace to the listener.

Learn More
Baiba Skride

Baiba Skride

Violin

Baiba Skride’s natural approach to her music-making has endeared her to some of today’s most important conductors and orchestras worldwide. She is consistently invited for her refreshing interpretations, her sensitivity and her delight in the music.

The list of prestigious orchestras with whom she has worked include the Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, New York Philharmonic, Concertgebouworkest, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and NHK Symphony Orchestra. Notable conductors she collaborates with include Marin Alsop, Christoph Eschenbach, Ed Gardner, Susanna Mälkki, Andris Nelsons, Andres Orozco-Estrada, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Andris Poga, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Tugan Sokhiev, John Storgårds, Juraj Valcuha and Kazuki Yamada.

Skride is a sought-after chamber musician internationally and commits to the long-established duo with her sister Lauma. She is one of the founding members of the Skride Quartet, with which she has performed at venues such as Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Musikverein (Vienna), Wigmore Hall (London) and The Louvre (Paris) and has toured in North America and Australia in previous seasons. Skride also performs in trio with her sister Lauma Skride and Harriet Krijgh as well as in different chamber music projects with Alban Gerhardt and Brett Dean and others.

Skride was born into a musical Latvian family in Riga where she began her studies, transferring in 1995 to the Conservatory of Music and Theatre in Rostock. In 2001 she won the First Prize of the Queen Elisabeth Competition. Skride plays the Yfrah Neaman Stradivarius kindly loaned to her by the Neaman family through the Beare’s International Violin Society.

Ivan Vukčević

Viola

Ivan Vukčević is the solo viola of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana (Lugano, Switzerland), a position he has held since 2002. He is also a founder and violist of the internationally renowned Quartetto Energie Nove, with which he has recorded critically acclaimed Janáček and Prokofiev quartets for Dynamic. Since 2012, he has been a Professor of Viola at the International Menuhin Music Academy (Gstaad, Switzerland).

As a soloist, he has performed the most important works from the viola repertoire and his performances have been broadcast throughout the world. Vukčević has appeared as a soloist with ensembles in Australia and Europe, such as the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra (Norway), Camerata Menuhin, Camerata Lysy Gstaad (Switzerland), Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra, Chernivtsi Symphony Orchestra (Ukraine) and the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana (Lugano, Switzerland). With the latter, he has recorded Harold in Italy by H. Berlioz, Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante (with the violinist Klaidi Sahatci) and B. Bartók’s Viola Concerto under the baton of Alain Lombard.

Vukčević’s orchestral engagements included tenure as a Co-Principal violist of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra (Norway) from 2001 to 2002, and the Solo Viola position with the Sinfonieorchester Basel in 2008. While a student, he was also regularly a guest violist with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Vukčević plays on a rare 1789 Joseph Gagliano viola and a 1991 F. Bissolotti instrument.

Harriet Krijgh

Harriet Krijgh

Cello

The young Dutch artist Harriet Krijgh is one of today’s most exciting and promising cellists. Her grace and expressiveness touch her audiences as soon as she is on the concert platform.

Krijgh played in the most important venues in Europe, North America and Asia. She has performed with orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra,

Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. She is also a regular guest at international festivals such as the Heidelberger Frühling, Grafenegg Festival and the Schubertiade Hohenems. As “Prizewinner in Residence” of the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Krijgh made her mark on the 2019 summer festival edition in about 20 concerts.

Always an enthusiastic chamber musician, she joined the Artemis Quartet in spring 2019. Krijgh also maintains a close collaboration with the pianist Magda Amara and in trio with the sisters Baiba and Lauma Skride. She is the winner of numerous competitions. In 2015/2016 she was chosen as “Rising Star” of the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO). In 2017 and 2018 she dedicated herself to the artistic direction of the International Chamber Music Festival in Utrecht. Her annual summer festival “Harriet & Friends” at Burg Feistritz (Austria) celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2021.

She performs on a Domenico Montagnana cello (Venice, 1723) whose scroll was made by Stradivarius. The rare instrument is on loan to her by the Prokopp Foundation.

Notes

In the sea of choices a listener has when it comes to contemporary art music, it is very easy to become extremely open minded and over-accepting towards various philosophies in the "music-making" process.

In the ever-evolving (and devolving) contemporary society, the paradox for an "educated" listener is that strong opinions and beliefs are less and less appreciated and accepted by the post-modern public and art bureaucracy.

Nevertheless, one can still talk about various "schools," directions, groups, etc. when describing a new composition.

And then, throughout the post-renaissance music history, there were those who one cannot "place" anywhere: those who perished way too early, leaving a limited amount of incredible music (Pergolesi, Arriaga), those who flourished and reached their maturity well into their twilight years (Janaček), those ignored, banished by their peers and the establishment (Roslavets), etc.

More than one's teacher(s), the socio-geographical and cultural surroundings and how one reacts to them can shape a truly different mind.

A man born in Melbourne, Australia who grew up listening to rock music as much as Beethoven and Mozart, who develops not only a total technical mastery of the art of music making but a unique voice that sounds nothing like that of his peers, is an anomaly.

Lee Bradshaw's creations are difficult to classify, and even more difficult to explain: what, at a first listen, might sound archaic is totally the opposite upon closer inspection; the high chromaticism that ventures into atonality and then into "nothing" one cannot really find elsewhere; one who hears his music is not interested in anything outside of it. It is abstract in the true sense of the word.

— Ivan Vukčević