Neoclassical Suite is a column that will present 7 recent, distinctive tracks of the neoclassical-modern classical-contemporary -and beyond!- music field.
Note: All Bio/about sections provided/written by the artists.
The Players
Andrea Sertori
(cinematic, neoclassical)
“Andrea Sertori is an Italian pianist and composer of instrumental music. He started his first classical piano studies when he was 9 years old and his first keyboard experiences when he was 15. He had the opportunity to play in different rock bands and at the same time to continue studying piano in order to improve his piano technique and sensitivity as much as possible. Beyond the piano he has the great passion of synthesizers. The study of synthesizers allowed him to learn how to combine classical piano music with electronic music. His first solo work was ‘Mosaic Room’ (2017), a 5 track EP where piano and synthesizers overlap. From this moment on, in succession, he released a series of tracks that are characterized by a fusion between neo-classical and electronic music.” (Andrea Sertori)
Diarmuid J Kennedy
(solo piano, neoclassical)
“Diarmuid J Kennedy is an Irish Piano Composer. Diarmuid composes piano music described as neo-classical, contemporary classical and post-minimalist. It is the ideal choice for relaxation, meditation, mindfulness and chilling out.
An Arts Graduate of Maynooth University, Kildare, Diarmuid received a Masters Degree from Trinity College Dublin and post graduate diploma’s from University College Dublin and Dublin City University. Diarmuid attended the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. In 2018, he completed his piano studies at the London Trinity College of Music.
A classically trained pianist, Diarmuid released his debut single in January 2019 The Velvet Strand. In 2019, Diarmuid performed in festivals including Anam (in Dublin’s Helix Theatre), Southern Cross Day Festival, Dublin, Summer Solstice Piano Experience, World Music Day and Dublin Culture Night. On 23rd January 2020, Diarmuid performed a sold out gig in Arthurs Jazz and Blues Club in Dublin.
In 2021, Diarmuid produced a short documentary film and music score on lifelogging based on research of Europe’s largest Data Research Centre Insight. The music film was officially selected for the Montreal Independent Film Festival, The Cannes International Short Film Festival and the Kerry International Film Festival in 2021.
Diarmuid’s music features on national, local and international radio stations including: RTE Lyric FM, RTE2 FM, KCLR, Claremorris Community Radio, Radio Phoenix FM, RTE Radio na Gaeltachta, FlirtFM, Eagles Nest Radio, Lonely Oak Radio, Riverside Radio and Dublin City FM. Diarmuid’s music is available on all main music platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Google Play/YouTube, SoundCloud, Amazon and Pandora in the USA.” (Diarmuid J Kennedy)
qrauer & Anne Müller
(ambient, neoclassical)
“qrauer are the German electronic duo made up of Christian Grochau, a percussionist, producer and remix artist and Ludwig Bauer, a pianist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer.” (qrauer)
“Anne Müller is a german composer-cellist focussed on novel approaches to classical instrumentation.” (Anne Müller)
Hanna Kekäläinen
(solo piano, modern classical)
“I grew up basically with my hands on the piano. I started taking lessons when I was 4 years old. Music is my core, part of my soul. With challenging times in life, I have always found myself sitting in my beige piano chair. I studied classical piano, but I fell in love with contemporary piano after seeing Jane Campion’s Piano, which features great music by Michael Nyman. That album revolutionized my relationship with playing. However, I ended up on a rather complex career path that went from playing the piano to writing and eventually to a career of more than a decade in various sales and marketing roles. A few years ago, I decided to jump off the squirrel wheel and create a certain kind of emptiness around me so that all my hidden gifts and passions could make room to emerge. I knew I wanted to live for beauty – to create beauty and experience beauty. I soon realized that I wanted to go back to my roots and after a long break I started teaching piano and thus supporting myself with music.
One day a friend of mine asked if I had ever tried to improvise or compose music myself. I hadn’t even thought about it, but I decided to try what would happen if I just put my hands on the piano keyboards and let go. And wow what happened! That improvisation session changed my life. I composed my first song Dance Of The Two Flames from that session and three other songs soon after. I don’t even remember composing those songs, they just literally came through me in a wonderful creative flow. Luckily, I recorded the sessions so I was able to write down the songs I played. Composing has also deepened my connection to music and all other forms of art and to life as art. ” (Hanna Kekäläinen)
Juliano
(neoclassical, cinematic)
“Hi, I’m Juliano a german born composer who loves to write music. During my lifetime I worked with different bands and orchestras and had a lot of fun arranging new songs for them. But again and again I was drawn back to the piano to create my own new melodies and carry them into the world. My music is inspired by different moods, the nature and also influenced by different genres lile Neo Classical music or cinematic music.” (Juliano)
Olario
(solo piano, new age, neoclassical)
“OLARIO is the new project by Austrian international award-winning violinist and composer, UNICEF Austria Ambassador Yury Revich.
Yury is a classically trained violin from 4 generations of violin players in his family and is celebrating a successful international career as a soloist performing in venues like Carnegie Hall and La Scala.
However, he always found himself locked in the traditional classical music industry box without opportunities to truly express himself.
With his new project OLARIO Yury goes outside the box he was in, working on the unique sound.
He found his artistic freedom of expression by composing, recording, and producing music fully by himself.
He is a multi-instrumentalist, recording pianos and keyboard, and strings himself, experimenting with diverse melodic waves, combining the natural warm sound of instruments with electronic soundscapes.
.“ (Olario)
Brian Crosby
(neoclassical, solo piano)
“Brian’s debut album Imbrium marks the culmination of a personal and musical journey that in many ways began when he left popular Irish band Bell X1 in 2008. Brian had played in bands since the age of 16, when he founded indie band Juniper with Damien Rice and then subsequently Bell X1 with whom he made four records and spent twelve years touring the world.
During this period Brian also founded The Cake Sale – a band featuring an eclectic collective of artists such as Paul Noonan (Bell X1), Lisa Hannigan, Gary Lighbody (Snowpatrol), Nina Persson (The Cardigans), Glen Hansard and Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) to raise funds for the charity Oxfam. The record was a multi-platinum hit in Ireland, was released in Europe and America to huge critical acclaim and to this day still generates royalties for the charity.
Towards the end of his time in Bell X1 Brian had become drawn to film scoring work and had started a very rewarding collaboration with visual artist the late Paddy Jolley on a number of his films. It was the taste of this more spacious yet intimate way of creating music that in part led to him departing Bell X1 to pursue a career as a film composer.
Shortly after leaving the band Brian made the decision to move his life and studio to Berlin. A year after his arrival, Brian converted a 3,500 sq ft factory in the city’s Kreuzberg district to a modular studio complex with nine rooms. The studio rapidly became home to a thriving Berlin film music scene and it was here that he collaborated with fellow studio residents Dustin O’Halloran, Hildur Guõnadóttir, Rutger Hoedemaekers and the late Jóhann Jóhannsson on numerous Film and TV scores. During this period he also co -wrote a body of original work to be performed on two pianos with French pianist Fabien Leseure.
Brian maintained strong ties with the Irish music scene and in 2016, alongside many well-known figures in Irish contemporary music, was a central collaborator on Starboard Home, a project which culminated with two live shows at the National Concert Hall in Dublin and the release of a critically acclaimed studio album.
In 2017, Brian moved back to Ireland with his family and two years later set up home in rural county Wicklow at the foot of Carrick Mountain. Inspired by the wooded landscape around him, he designed and built Treehouse Studios, a beautiful log cabin set in the native Irish forest that surrounds his home. Brian notes;
Both the studio and this album were created during 2020, they are both pandemic babies so to speak and I think it was that period of forced pause and suspension of so much of life that helped bring that sense of stillness and restraint and space to the music.
In addition to creating his own solo work, Brian continues to write music for Film and TV and is a vocal advocate for artists rights, is a director of the Irish Music Rights Organisation and is Chair of the Screen Composers Guild of Ireland..” (Brian Crosby)
The Music
Christos Doukakis