From Lynn René Bayley at Art Music Lounge, Duo Odéon and the Specter of George Antheil: “The Sonatine vacillates between tonal and atonal passages with impunity, and Duo Odéon’s familiarity with the earlier, edgier Antheil shows in the extreme intensity of their performance. Violinist Hannah Leland plays with an exceptionally bright tone, using a very fast vibrato of the sort that Toscanini would have adored.”
From Grego Applegate Edwards at Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review: “And in the end I come away from this CD with a real appreciation for Duo Odeon and their beautifully communicative Modernist musicianship and virtuosity, none of which they wear on their sleeve so much as integrate into an Antheil-centric presentation. And after all that is what it should be all about, bringing works alive as fully an expressively as possible.”
From Jonathan Woolf at Music-Web International: “Heard without preconceptions, this ‘Hollywood-era’ Antheil has much to offer. The performances are splendidly committed, and a lot of hard work has gone into the preparation of the score of the concerto. Hannah Leland and Aimee Fincher can be warmly commended on their exploration.”
I'm super excited to be performing with in the Oregon East Symphony's Chamber Music Festival this weekend collaborating with local musicians on Heifetz's arrangement of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 4.
Aimee and I launched a crowdfunding campaign for our recording project this summer! Please visit our IndieGoGo page and consider supporting our project either by donating or by spreading the word! Thank you!!!
Pianist Aimee Fincher and Violinist Hannah Leland Photo by Keitaro Harada
Duo Odéon takes their name from the street on which Antheil lived when he first moved to Paris. Antheil and his wife moved into an apartment above Sylvia Beach's bookshop Shakespeare & Co. where Antheil would meet everyone from Hemingway to Picasso and Pound. Just as Shakespeare & Co. and the Rue de l'Odéon provided deeply influenced and inspired Antheil, Hannah and Aimee have been deeply influenced by Antheil's pieces for violin and piano. Together they continue to explore Antheil's music, and the music of other early twentieth century composers, highlighting under-appreciated and rarely performed works.
Duo Odéon Tour
Duo Odéon will be touring Oregon from November 6-11 presenting a series of lecture-recitals on Antheil's music at three different universities, a masterclass for local high school students, and a final performance featuring the music of Anthiel, Ives, and Roy Harris.
Hannah was recently awarded a Special Projects Grant by her local union, AFM Local 33! This grant will help support her lecture at the College Music Society's annual national conference this October in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
If you are a working musician and NOT a member of AFM and your local union, please consider joining. They are doing amazing work to support musicians across the country from freelancers to contracted orchestra players and more! Check out AFM.org for more information!
