Fairytale Duo Arnicans

• Paul Juon (1872 - 1940): Fairytale:
• 1Juon: Fairytale: Op. 8 for Cello and Piano (1904)05:31
• Sonata Op. 54 for Cello and Piano (1912):
• 2Juon: Sonata Op. 54 for Cello and Piano (1912): I. Allegro moderato09:21
• 3Juon: Sonata Op. 54 for Cello and Piano (1912): II. Andantino03:49
• 4Juon: Sonata Op. 54 for Cello and Piano (1912): III. Allegro risoluto05:33
• Jānis Ķepītis (1908 - 1989): Suite for Cello and Piano (1959) "Three Episodes from the Fairy-tale Devil's Life":
• 5Ķepītis: Suite for Cello and Piano (1959) "Three Episodes from the Fairy-tale Devil's Life": I. A Walk02:23
• 6Ķepītis: Suite for Cello and Piano (1959) "Three Episodes from the Fairy-tale Devil's Life": II. Romance03:01
• 7Ķepītis: Suite for Cello and Piano (1959) "Three Episodes from the Fairy-tale Devil's Life": III. Humoresque03:44
• Serenade in D Major (1939):
• 8Ķepītis: Serenade in D Major (1939)04:40
• Scherzo (1954):
• 9Ķepītis: Scherzo (1954)02:01
• Romance in A Major (1965):
• 10Ķepītis: Romance in A Major (1965)04:52
• Sonata for Harp and Cello (1974):
• 11Ķepītis: Sonata for Harp and Cello (1974): I. Moderato (Arr. for Piano and Cello)05:02
• 12Ķepītis: Sonata for Harp and Cello (1974): II. Presto (Arr. for Piano and Cello)03:35
• 13Ķepītis: Sonata for Harp and Cello (1974): III. Adagio (Arr. for Piano and Cello)05:22
• 14Ķepītis: Sonata for Harp and Cello (1974): IV. Allegro moderato (Arr. for Cello and Piano)06:13
• Total Runtime01:05:07

Info for Fairytale

A strong feeling of anticipation, followed by unbridled curiosity and imaginations of evocative landscapes real and otherwise immediately possess one's heart after the first few bars of "Fairytale", the opening piece of this exquisitely unique album. The programme, performed by cello / piano duo, Duo Arnicans, includes the world premiere recordings.

Paul Juon came from a Swiss emigre family that settled in Latvia and then Russia. Juon was educated in Germany and eventually moved back to Switzerland. Opening this album's selection is Fairytale; followed by the world première recording of the "second edition" of his Sonata for Cello and Piano Op. 54. The 1924 press characterises the work as: "Of neo-Romantic character, fresh, sonorous, pleasing and zestfully written. This sonatas once interesting and rewarding should become a repertoire piece for every virtuoso!"

Latvian composer, pianist, and educator Janis Kepitis is perhaps most aptly described by a chamber music student of his as "A man with a miracle in his heart". Suite (1959), subtitled 'Three Episodes from the Fairy-tale Devil's Life', was dedicated to the Latvian cellist Ernests Bertovskis. Witty, cheerful, and rather cheeky compositions they evoke the somewhat simple-minded, gullible and yet wicked character of the fairy tale devil of Latvian folklore. The Sonata for Cello and Harp is another rarity, composed in 1974, which has never before been recorded.

The Swiss-based, Latvian-German Duo Arnicans invite us to explore the quaint rarities of Fairy-tales and magical thinking; a treat too hard to refuse after we are lured into their enchanting art by the first notes in this album.

Arta Arnicane, piano
Florian Arnicans, cello

Arta Arnicane
Communication with the audience, as well as talent for creating a special concert atmosphere have taken the young Latvian pianist Arta Arnicane to a large variety of performance venues across the world. Her quality of winning listeners’ full attention, combined with the warmth and intelligence of her programmes and interpretations, allows her to fascinate both small gatherings and large audiences in concert halls such as the Rudolfinum, Prague and the Zurich Tonhalle.

Born into a family with a strong and longstanding musical tradition, she started playing the piano and composing at the age of four. Supported by numerous scholarship awards and eminent artists such as John Lill and Homero Francesch, Arta has studied in several countries and graduated with distinction from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (2004), the Latvian Academy of Music (2008), and Zurich University of the Arts (2010 and 2012).

Her professors Sergejs Osokins, Norma Fisher and Homero Francesch influenced the artistic development of Arta’s personality and guided her into the international music scene. Arta has won many prizes at international music competitions, including the ‘Vianna da Motta’ (2001), ‘Premio Iturbi’ (2010), and ‘Prague Spring’ (2011) to name but a few.

Arta has an extensive solo repertoire and her interpretations of the Mozart piano concertos as well as impressionistic music have always won special appreciation. She collaborates regularly with conductors John Gibbons and Martin Lebel, and is in demand as a soloist with youth orchestras for her temperament and ability to inspire. Arta is also an enthusiastic chamber musician and performs regularly in a duo with her husband, German cellist Florian Arnicans. The first ‘Duo Arnicans’ CD was released by Solo Musica in 2015, featuring an emotionally charged programme of sonatas by F. Chopin and E. von Dohnanyi.

Arta is especially devoted to creating thematic and narrative programmes, as well as untraditional concert forms. In 2016 the renowned Latvian stage director Uģis Brikmanis combined the ‘Aqua’ performance in Riga with a visual production, taking the audience to another dimension of artistic experience. Meanwhile, the atmospheric concept of the CD ‘Aqua’ has been generously created by the Swiss photographer Thomas Entzeroth, inspired by the aura of the city of water and birthplace of the Barcarole: Venice.

Florian Arnicans
musical journey began in Namibia, where he had his first cello lessons at the age of five and discovered his love and calling for music. After briefly attending the musical high school at Belvedere Palace in Weimar, the highly talented Florian began studying in the class of Prof. Böhme at the Franz Liszt College of Music in Weimar at the age of seventeen. After completing his degree with Prof. Johannes Goritzki at the Robert Schumann College of Music in Düsseldorf, he attended the soloist's class of Prof. Patrick Demenga at the Conservatoire de Lausanne in Switzerland. He was then awarded the Max Jost Prize for obtaining his soloist’s diploma with distinction, and went on to study for his master’s diploma in chamber music with the renowned Guarneri Trio Prague, graduating with distinction in Lucerne.

Florian is at present much in demand as a soloist and chamber musician, and has performed with renowned orchestras and at music festivals such as the Lake Constance Festival (2013), the Bregenz Festival (2013) the London Proms (2014), the Lucerne Festival (2016) and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg (2017)

Forming the Duo Arnicans with his wife Arta Arnicane in April 2013 represented a very important step in Florian's musical and personal development. The Duo has performed in numerous concerts and recitals in Switzerland and abroad. The first international concert tour took place in the autumn of 2014, when they had great success in Scotland, England (London) and Latvia (Riga). ​

Florian Arnicans is playing a cello by P. H. Silvestre 1838.

This album contains no booklet.