White Letters Marina Baranova

• Ernest Bloch (1880 - 1959): Enfantines, B. 49, No. 10:
• 1 Bloch: Enfantines, B. 49, No. 10: Dream 02:03
• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918), Marina Baranova (b. 1981): Carol of the Homeless Children:
• 2 Debussy, Baranova: Carol of the Homeless Children 02:37
• Serge Yushkevich, Mykola Leontovych (1877 - 1921), Marina Baranova: Carol of the Bells:
• 3 Yushkevich, Leontovych, Baranova: Carol of the Bells 01:28
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750), Marina Baranova (b. 1981): There's Always Tomorrow:
• 4 Bach, Baranova: There's Always Tomorrow 03:30
• Cécile Chaminade (1857 - 1944), Marina Baranova: Carol of the Birds:
• 5 Chaminade, Baranova: Carol of the Birds 02:35
• Ernest Bloch: Enfantines, B. 49, No. 3:
• 6 Bloch: Enfantines, B. 49, No. 3: With Mother 02:18
• Grigory Frid (1915 - 2012): Childrens Pieces for Piano, Op. 41, No. 17:
• 7 Frid: Childrens Pieces for Piano, Op. 41, No. 17: Dance of the Silvan Dew Drops 01:30
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937), Marina Baranova: Noël Des Jouets (A Christmas Carol):
• 8 Ravel, Baranova: Noël Des Jouets (A Christmas Carol) 03:10
• Marina Baranova: Kolyada:
• 9 Baranova: Kolyada 03:11
• Manuel de Falla (1876 - 1946), Marina Baranova: Winter's Tale Mazurka:
• 10 Falla, Baranova: Winter's Tale Mazurka 05:27
• Rosy Wertheim (1888 - 1949): Children's Game:
• 11 Wertheim: Children's Game 01:37
• Marina Baranova: Meanwhile in the Past:
• 12 Baranova: Meanwhile in the Past 02:50
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), Marina Baranova: Oratorio de Noël:
• 13 Saint-Saëns, Baranova: Oratorio de Noël: "Tecum Principium" 06:19
• Marina Baranova: Make a Wish:
• 14 Baranova: Make a Wish 02:09
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791), Marina Baranova: Homeland:
• 15 Mozart, Baranova: Homeland 04:19
• Marina Baranova: White Letters:
• 16 Baranova: White Letters 02:16
• Total Runtime 47:19

Info for White Letters

Pianist Marina Baranova looks at Christmas with the eyes of an outsider. "I was born into a Jewish family in Ukraine and am the great-granddaughter of a rabbi. So I've never celebrated Christmas before, which gives me a view from the outside." On her new album, White Letters, she makes her experiences audible. "This album reflects those sensations." In her unique musicality, which combines light-fingered virtuosity with compositional sensitivity, she creates a world between Christian melodies, Ukrainian winter tunes and Jewish festival of lights sounds. All works oscillate between original, sensitive arrangement and free improvisation.

"My recording is a bit like a playlist that makes my personal perception of the winter mood audible. Famous Christmas pieces from the classical period meet my own compositions, works by Ukrainian composers meet pieces by Jewish poets such as Ernest Bloch, Rosy Wertheim and Grigory Frid, who symbolise the Hanukkah festival of lights for me," says the composer and pianist, who was born in Kharkiv and now lives in Hanover. The order of the works on the album cover a wide range: from Bachian borrowings in combination with "There's Always Tomorrow" by the Jewish composer Johnny Marks to the originally Ukrainian (and now world-famous) Christmas carol "Carol of the Bells" to her own compositions, such as "Homeland", which she dedicates to her home country.

The album title "White Letters" comes from Levi Isaac, an 18th century Hasidic rabbi. What we usually think of as the source of information - the letters - is only half the truth. "For between the printed letters are hidden wisdoms, so-called white letters, invisible to our eyes. Only the combination of printed letters and the white "letters" in between can reveal all the secrets to us," says Marina Baranova. The musician's interpretative subtlety is evident in every second of her music. She invites us to contemplation, to tranquillity, to concentration - without creating a void without content.

The musician makes the space between the classical piano repertoire and her own modern classical compositions her own, both discographically and in concerts. Most recently, her album "Atlas of Imaginary Places" (November 2021, Neue Meister) with original compositions and references to the musical work of her husband Damian Marhulets attracted a great deal of attention. The fact that she now allows such a personal musical view of her origins is also due to the current situation. "I return inwardly to my then peaceful home, the landscape outside covered with snow and warmed inside with parental love."

Marina Baranova, piano

Marina Baranova
Born into a musical family in Ukraine, Marina Baranova began playing the piano when she was five years old. Just two years later, she was accepted into a music school for talented children in her home town of Kharkov. At age 11, Marina won first prize at the International Competition for Young Pianists in Ukraine, which preceded her first international concert tour in Finland.

In the late 90’s she moved to Germany to begin studying with Professor Vladimir Krainev at the University for Music, Theatre and Media in Hannover. Throughout her studies in Hannover, she won at least one internationally renowned competition every year. Marina still resides in Hannover, her base with which she returns from international tours across famous concert halls in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Poland, Israel, Latin America and Thailand.

Marina’s passionate musical interpretation and performances have won over the public and press alike at a wide range of festivals. Festivals such as the International Piano Festival Ferruccio Busoni and the Merano Classic Festival in South Tyrol, Italy, the Viennese Music Week, the Beethoven and Schumann festivals in Bonn, the Granada Piano festival, Schumann Fest Week, Leipzig, and the Beethoven Night in Heidelberg have all seen Marina enhance her international reputation. A sought-after soloist, Marina has performed with the German Radio Philharmonic, the Würtembergischen Philharmonic conducted by Ola Rudner, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Quartet, the Slaska Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bromberg Radio Orchestra conducted by Tadeusz Strugala, the Romanian Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra and the Jerusalem Strings in Yad Vashem, Israel. Her performances have been broadcast on German national TV and Radio including her debut concerto performance in Berlin and her concert performance in the Trierer Kurfürstlichen Palace.

Her debut CD „Marina Baranova plays Schumann“, released by Pianissimo Music in 2012, was given rave reviews by the press. Jaochim Kaiser described her as a skilled and captivating interpreter of Schumann’s music.

Alongside her career as a classical pianist, Marina’s interests also lie in cross-over projects in Jazz, New Music and World Music. For example, She has been involved in numerous world premiere performances of composer Damian Marhulets’ electro-acoustic compositions, including „STELLAR - Wandering Stars Suite“, on which she collaborated with award winning guitarist Frank Bungarten, and „Triangulation“, which was performed at the Beethoven Fest in Bonn. In the world music arena, Marina performed with klezmer legend and clarinettist Giora Feidman at the Vienna Konzerthaus with a program of Jewish songs and songs by Schubert. Shortly following this project, Marina was asked to perform as a guest soloist with Feidman in a CD production, where they recorded numerous compositions together.

Marina Baranova is herself also a talented composer. Her latest CD „Firebird“, where she collaborates with renowned percussionist Murat Coşkun, is completely made up of her own compositions. „Firebird“ was released in 2013 under the Pianissimo Music label and was distributed by Edel Music. Marina and Murat are also touring this program together as a duo.

This album contains no booklet.