Letters from Gettysburg

Label: Canary Classics [CC17]
Released: June 7, 2019

Orli Shaham, piano
Gil Shaham, violin

One of the great turning points of American history and its enduring legacy stand at the heart of a new album of works by Avner Dorman. "Letters from Gettysburg", set for international release by Canary Classics on June 7, 2019, casts fresh light on one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War, as witnessed from the personal perspective of a wounded soldier and his grief-stricken mother. The world premiere recording of the Israeli composer’s haunting work for soprano and baritone soloists, large chorus, and percussion is presented here in company with After Brahms, a trilogy of short pieces for solo piano, and the violin sonata, Nigunim. Their collective power projects the expressive breadth and richness of Dorman’s musical imagination, and his profound feeling for universal human emotions.

After Brahms: Three Intermezzos for Piano, was commissioned by Orli Shaham for her “Brahms Inspired” project; she recorded the work at the end of 2014 as part of a double-disc set for Canary Classics. The program’s final work, Nigunim, Avner Dorman’s first composition for Orli and Gil Shaham, was originally released on Canary Classics in July 2013. “Gil Shaham plays both spectacularly and tenderly, and his … sister, Orli Shaham, matches him closely in lyrical feeling and spontaneous bravura,” noted Gramophone in its review.