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Marta, The Tempest

Marta Brankovich piano

Release Date: February 3, 2023
Catalog #: NV6479
Format: Digital & Physical
20th Century
Romantic
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Guitar
Piano

Every pianist makes a piece their own, adding flourishes and signature accents, but Marta Brankovich takes artistic interpretation to a new level. Leveraging her passion and irreplicable touch on the piano, the black swan of piano conjures an unforgettable storm on MARTA, THE TEMPEST. This long-awaited exploratory deep-dive into the classical canon delivers fresh interpretations of works by Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Kaufman, Jirásek, and Webber, complete with a solo piano composition by Brankovich herself that offers an inside look into her artistic emergence. Weaving themes of adversity, opposing forces, and oneness with a profoundly emotive approach, Brankovich delivers a powerful program in this Navona Records release.

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Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 Prelude in C-sharp minor Op.3, No.2 Sergei Rachmaninoff Marta Brankovich, piano 3:55
02 Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op.posth., No.20 Frédéric Chopin Marta Brankovich, piano 3:47
03 Funeral March, third movement from B-flat minor sonata Op.35, No.2 Frédéric Chopin Marta Brankovich, piano 8:25
04 Partita for a Virus Fredrick Kaufman Marta Brankovich, piano 2:17
05 Tempest Marta Brankovich Marta Brankovich, piano 4:10
06 Soulmate Jan Jirásek Marta Brankovich, piano 11:55
07 The Whole In Parts Fredrick Kaufman Marta Brankovich, piano 11:58
08 Requiem for a Dream Clint Mansel, arr. Cooper, Brankovich Marta Brankovich, piano; Denver Cooper, electric guitar 2:57
09 Phantom of the Opera Andrew Lloyd Webber, arr. Cooper, Brankovich Marta Brankovich, piano; Denver Cooper, electric guitar 3:22

Recorded August 3, December 3, 17, 27, 2019, and June 25, 2020, at The Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center at FIU in Miami FL
Recording session producer Karen S. Fuller Veloz, Director, School of Music at FIU
Recording session engineer Paul Steinsland

Track 6
Recorded November 6th, 2017 in Miami Shores FL

Track 8
Recorded May 17, 2021 at Apocalypse Studio in Miami FL
Mastering by Apocalypse Studio

Track 9
Postproduction Nick Z Marino and Denver Cooper

Mastering Shaun Michaud

Executive Producer Bob Lord

A&R Director Brandon MacNeil
A&R Morgan Santos

VP of Production Jan Košulič
Audio Director Lucas Paquette

VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Patrick Niland

Artist Information

Marta Brankovich

Pianist

Marta Brankovich was born in Belgrade, Serbia. She was only 21 years old when she graduated from the University of Belgrade, as the youngest student with the highest GPA in her class. During her studies she received numerous international and domestic awards, scholarships, and public recognition, including a special honorary scholarship from her country for building an outstanding career in the United States.

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Notes

This piece consists of several different kinds of music. Jan was always attracted to find what very different kinds of things and processes (and music) have in common, some kind of a common denominator or — using Albert Einstein’s terminology — a unified theory field. It means looking for something all things and processes in the world/universe have in common. Finding that or attempting to find the “common” either on rational or on the emotional basis is always a great adventure for a composer. The more contrasts the individual sections involve, the bigger the challenge and the adventure. In other terms, all things are closer and more interconnected than they appear – they are true soulmates.

Fredrick Kaufman’s The Whole in Parts emanates from the premise that the components within a unit can — in isolation — seem incompatible with each other, and yet become one in combination. The Whole in Parts layers two sets of sound components together: first, a method of pitch organization — both horizontal and vertical — related to each other in the music presented; and second, the formal structure — basically that of a sonata movement which embraces the entire work.

“Particulars are not to be examined till the whole has been surveyed” – Dr. Samuel Johnson

Fredrick Kaufman’s Partita for a Virus, an homage to Johann S. Bach, was inspired by the early dark days of COVID-19 when all seemed lost, isolated, and despairing. Kaufman was compelled to write an uplifting work to lift the spirits of those around him. In some ways, Partita for a Virus is really a “Partita Against a Virus” or “Partita for Survival.”

Tempest is a solo piano composition by Marta Brankovich that strongly reflects her turbulent adolescence in Serbia in the 1990s. This composition in particular is dedicated to a military operation act called: storm/tempest. In the mid 1990s, Operation Storm (operacija oluja) brought a lot of death, suffering, and depression in Serbia. Even though her music is inspired by ethnic sounds of Serbia, it is also seen as eclectic, minimalistic, and postmodern.

A special note about the infusion of power metal influences in these classical piano works:
As a classical concert pianist and composer, I believe that every artist needs to respond to a New Age demand. Reimagining classical music with the power metal sound is bringing classical music to a new medium/genre much closer to a wider, younger audience who understands the act of change. Finding musicians such as Denver Cooper brought Ying to my Yang in a musical sense of thinking. We are two very similar musicians from different spectrums of music combining, or colliding, our abilities, arrangements, ideas and technique. Eventually we plan to release an album dedicated solely to classical music that can be reimagined with power metal sound, creating a new genre for generations to come.