Manhattan to Montmartre Julian Jacobson & Mariko Brown

• Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990): Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Transcr. J. Musto for Piano Duo):
• 1Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Transcr. J. Musto for Piano Duo): I. Prologue04:17
• 2Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Transcr. J. Musto for Piano Duo): II. Somewhere03:52
• 3Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Transcr. J. Musto for Piano Duo): III. Scherzo01:14
• 4Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Transcr. J. Musto for Piano Duo): IV. Mambo02:23
• 5Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Transcr. J. Musto for Piano Duo): V. Cha-cha00:59
• 6Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Transcr. J. Musto for Piano Duo): VI. Meeting Scene00:41
• 7Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Transcr. J. Musto for Piano Duo): VII. Cool Fugue03:49
• 8Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Transcr. J. Musto for Piano Duo): VIII. Rumble01:52
• 9Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Transcr. J. Musto for Piano Duo): IX. Finale02:38
• George Gershwin (1898 - 1937):
• 10Gershwin: Second Rhapsody (Transcr. J. Jacobson for Piano Duo)15:03
• 11Gershwin: An American in Paris (Transcr. J. Jacobson for Piano Duo)18:34
• 12Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (Transcr. H. levine for Piano Duo)16:39
• Total Runtime01:12:01

Info for Manhattan to Montmartre

SOMM Recordings celebrates the 10th anniversary of the acclaimed piano duo Julian Jacobson and Mariko Brown with Manhattan to Montmartre, dazzling keyboard arrangements of American giants George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein.

Receiving first recordings are Jacobson’s own joyfully virtuosic transcriptions for four hands/one piano of two Gershwin classics. Described by Gershwin as “the most modern music I’ve attempted”, An American in Paris takes four sailors from the epicentre of New York to the heart of Paris during its celebrated Années folles. It marked a significant development in orchestral technique for the composer, a quality accented by Jacobson’s exciting new arrangement.

Revelling in even greater sophistication, the Second Rhapsody was, claimed Gershwin, “the best thing I have written”. Distilling its crafted innovation, Jacobson’s articulate new transcription makes a persuasive case for a curiously undervalued masterpiece. Transcribed by Henry Levine, Gershwin’s ever-popular Rhapsody in Blue brilliantly distils the euphoric paean to New York and what Robert Matthew-Walker’s informative booklet notes describes as its “seamless outpouring of melodic invention”.

Matthew-Walker’s notes also reveal how the influence of a shared Russian heritage led to a new vibrancy in American 20th-century music as epitomised by Gershwin and Bernstein, two hugely influential masters of form and colour. John Musto’s acclaimed two-piano transcription of Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story captures all the drama, poetry, romance and wit of this ground-breaking score while sacrificing none of its blazing ardour and energy.

Jacobson and Brown’s previous SOMM release was a wide-ranging recital including Busoni’s Fantasia contrappuntistica and music by Satie, Debussy, Casella, Poulenc and Anthony Herschel-Hill (SOMMCD 0178). Hailed by Fanfare as “a magnificent record… an urgent necessity for any music- lover who takes their interest in the art seriously”, MusicWeb International declared it “impressive and revealing music for two pianos. Rewarding for the adventuresome listener”.

Julian Jacobson, piano
Mariko Brown, piano

Julian Jacobson
studied piano and composition from the age of seven with Lamar Crowson and Arthur Benjamin, subsequently studying at the Royal College of Music, Queen’s College Oxford and privately with Louis Kentner. He enjoys an international career as soloist, chamber musician with many prominent artists, and teacher, appearing in over 40 countries and making annual visits in recent years to Australia and the Far East. He has been soloist with several of the principal British orchestras under conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Jane Glover and Tamás Vásáry, as well as appearing in most of the leading UK festivals. He has been particularly acclaimed for his performances of the Beethoven Sonatas, of which he has given eight complete cycles, most recently at The Forge, Camden Town (2011-12). In 2003 he performed the entire cycle in a single day in aid of the charity WaterAid, an event which attracted worldwide media coverage and which he repeated in October 2013 in St Martin-in-the-Fields. He has recorded for Meridian, Hyperion, Chandos, Decca Argo, Continuum and other labels. Julian Jacobson is a Professor at the Royal College of Music and Birmingham Conservatoire, and also Guest Professor at Xiamen University, China.

Mariko Brown
Anglo-Japanese Mariko Brown began her piano studies with Martyn Dyke, with whom she performed regularly including at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, as well as for many outreach community projects. She made her first concerto appearance age nine under Dr.Ruth Gipps, subsequently going on to study at the Guildhall School Junior Department with Professor Joan Havill where she won the prestigious Lutine Prize. This led to concerto appearances at the Barbican Hall and St.Giles Cripplegate as part of the City of London Festival. During this time she also took up composition with Gary Carpenter, receiving a prize for her Oboe Sonata. She was awarded the Principal’s Prize on graduation from the Junior department and went on to continue her studies at the Senior Department, with both teachers and also Simon Bainbridge, graduating in 2000. Her Piano Sonata, commissioned and performed by Helen Reid, in 2004, was premiered at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. She has also been Musical Director for productions at the Arcola Theatre, London and Eye Theatre in Suffolk.

A dedicated teacher, Mariko taught for many years at Junior Guildhall and currently teaches at the Yehudi Menuhin School.

Booklet for Manhattan to Montmartre