“ Simplicity is the splendor of expression. “ W. Witman
In all branches of art, artists sometimes focus on very difficult and complex works while creating, because this is an important process for the artist's own development, creativity and overcoming internal crises. In the maturity of this journey, many artists refer to the motto “less is more”.
All great composers have great masterpieces that are heard simply and with great beauty. In this album, we have researched the works of our favorite composers in this period when we started to learn to simplify for the sake of sustainability both within ourselves and all over the world. The works we wanted to perform in our album were their creations that express all kinds of emotions with a simple language. Once again we realized that what makes a piece of music unique is the effect of the intensity in the scarcity.
The Simply Classic Album invites you on a journey where you realize the power of the calmness within you and experience the happiness that comes from the peace in scarcity.
Johannes Brahms - Hungarian Dance No.5 in F-Sharp Minor. Allegro
Ludwig van Beethoven - Sonate No.14 “ Moonlight” in C-Sharp Minor Op. 27 No.2: I. Adagio sostenuto
George Friedrich Händel - Menuett in G Minor, HWV 434/4
Johann Sebastian Bach - Air - (Suite No.3 in D, BWV 1068)
Franz Schubert - Ständchen, S.550 (Trans.from Schwanengesang No.4, D 957)
Antonín Dvořák - Slavonic Dances, Op.72, B.145: No.2 in E Minor, Dumka
Claude Debussy - Suite bergamasque, L. 75. III. Claire de Lune. (Remastered)
Sergei Rachmaninoff - Vocalise, Op.34, No.14. (Remastered)
Edward Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46: I. Morning Mood
Dimitri Shostakovich - Jazz Suite No.2: VI Waltz
We brought together the naive timbre and touch structure of the Rhodes Piano, also known as the Fender Rhodes, the cult instrument of jazz, and the harmonic richness of J.S.Bach in the album "It's Electric”. Time-defying and groundbreaking with a strong trend that connects the past and the future, “Its Electric” is the first Rhodes Piano album recorded by a piano duo in the world.
We are in a period where we do need the power of electrical energy produced without harming our world more than ever by using sustainable and renewable energy sources in order for our planet and our life to continue. With 'It's Electric', we invite all world societies to live by leaving less carbon footprint for the future of our children.
J.S.Bach
Toccata in D minor, BWV 565
Arrangement by Tobias Forster
J.S.Bach
Saint Matthew Passion, BWV 244: Erbarme Dich
Arrangement by Gregory Anderson
J.S.Bach
Partita in D Minor, No. 2, BWV 1004: Chaconne
Arrangement by Tobias Forster
J.S.Bach
Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (Actus Tragicus), BWV 106: Sonatina
Arrangement by G. Kurtag
J.S.Bach
Harpsichords in C minor, BWV 1062,
Allegro
Andante e piano
Allegro assai
What did music tell us when we were children?
The adventures we sailed off to, dreaming... The dream of a new world at peace...
The lullabies our mothers sang to us, the stories they told. For us, it is the search for ways to hand down this same tradition generation to generation.
We wanted the healing power of music to accompany our dreams, where our imagination knows no bounds. With our new album IMAGINE, we are sailing towards the dreams of our childhood.
We wanted our lullabies and stories to accompany the children in that special, almost ritual-like moment before they fall asleep. It was a pleasure for us to work on these pieces that you can also comfortably perform, instead of just listening and reading.
Aside from the 11 lullabies that we arranged, the last piece in the album, “Dandini Dandini Dastana” is an unforgettable lullaby that our mothers and grandmothers used to sing to us, to wish us off into a peaceful sleep. To be able to share this legacy with you through a different interpretation is very meaningful for us.
The composition process of this album took place in Stuttgart and Eskişehir, while the recording was done in Istanbul. The cover and all of the illustrations that carry us imaginatively into different worlds are by the Brooklyn-based illustrator Kristiana Parn.
IMAGINE opens a door into a world where children will continue dreaming with the touching beauty of music itself.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
October
November
December (Dandini)
Composers Selin Şekeranber & Yudum Çetiner
We come to life as symbols of innocence, we live, we mature, we experience, we miss and while all these happen we observe the dynamics which we later realize, are out of our control.
By all means, we do fight for our personal freedom and freedom of thought and in order to attain the true meaning of the notion of freedom, we do get our strength of expression from arts.
It is for this reason, we believe that it is the right time to look further away than our ordinary life cycle that we were forced to exist in certain forms and to break our chains to make a difference in our lives. Having said this, we want to share our excitement of looking outside the box with you.
Fazıl Say
Kumru Ballad Op.12
Arrangement for four hands by Yudum Çetiner
Franz Schubert
Fantasia for four hands in F minor Op.103 D.940
Zeki Müren
Şimdi Uzaklardasın
Arrangement for two pianos by Yudum Çetiner
Fazıl Say
4 Night for four hands Op.68
We have begun our journey as two independent women from Turkey that is the bridge between Europe and Asia. Now, we continue this journey much stronger and more vigorous due to our passion to music as an art form and its production. Our hands are our only external organs, which we mostly use to express our thoughts and emotions. They also make us both unique and interconnected as they carry our most peculiar and most common feature, i.e. our fingerprints.
We are going through tumultuous times in human history nowadays. Therefore, this is the exact right time for us all to unite by holding ‘hand-in-hand’ and empower each other. On this note, we believe that sharing our music with you all can help overcome these global challenges.
We have organised concerts in nearly all of the countries, stories of which we have told in our album. Appreciating our differences positively in each and every of those countries made all of us more colourful in our souls. Along the way, music has been the instrument to gather us altogether.
Now, we move forward in our artistic journey whilst combining our strengths. In doing so, we have organised concerts both inside and outside Turkey with social responsibility. For instance, we have, and still do, devoted some of our concerts for the initiatives on young girls’ participation into education. We represent the power of women of the world through our music and emphasise in our concerts that the participation to education and opportunity for personal development are not good fortune for a few but a right for all women. Now is the time to take action for girls and young women who are the bright minds of the future and for women who will be raising them… The matter is to support and help, hence it is time to not be A HAND, but be in HAND-IN-HAND.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sonate for two Pianos D-Dur KV448 (375)
Allegro con spirito
Andante
Molto Allegro
Cadenza: Selin Şekeranber
Moritz Moszkowski
From Foreign Parts for four hands Op.23
Germany
Russia
Poland
Spain
Hungary
Italy
Dmitri Shostakovich
Concertino for two pianos op.94
Sergei Rachmanioff
Vocalise Op.34, no.14
Arrangement for piano four hands by Greg Anderson
Fazıl Say
“Alla Turca Jazz” Fantasia on the Rondo from the Piano Sonata
in A major K. 331 by W.A Mozart
Arrangement for two piano by Yudum Çetiner & Selin Şekeranber
THE ESSENCE of
PIANO DUO
Dominated by Turkish composers and our own arrangements, “Essence of Piano Duo" is an album, in which we highlight our own mosaic and colors. In this extraordinary work, consisting of 10 different piece and composers, we express our own identity freely and we want to highlight the beauties arising from the differences of Eastern and Western music and culture.
Fazıl Say
Black Earth
Arrangement for two Pianos by Yudum Çetiner & Selin Şekeranber
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Larghetto & Allegro
Claude Debussy
Clair de lune
Arrangement for two Pianos by H.Dutilleux
Witold Lutoslawski
Variation on Theme of Paganini for two Pianos
Ahmet Adnan Saygun
Yunus Emre Oratorium No.3 “Aria”
Arrangement for two Pianos by Yudum Çetiner
Astor Piazzolla
Libertango
Arrangement for two Pianos by Pablo Ziegler
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Les Larmes from Suite op.5
Aşık Veysel
Uzun İnce Bir Yol
Arrangement for two Pianos by Yudum Çetiner
Üsküdar
Arrangement for two Pianos by Yudum Çetiner
Zülfü Livaneli
Karlı Kayın Ormanı
Arrangement for two Pianos by Yudum Çetiner, Selin Şekeranber and Can Ünlüsoy