Mark Isaacs – INTIMACIES

New solo piano classical repertoire album from Mark Isaacs
Order "INTIMACIES" CD at http://www.markisaacs.com/9-latest-ne... [Australia only]
International customers order CD at https://www.sanity.com.au/products/26... [prices in Australian dollars]
Available on all major digital music platforms. Choose your preferred music service via the multilink https://ffm.to/intimacies
Music by Chopin, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Debussy, Satie & Poulenc
Release date Sept 11, 2020, by Gracemusic/MGM on CD & major digital music platforms
Recording producer: Lachlan Bramble
Recording engineer: Tom Henry
Piano adjusted & tuned by Geoff & Andrew Smith
Recorded at ABC Studio 520, Adelaide, South Australia, July 15-17, 2019
Cover illustration: Jewel Isaacs
Executive recording producer: Mark Isaacs
Recording production funded with donations by kind supporters to Creative Partnerships Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund and directly to the artist.

Praise for 'Intimacies':

"Few would dare reinvent such icons of the Western canon. But for Mark Isaacs, to perform is to reinvent...he not only remakes the wheel, but sends it spinning merrily down the road less travelled...even the most familiar of phrases seem to be at Isaacs’ beck and call, their cautious new identities almost convincing us that Isaacs is the composer, making it up as he goes along....just tender admiration and a striking vision" SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (4½ stars)

“Exquisitely judged by Isaacs....perfectly ornamented thirds and sixths....The sonic trajectory is also perfectly calibrated.....transfigured beauty....a melody which, in Isaacs’ hands soars.....the feeling conjured is broad uncomplicated lyricism....sensitive contours, charm and affection.... the gem of this thoughtful and elegant compilation was the Poulenc Intermezzo No 2, which seemed like the distillation of his music" LIMELIGHT Magazine

“His debut solo classical release comes with all the warmth than one would expect of his jazz performances, inviting the listener into a meditative journey through music of Chopin, Rachmaninov and Scriabin. Isaacs' deeply personal take on these beloved works makes them shine anew, asking that the modern focus on technical brilliance step aside for pianistic sparkle and intimacy.” ABC CLASSIC “Feature of the Week”

“Why should we listen to Mark Isaacs playing this wonderful treasure-chest of well-known, gorgeous pieces, rather than, say, Martha Argerich, or Lang Lang? My answer is this: Every performance by a complete musician is different, and gives an insight into the music not found elsewhere. Isaacs is a complete musician. He is not about nimbleness of fingers, though he has this. Beethoven once accused contemporary pianists of losing all feeling in the nimbleness of fingers. Isaacs believes rather, with Beethoven, and indeed Argerich, that music which is played from the heart will go to the heart: Von Herzen - Möge es wieder - Zu Herzen gehen! (Beethoven’s epigraph to the score of the Missa Solemnis).”
Dr NICHOLAS ROUTLEY – Associate Professor of Music, University of Sydney

“The world would have more musical polymaths like Leonard Bernstein, André Previn, and indeed, Mark Isaacs, if more of we classical musicians were able to compose, improvise and play jazz.”
LACHLAN BRAMBLE – 'Intimacies' Recording Producer; Associate Principal 2nd Violin, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra; Benaud Trio