Tchaikovsky: The Seasons Sissi Makropoulou

• Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893): The Seasons, Op. 37a:
• 1The Seasons, Op. 37a: I. January at the Fireside. By the Heart. Moderato semplice, ma espressivo in E-Flat Major04:56
• 2The Seasons, Op. 37a: II. February Carnival. Allegro giusto in D Major04:10
• 3The Seasons, Op. 37a: III. March Song of the Lark. Andantino espressivo in G Minor02:56
• 4The Seasons, Op. 37a: IV. April Snowdrop. Allegretto con moto e un poco rubato in B-Flat Major03:19
• 5The Seasons, Op. 37a: V. May White Nights. Andantion in G Major04:09
• 6The Seasons, Op. 37a: VI. June Barcarolle. Andante cantabile in G Minor04:44
• 7The Seasons, Op. 37a: VII. July Reaper's Song. Allegro moderato con moto in E-Flat Major02:16
• 8The Seasons, Op. 37a: VIII. August the Harvest. Allegro vivace in B Minor05:17
• 9The Seasons, Op. 37a: IX. September the Hunt. Allegro non troppo in G Major04:08
• 10The Seasons, Op. 37a: X. October Autumn Song. Andante doloroso e molto cantabile in D Minor03:47
• 11The Seasons, Op. 37a: XI. November on the Troika. Allegro moderato in E Major04:03
• 12The Seasons, Op. 37a: XII. December Christmas. 5 Tempo di valse in A-Flat Major05:05
• Symphony No. 4, Op. 36:
• 13Symphony No. 4, Op. 36: II. Andantino11:17
• Total Runtime01:00:07

Info for Tchaikovsky: The Seasons

Tchaikovsky’s evergreen collection of miniatures in a new and captivating arrangement for harp.

Having worked with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Deutsche Oper and MusicAeterna, Sissi Makropoulou has established a reputation among the most talented harpists of her generation, as well as a composer working under the name Sissi Rada. On this, her debut solo album, she brings both talents together. As she explains in her engaging booklet notes, she has been familiar with The Seasons since childhood. They count among the composer’s most intimate works, as well as his most popular. ‘I hear tenderness, benevolence and loneliness – the core of romantic love – in each and every note.’

It is the harp that lends a unique colour to some of Tchaikovsky’s most memorable passages such as the cadenzas in Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. In some cases – January, for example - Sissi Makropoulou has transposed the pieces to sit more easily on the harp and to exploit its sumptuous palette of enharmonics. And while the Shrovetide Fair of February presents considerable challenges to the harpist in terms of quicksilver articulation and lightning-fast chord changes, the results speak for themselves in terms of a happy marriage between music and instrument. March, for example, could have been written with the harp in mind.

As an encore, Sissi Makropoulou plays her own arrangement of the second movement from Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. The gentle mood of this Andantino ‘in the style of a song’ transfers itself sympathetically to the harp in her hands, and is informed by her experience of playing the composer’s music under one of its most inspirational modern conductors, Teodor Currentzis.

A unique recording of the harp arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons! In 1875 Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was commissioned to write a series of piano pieces for the St. Petersburg musical magazine Nuvellist, each piece to be published in the monthly issue. Although Tchaikovsky frequently composed on commission (he sometimes described it casually as “tossing musical pancakes") he took it seriously and he even warmed to the task during composing. His 12 compositions are called “The Seasons” and describe each individual month of the year, either by mood or by a particular occasion or activity (January: By the Hearth, February: Carnival, July: Song of the Reaper etc). the music is affectionate, intimate and often hauntingly beautiful: a series of 12 musical gems!

This new recording presents The Seasons in an arrangement for harp, lovingly and expertly done by Greek Harpist Sissi Makropoulou. She is one of Greece’s foremost harpists and she collaborated with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Deutsche Oper and Musica Aeterna, with conductors like Barenboim, Nelsons and Currentzis.

Sissi Makropoulou, harp

Sissi Makropoulou
In 2007 Sissi made her debut as a second prize winner at the 5th international competition for harp in Holland. In 2010 she was an award winner at the Young Soloist competition in Athens, where she fired up the Greek audience while performing Debussy's Dances with the Athens State Orchestra.

She was educated at the Atheneaum Conservatory, at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and the Universität der Künste Berlin, where she completed her second Masters in Music under the supervision of Marie- Pierre Langlamet (Solo Harp/ Berlin Philharmonic). The athenian harpist Sissi Makropoulou celebrates music in a multi-faceted, but still very personal way. Living and working in Berlin, she enjoys her collaborations with orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Deutsche Oper, the Scharoun Ensemble, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and the Athens State Opera. She has played under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, Andris Nelsons, Matthias Pintscher, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Donald Runnicles, Tugan Sokhiev and T.Currentzis.

Sissi Makropoulou is also active as a composer, especially in the world of Dance-Theater. Her works have been performed in Berlin (Sophiensäle), Munich (Münchener Kammerspiele), Vienna (Brut), Zurich (Gessnerallee), Frankfurt (Mousonturm) and Stockholm (Dansmuseet). Furthermore, the art of transcription plays an important role in her artistic existence not only as an interpreter but also as an author. Numerous original works for piano have been arranged by her for harp, some for the first time, and were performed in Germany, Greece and Holland.

Moreover, under the pseudonym Sissi Rada she is a active in the electronic scene as a singer, lyricist and writer of various blogs and magazines (Local Suicide, Athens Voice, Popaganda). She has collaborated with David August, Kadebostany, Lena Platonos, Foivos Delivorias and performed in Festivals like the Berliner Festspiele, Electronic Beats Festival, Xjazz Festival. In 2016 her first album entitled Pragma was released via Inner Ear Records. In summer 2019 her second album is coming out on Kryptox Records.

Booklet for Tchaikovsky: The Seasons