Chopin, minimalism and Armenian flair come together on Études Mélodiques, the debut DG album from composer-pianist Marie Awadis. Its 12 tracks for solo piano reveal her individual and unique voice, a product of the diverse influences that enrich her music. The classical foundations of her conservatory years persist – with Chopin providing the obvious formal starting point – but they’re interwoven with aspects of everything from Bach to Kancheli, via jazz and the Armenian folk tunes she has known since childhood. And, reflecting a more recent musical discovery, the dual strands of US and European minimalism also play a key role here.

This Deluxe Edition of Études Mélodiques includes a QR code and unique PIN (as well as a standard weblink) printed on the back of an artcard signed by Awadis. Scanning the QR code will take one to an official website where the full deluxe version of the album, featuring exclusive reworks of Études Nos.  1, 5, 7 & 8 as well as the original 12 tracks can be downloaded. The website also offers access to the sheet music for Étude No. 12: “Unveiled” (as a downloadable PDF) and an “Unveiled” video tutorial from the artist herself.

“My music is not typically classical or neoclassical or avant-garde; it’s something in between,” says Awadis. “When I compose, I have feelings, pictures, stories or places in my mind, rather than a sequence of themes moving across a pre-planned structure. The ideal, for me, is to combine my own intuitive approach with the rhythmic precision of American minimalism, the spirituality of European minimalism and the emotions of Armenian music. Because that’s me – an Armenian-Lebanese-German combination.” 
Armenian by ancestry, Marie Awadis grew up in war-torn Lebanon before moving to Germany to continue her musical studies. Since then she has steadfastly followed her own path, allowing her music to speak for her. Études Mélodiques reflects Awadis’s determination to remain true to herself, to strip away the outer surface of display and reveal the emotions that lie beneath.

Tracklist:

Étude No. 1: Playing Games
Étude No. 2: Breathless
Étude No. 3: Ballade
Étude No. 4: Empty Rooms            
Étude No. 5: Traces
Étude No. 6: La Forêt Oubliée
Étude No. 7: Exodus
Étude No. 8: Through The Window
Étude No. 9: Unspoken Words
Étude No. 10: Void
Étude No. 11: L’horloge des Rêves
Étude No. 12: Unveiled

Bonus Tracks as digital download only:

Étude No. 5: Traces (Orchestral Version)
Étude No. 7: Exodus (Orchestral Version)
Étude No. 8: Through the Window (C.B. Rework)
Étude No. 1: Playing Games (CFCF Rework)
 

Further Bonus Content:

Signed Art Card
Access to sheet music for ‘Étude No. 12: Unveiled’ (PDF downloadable)
Video Tutorial by Marie Awadis for ‘Étude No. 12: Unveiled’