Sony Music Masterworks announces today a unique far-reaching partnership with versatile composer, sought-after musical collaborator and guitarist Bryce Dessner.
The newly inked partnership will see Dessner’s classical compositions released on Sony Classical, while sister label Milan Records will continue to be a home for some of his celebrated soundtracks.
On this new arrangement with Sony Music, Bryce Dessner commented:
I am very much looking forward to an ongoing collaboration with Sony Music Masterworks and their wonderful team on several upcoming projects around my compositional work.
Dessner will make his Sony Classical début on August 23, 2024 with Solos, a collection of unaccompanied instrumental works written over the past few years. The works showcase not only Dessner’s compositional flair but also the immense talent of his acclaimed collaborators, featuring cellist Anastasia Kobekina; violinist Pekka Kuusisto; pianist Katia Labèque; harpist Lavinia Meijer; violist Nadia Sirota; percussionist Colin Currie. Accompanying today’s announcement and album pre-order is the first single from Solos – “Lullaby for Jacques et Brune” – a lullaby for piano, written by Bryce Dessner for his godchildren.
Says Dessner of these pieces:
Writing a solo piece for me is always a great challenge and joy, as you have all the personality and talent of the player plus the physicality and resonance of the solo instrument, a bit like a Shakespearean monologue. These solo pieces for violin, viola, cello, harp, percussion, guitar and piano represent many years of my compositional process. When I began composing, I mainly wrote solo pieces for myself to play and I have always loved unaccompanied instrumental music – including the solo Bach lute and cello suites and the Renaissance lute fantasies of John Dowland, which I used to play myself on the classical guitar. These pieces of mine are often written like poems, where the musical language itself dictates the form and evolution of the piece, and were often opportunities for me to explore more deeply my relationship to the instruments they were composed for. They also represent in each case close collaborative relationships and friendships I have been very lucky to develop with the incredible musicians who play them. Katia, Pekka, Anastasia, Nadia, Lavinia and Colin are all exceptional artists who brought so much of their amazing talent to these recordings.
Read the full anouncement from Sony here.
