Sarasvati

First album on Merel Vercammen’s own label All Ears Records

Violinist Merel Vercammen and pianist Dina Ivanova explore music by composers with an open-minded approach, with the violin sonatas by Debussy and Poulenc as central pillars. For Debussy, music from the Far East was a major source of inspiration, and the Dutch composer Joey Roukens likewise drew on Eastern melodies in his work Sarasvati. Poulenc, in turn, believed that Debussy (together with Brahms) was one of the few who achieved a beautiful balance between violin and piano. Poulenc himself wrote a stunning sonata based on a poem by the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, in which a guitar brings dreams to tears. Composer and Buma Classical Award winner Mathilde Wantenaar writes in a style closely related to that of the great French composers such as Debussy, whom she sees as a key source of inspiration. This rich palette is completed by a short piece by the young Estonian composer Alisson Kruusmaa.

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Press quotes:

“This performance here of Poulenc’s Violin Sonata does more than stand comparison with versions by far better-known names, it might be the most convincing of all recordings of this tricky work” – The Arts Desk UK 

“Vercammen and Ivanova spark the imagination. […] Associative and idiosyncratic, this music gives Vercammen and Ivanova exactly what they need to excel.”
– Joep Stapel, NRC ★★★★ & Album of the Week

“Vercammen and Ivanova shift organically between calm meditation and fiery outbursts.”
– Dennis Bajram, De Volkskrant ★★★★