Unexplored Nada Radulovich & Cullan Bryant

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): 6 Mélodies, Op. 65, TH 108 (Arr. N. Radulovich for Cello & Piano):
• 1No. 1, Sérénade [Ou vas-tu, souffle d'aurore]01:56
• 2No. 2, Déception02:54
• 3No. 3, Sérénade [J'aime dans le Rayon de la limpide aurore]03:24
• 46 MNo. 4, Qu'importe que l'hiver02:30
• 5No. 5, Les larmes03:02
• 6No. 6, Rondel01:17
• Gaspar Cassadó (1897-1966): Cello Sonata:
• 7I. Rapsodia09:14
• 8II. Aragonesa04:51
• 9III. Saeta05:28
• 10IV. Paso doble03:40
• Antin Rudnytsky (1902-1975):
• 11Romantic Fantasy, Op. 4310:38
• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
• 12Tale of Tsar Saltan, Op. 57: Flight of the Bumblebee (Arr. C. Bryant for Cello & Piano)01:34
• Total Runtime50:28

Info for Unexplored

The four works on UNEXPLORED, offer an expansive variety of musical genres while introducing listeners to previously unrecorded cello repertoire. Premiere recordings of works by Tchaikovsky, Cassadó, Rudnytsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov are presented by cellist Nada Radulovich and pianist Cullan Bryant.

Tchaikovsky’s Six French Songs, opus 65, dedicated to Madame Desirée Artôt de Padilla, are settings of works of three French poets. The intensity of these poems is amplified by Tchaikovsky’s music. They find a convincing voice in this transcription for cello. Although this is a fully instrumental program, Radulovich provides the only available English translation of this poetry with this album at Navona Records. Published by Ovation Press.

The passionate and compelling voice of Cassadó (1897-1966) in his Sonata of 1924, deserves to be widely shared and enjoyed . This four movement work is dedicated to Donna Giulietta von Mendelssohn who was said to ‘sing like a mermaid and play the piano like Liszt’ . This compelling work, presented here for the first time, represents various moods and dances. At times poignant, dramatic, playful, or uplifting, it is an effective synthesis of tradition cast in striking harmonic terms.

Romantic Fantasie for Cello and Piano, Op 43, by Ukrainian composer Antin Rudnytsky (1902-1975), displays a conservative 20th-century harmonic language, while exploring the folk idioms of the composer’s native land. The intricate dialogue between the instruments illustrates the composer’s skill at evoking a variety of moods within a single composition.

One of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s best-known works, The Flight of the Bumblebee, evokes the effortless yet driven path of the tiny insect. This unique transcription of the work was created by pianist Bryant in his effort to remain truer to the original score than previous transcriptions, and was inspired by his years of collaboration with Radulovich.

Nada Radulovich, cello
Cullan Bryant, piano

Nada Radulovich
A conscientious and penetrating artist, Nada Radulovich is a dynamic performer who brings a refreshingly versatile repertoire to her audiences. Ebullient and spontaneous, she presents an ambitious pace of recitals featuring standard classical repertoire and overlooked gems. In addition to transcribing Tchaikovsky’s Six French Songs and Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen, she discovered an incomplete manuscript for cello and piano on the shelves of the NY Public Library entitled “Romantic Fantasy’ by Antin Rudnitsky. She located the missing pages by connecting with the composer’s family, and performed the U.S. premier of the piece at Lincoln Center in 2011. Originally from Detroit, Nada left the Midwest to complete college studies at Smith College, Manhattan School of Music and the Peabody Institute; and is certified in the Suzuki teaching method. She relocated to Japan for one year where she performed, worked as a teacher, and survived the Kobe earthquake- returning to the U.S. to settle in NYC. She has been on the faculties of several music schools in the New York City area; in particular the Westchester Conservatory and the North Shore Suzuki Institute. She currently enjoys mentoring young musicians through a private studio and performs extensively. Recent solo appearances have been at Lincoln Center, Steinway Hall, the Mahwah Summer Music Festival, and the Roerich Museum in NYC..

Cullan Bryant
is among the most active chamber and collaborative pianists in New York City, maintaining a schedule of over 70 recitals a year.

He has performed with many world-class artists including Ju-Young Baek, Emanuel Borok, Colin Jacobsen, Misha Keylin, Oleh Krysa, Julia Lichten, Midori, Sviatoslav Moroz, Peter Rejto, Paul Tobias, members of the Amati, American, Arcata and Borromeo Quartets and members of the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, New York City Ballet Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Boston Symphony and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in such venues as Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Detroit's Orchestra Hall. Mr. Bryant made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1992 in recital with violinist Patmore Lewis.

Mr. Bryant's festival appearances have included the Long Island Beethoven Festival where he performed 16 Beethoven piano sonatas in a 2-day marathon, the Serenates de Platja d'Aro and the Porta Ferrada festivals in Spain, the Chateau de la Napoule in France, Lake Winnepesaukee Music Festival in New Hampshire, Palm Beach Invitational Series in Florida and the Shandelee Piano Festival in New York among many others. Mr. Bryant has been on the faculty of the Academy of Music Summer Festival since 1999.

Cullan Bryant began playing the piano at age two, giving his first public recital at age six. At eleven he toured campuses in his native Arkansas and in Texas including several televised recitals. His prizes and awards include the Leschetizky International Competition, the National Arts Club of New York, the Memphis Beethoven Competition, Miami Arts Competition and a certificate of outstanding citizenship from Arkansas Governor Frank White. His college studies were with Robert Goldsand and Artur Balsam at the Manhattan School of Music. In July of 2002 he toured Japan in recitals with violinist Midori.

This album contains no booklet.