Celebrating Piano Day at Corella Recordings
By Serena Choo
On the 88th day of each year, music fans worldwide celebrate Piano Day, a day of appreciation for this gorgeous instrument and the spellbinding sounds that it makes.
This year, Corella Recordings is marking the occasion with the release of a compilation album Piano Day 2024, which showcases new solo piano works from local (or local-ish) composers and performers.
Album artwork for Corella Recordings’ Piano Day 2024 Compilation album. Clockwise from top right: Contributors to the album Anthony Moles, Madeleine Cocolas, Sam Mitchell and Alexandra Mison.
In anticipation for this exciting release, we take a dive behind the scenes of the three Piano Day Album singles: 'On A Gated Thought', composed by Madeleine Cocolas and performed by Sam Mitchell, 'Tree Of Life: 1. Departure', composed by Anthony Moles and performed by Daniel Johnson, and 'Nostalgia', composed and performed by Alexandra Mison.
'On A Gated Thought'
'On A Gated Thought' is part of a set of three commissions by Sam Mitchell, inspired by John Adams’ epic piano work Phrygian Gates. It is composed by Madeleine Cocolas, an Australian composer and producer who is recognised internationally for her exquisite post-classical and ambient instrumental music.
Madeleine Cocolas has released solo music through various international labels including Room40, Someone Good (Australia), Bigo & Twigetti (UK), Superpang (Italy), Self Center Records (US), 1631 Recordings (UK) and Futuresequence (UK), and her music has been broadcast and streamed internationally.
Cocolas holds a Masters of Music Composition from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia and is currently undertaking doctoral studies in music at the Queensland Conservatorium.
Sam Mitchell is an Australian pianist and singer based in Oxford, UK, who studied a BMus and an MPhil in piano performance at UQ. Currently, Mitchell freelances around the UK and Europe, teaches piano in two Oxford schools, and is an accompanist for Oxford University. As a singer, he worked with Christ Church Cathedral Choir for six years, and now works with Tenebrae, Ex Cathedra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir and the Mogens Dahl Kammerkor. As a pianist, Mitchell was a founding member of Brisbane-based group Nonsemble, who have been featured twice on New York’s WNYC’s “New Sounds” show.
Sam Mitchell shared the process behind the creation of 'On A Gated Thought':
"Phrygian Gates has been part of my repertoire for ages— it’s one of the great additions to the piano repertoire in the last century. But because of its scale, it’s hard to know what to program it with. So I set about commissioning three composers to write pieces that respond to the three sections of [John Adams’ work]. I asked Madeleine to write a piece inspired by the middle part, ‘A System of Weights and Measures’ ”
"‘A System of Weights and Measures’ has solemn, tolling, bell-like chords which get denser and more complex as the section progresses. There’s also a very strict process in place which predetermines the density, length and pitch content of each chord. I figured it’s dark and atmospheric sound-world would appeal to Madeleine and I was thrilled when she agreed! On a Gated Thought is the result. Madeleine kept the idea of tolling chords with increasing density, but overlays it with a heartfelt melody. While the Adams is strict and austere, On a Gated Thought is warm and human."
‘On A Gated Thought’ was released on March 21st, 2024. Options to stream and purchase this exciting single can be accessed through its release page, right here on the Corella Recordings website.
'Tree Of Life: 1. Departure'
Composed by Anthony Moles and performed by Daniel Johnson, 'Tree Of Life: 1. Departure' is the opening track from a piano cycle commissioned by performer Daniel Johnson, The Tree of Life.
Pianist Daniel Johnson is an advocate for Australian composers, and has been described by Yamaha Australia as "masterful and insightful". In addition to completing a PhD on the music of composer Miriam Hyde, 2024 will see Daniel collaborate with composers Nicole Murphy and Anthony Moles.
The music of composer Anthony Moles has been described as being both ‘full of mechanistic drive and flair’ ( Move Records ) and yet ‘containing moments of lapidary stillness at its centre’ ( The Music Trust ). The Tree Of Life was written to work as both a concert work and an EP release, conceived by Moles as a collection of ‘music journal entries’, where each movement encapsulates his thoughts and feelings toward certain events unfolding around him.
The opening movement of The Tree Of Life, Departure was written toward the end of a holiday in Tasmania. The departure of a fellow guest, and Moles’ own upcoming departure from the state were the impetus for the track.
Reflecting on the track’s themes, Moles shared that
“Despite the melancholy that I associate with farewells, they often lead to arrivals”
This sentiment is expressed in the piece, which moves from solemn and serene to dramatically cathartic, and draws inspiration from artists such as Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds and Max Richter.
Following the release of ‘Departure’ on March 7th, Corella Recordings released a score following video, available below and on the Corella Recordings YouTube channel. Stream ‘Departure’ here.
‘Nostalgia’
‘Nostalgia’ is a piece composed and performed by Brisbane/Meanjin based pianist Alexandra Mison.
Originally from the Northern Rivers in New South Wales, Alexandra Mison's compositions are characterised by emotive, lyrical melodies, and usually draw inspiration from nature or moving moments in everyday life.
Recently, Mison was appointed the 2024 Emerging Composer-in-Residence for Camerata: Queensland's Chamber Orchestra. In 2023, two of Mison's works were commissioned and premiered by the Queensland Youth Orchestra, and an additional piece premiered in Singapore for the Vox Camerata Choral Collective Residency Programme.
In ‘Nostalgia’, Mison explores the complex layers that make nostalgia such a bittersweet emotion:
"When we experience nostalgia, we're experiencing both happiness and sadness, and I've tried to touch on each of these elements throughout the piece/ In composting this piece, it was my intention not only to portray a sense of nostalgia in the music, but to actually evoke this feeling in the audience"
Released on February 22, 2024, ‘Nostalgia’ was the first single to be released from Corella Recordings Piano Day 2024 compilation album. Click here to presave the album before its release on Piano Day: the 28th of March.