reviews

Cadogan hall's official site: "A wonderful evening of enchanting music from Kazakhstan’s leading composer. Yerkesh Shakeyev is widely acclaimed for his classical, popular and film music and for the first time brings this delightful programme to the British public.

International soloists Chloë Hanslip and John Lenehan perform highlights from Shakeyev’s major recordings with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Waves from Heaven is, in composer Yerkesh Shakeyev’s own words, music that descended to him from the sky as a revelation: Warm waves of harmony came as whispers from angels, capable of healing inner wounds and re-awakening love for life."

Original link...

Had I researched further, I would have found that the composer Yerkesh Shakeyev of Kazakhstan, has won many awards for his popular songs. This disc contains orchestrations of some fourteen of them, performed by three different London Orchestras, each of whom, I suspect, could have played them on sight with no difficulty whatsoever.

It is difficult to say just which of the fourteen were orchestrated by Shakeyev, but since only three of them are specifically designated as arranged by others, I must assume that unlike most popular musicians, he can actually write for a full-size orchestra.

The booklet notes, such as they are, make much of his melodic ability, and I have to say, rightly so. The notes also give a platform for him to speak of his inspiration: “You now hold in your hands the epitome of my creative work, which was inspired by the voice from the above that I call the ‘God’s Whisper’”.

Other sources of descriptions of the music can easily be found on the web, e.g. “music that descended to him from the sky as a revelation: Warm waves of harmony came as whispers from angels, capable of healing inner wounds and re-awakening love for life”.

And the music? Well, coming down to earth, if you can imagine a slightly updated ballet suite by Glazunov, occasionally spiced by hints of Khachaturian, you won’t be far wrong – waltzes, lovelorn adagios and even a track named ‘London’, the city where this CD was recorded. It seems that Shakeyev was greatly impressed by Britain; his brief though heartfelt reference to it is very nice indeed, although the music – a rather pleasing adagio – is not what I would have chosen to associate with that hectic city. The track entitled ‘Remember Me’, is a particularly soulful adagio and I am not surprised that its composer has won umpteen awards.

In short, this is a pleasing easy-listening CD, beautifully recorded and performed. I have no doubt the Mr. Shakeyev is pleased with it, and so he should be.

Go to the original article

If an inexperienced person gets acquainted with the booklet of the Waves From Heaven CD, owned by the authorship of the Kazakh composer Yerkesh Shakeev, he will immediately be able to get answers to questions about the source of such exciting music and what caused her appearance.
For a typical European (with European roots) Shakeev is a slightly exotic figure with an unusual bright heart that "hears music in words and sees words in music."
The artist has countless musical awards and recognition of the musical community, but he also features an unusual lifestyle such as the successful conquest of the North Pole and the ascent to Kilimanjaro.
Therefore, we can assume that the ideas of this music are closely related to profound philosophical questions. Those interrelations of life with the melody, which we hear in total for fourteen tracks, come to us as if from far distances and huge heights. Listening is refreshing in many ways. The composer took care of the highest quality of all parties, both orchestral and solo.
The recipe for excellent sound consists of three components, namely the London Symphony Orchestra (conductor Gavin Sutherland), the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Richard Balcombe) and the London Metropolitan Orchestra (Andy Brown). All this guarantees the highest quality of execution of the author's idea of the composer.
Just managed to catch a single soundscape and the whole atmosphere of Shakeev's score. The most pleasant surprise was the solo piano (pianist John Lenehan), whose performance gave the music a spark of nobility, especially in the playful mood of "My Princess". The track called "Sayora" has the character of a hymn, which contrasts perfectly with the track of "Zhansulu", which form all the unthinkable combinations of the possible and the impossible.
"Rain" is perhaps the brightest composition of the album, it captures the spirit of the listener prepared by the lightness of thoughtful "Sayora", as well as the dreamy, windy composition of "Zuki". High connoisseurs will certainly enjoy the same rhythm of the track, in addition to "My Princess". The sixth track, no doubt, is created in a completely different spirit. The very name of the track - the waltz-requiem "Holocaust" - speaks about its subtext.
After the last sound of the album, it's worth to mention the second and fifth tracks. And then, together with Yerkesh Shakeev, using his extremely interesting and enviable talent of the talented artist with his eyes closed, to pronounce their names and understand their true meaning - "Wait for me" and "Be Together"...

Text of the original article...

"What a privilege and an honour to have attended such superb concert at outstanding venue - Cadogan Hall. RPO together with conductor David Firman, soloists Chloe Hanslip, violin and John Lenehan piano gave us fantastic evening of amazing music by distinguished contemporary composer, Mr. Yerkesh Shakeyev - who was present there too. World class artists on every level and at every stage - THANK YOU! Standing ovation was the least, we Audience could offer in appreciation. "

"Joyous, beautiful music evocative of vast landscapes and seascapes of rising and setting suns. A heaven inhabited by Mozart, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Strauss and Disney. I was in tears during Waltz-Requiem 'Holocaust' experiencing those waltzing Austrian and Bavarian Jews who should have been enjoying their lives and their families.

The Royal Philharmonic treated us to a massive program of 19 pieces supported by wonderful soloists Chloe Hanslip and John Lenehan.It was wonderful to hear Yerkesh Shakeyev thank his musicians and sponsors and David Firman his fabulous conductor.

It was beautiful to hear him say 'You have all decorated this evening.

Thank you very much."

"It was a standing ovation for Waves From Heaven music composed Yerkesh Shakeyev performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conductor David Firman with various tracks supported by John Lenehan piano and Chloe Hanslip violin. Modern classical tracks of five to seven minutes in length, a must for the Classical Radio play list.

Record at the world famous Abbey Road studios it was lucky that I bought the CD at the concert as it is yet be available on Amazon."

"Waves From Heaven: The Music Of Yerkesh Shakeyev with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was a fabulous and very colourful evening. It was a great privilege to be part of this wonderful spectacle.

Essentially this was the launch of Yerkesh Shakeyev’s new album “Waves From Heaven”. The music was simply beautifully played by the full Royal Philharmonic Orchestra plus 2 soloists, on piano John Lenehan and on violin, Chloe Hanslip.

There was something for everyone in this beautifully arranged programe which was introduced on stage by Ms. Alfiya Kuanysheva. Later and before the final piece Zingarella Yerkesh Shakeyev came on stage and shared his thanks with people and sponsors that had contributed to the success of his album.

Cadogan Hall was wonderful and all the staff were all very helpful. As well stocked bar as well as CDs were available to purchase of Yerkesh Shakeyev’s new album. I was very fortunate to have the chance to buy some CDs and have those signed by the artist as a memory of a delightful evening.

5 stars"

“Having working with Yerkesh Shakeyev in both recording studio and concert hall, I have had the opportunity to witness his integrity and quality as a musician as well as the international appeal of his music.
The musicians of London’s Philharmonic Orchestra were all greatly impressed by Yerkesh’s compositions and the response of the concert audience was very enthusiastic.
I would thoroughly recommend Yerkesh’s music to orchestras and concert audiences alike.”

Ian Maclay, Director of Kestrel Music

The music varies between rather film-soundtrack moments, to intense melancholic lyricism to passages which put a real smile on your face and would not be out of place on the BBC Radio 2 programme Friday Night is Music Night. With the blending of genres and the crossing of boundaries, good light music is rather rare to find.

In fact, this is a disc of music by the Kazakhstani composer Yerkesh Shakeyev. Born in 1962 he has moved from bard songs and pop hits to neoclassicism. With this album Waves from Heaven Shakeyev seems to have made the move into orchestral music. The pieces are performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under conductor Gavin Sutherland, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Richard Balcombe and the London Metropolitan Orchestra under conductor Andy Brown.

One detail of the production does, however make you wonder quite how much of what we are hearing is Shakeyev. Whilst Shakeyev is a highly experienced song-writer with a long career behind him, all the music on this disc is credited to arrangers, with Dmitry Varelas, Toby Young and John Lenehan sharing the arranging honours, and Lenehan providing the piano solo on the two tracks that he has arranged.

I have to confess to having only the haziest idea where Kazakhstan is, or what the country's music is like. But this is one of those disc which really does manage to cross boundaries, and I enjoyed it immensely. All the more so as much of it seems to have a winning smile, or wistful melancholy behind it.
Posted by Robert Hugill (London based composer, blogger, journalist and lecturer) at Sunday, September 16, 2018. Original link...

“Marat Bisengaliev and Yerkesh Shakeyev have a significant, devoted following both in Kazakhstan and around the world. The skills, experience and professional attitude of the SIS LIVE team meant that even in a complex scenario we achieved a first-class result with apparent ease. The evening was very much a success and enjoyed by both those at St Luke’s in London, as well as those watching the concert worldwide.”

Alexander Van Ingen, producer, Decca Classics

“This new album and concert were big news in the classical music world, so it was vital we got both the sound and the camera shots absolutely right for an exacting live global audience”
“The evening was very much a success and enjoyed by both those at St Luke’s in London, as well as those streaming the concert worldwide.”

Martin Evans, IP sales manager, SIS LIVE