Pohádka - Tales from Prague to Budapest Laura van der Heijden & Jâms Coleman

• Leoš Janáček (1854 - 1928): Pohádka, JW VII/5:
• 1 Janáček: Pohádka, JW VII/5: I. Con moto 05:06
• 2 Janáček: Pohádka, JW VII/5: II. Con moto 04:00
• 3 Janáček: Pohádka, JW VII/5: III. Allegro 02:52
• Zoltán Kodály (1882 - 1967): Sonata, Op. 4:
• 4 Kodály: Sonata, Op. 4: I. Fantasia 07:53
• 5 Kodály: Sonata, Op. 4: II. Allegro con spirito 10:03
• Antonín Dvořák (1841 - 1904): Als die alte Mutter, Op. 55 No.4, B. 104, S. 73:
• 6 Dvořák: Als die alte Mutter, Op. 55 No.4, B. 104, S. 73 02:11
• Mért is mondod, hogy nem szeretsz, Op. Post. No. 1:
• 7 Kodály: Mért is mondod, hogy nem szeretsz, Op. Post. No. 1 02:13
• Vékony a pókháló, Op. 1 No. 9
• 8 Kodály: Vékony a pókháló, Op. 1 No. 9 01:58
• András Mihály (1917 - 1993): Mouvement
• 9 Mihály: Mouvement 08:50
• Viteszslava Kaprálová (1915 - 1940): Navždy, Op. 12 No. 1:
• 10 Kaprálová: Navždy, Op. 12 No. 1 03:03
• Zoltán Kodály: Sonatina
• 11 Kodály: Sonatina 09:24
• Leoš Janáček: Sonata, JW VII/7:
• 12 Janáček: Sonata, JW VII/7: I. Con moto 05:20
• 13 Janáček: Sonata, JW VII/7: II. Ballada 05:24
• 14 Janáček: Sonata, JW VII/7: III. Allegretto 02:41
• 15 Janáček: Sonata, JW VII/7: IV. Adagio 05:09
• Total Runtime 01:16:07

Info for Pohádka - Tales from Prague to Budapest

The label début of the Exclusive Chandos Artist Laura van der Heijden explores the rich musical heritage of Bohemia. She was born in England to Dutch-Swiss parents, and her career highlights already include winning the BBC Young Musician competition (aged just fifteen), the Edison Klassiek Award 2018 (for her début album) and BBC Music Magazine's Newcomer Award in 2019. Laura writes: 'Jâms and I first met in 2017, when I was mesmerised by the sensitivity of his musicianship and the colours he managed to create on the piano. Our first concert together took place in the summer of 2018 and included Janácek's Pohádka. Both of us felt incredibly drawn to this piece and also to Janácek's musical language. One of the reasons we were particularly enamoured of Pohádka (a Czech word which loosely translates as 'A Tale') was the focus of the piece on storytelling and how that invited us to let our creativity and imagination flow. This is the common thread spun throughout the repertoire that we have selected for this album; all the pieces embody the notion of passing on ancient folk tales, tales which have lived amongst peoples and across lands for centuries.

Laura van der Heijden, cello
Jâms Coleman, piano

Laura van der Heijden
has already made a name for herself as a very special emerging talent, captivating audiences and critics alike with the sensitivity of her sound and interpretations. This soulful and evocative artist can already look back on a number of exceptional achievements, among them being the winner – at the age of just 15 - of the BBC Young Musician competition.

Her 2018 debut album “1948”, featuring Russian music for cello and piano with pianist Petr Limonov, won the 2018 Edison Klassiek Award (broadcast live on Dutch television), and the 2019 BBC Music Magazine Newcomer Award. The CD has been hailed as a “dazzling, imaginative and impressive” debut recording.

In 2019, Laura graduated from Cambridge University, and is currently in the middle of a busy 2019/20 season, which sees her perform with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Aldeburgh, the Tchaikovsky Symphony in Moscow, the Prague Symphony in the UK, the London Philharmonic and BBC Philharmonic Orchestras in the UK, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the US.

Other highlights include performing the Saint-Saëns Concerto in the opening concert of the inaugural BBC Proms Australia with Sir Andrew Davis and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; recitals at Wigmore Hall, Tonhalle Zürich, and Musashino Cultural Foundation in Japan; as well as her participation in the music festivals of West Cork, OCM Prussia Cove, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Krzyzowa Music.

Collaborative music-making is immensely important to Laura, and she regularly participates in international chamber music courses and festivals. She is a member of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, frequently performs with the Brodsky Quartet, and her chamber music partners have included Nicholas Daniel, Krzysztof Chorzelski, Radovan Vlatkovic, Midori, Nils Moenkemeyer, Mark Simpson, Amy Harman, Matthew McDonald, and Fazil Say. In her duo recitals, Laura collaborates with pianists Tom Poster, Jâms Coleman, Petr Limonov, Katya Apekisheva, Finghin Collins, and Huw Watkins.

Laura was born in England to Dutch-Swiss parents and gave her first public performance at the age of 9. Since 2008 she has been a student of the renowned British-Russian cellist Leonid Gorokhov, and participates regularly in masterclasses with David Geringas, Ralph Kirshbaum and Miklós Perényi. In 2016 Laura was chosen by the Orpheum Stiftung in Switzerland, a foundation encouraging and assisting exceptionally talented young instrumental soloists. She is an Ambassador for both the Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts and Brighton Youth Orchestra.

Laura plays a late 17th-century cello by Francesco Ruggieri of Cremona, on loan from a Charitable Trust.

Booklet for Pohádka - Tales from Prague to Budapest