Award-winning violin-piano duo, Opus Two - violinist William Terwilliger and pianist Andrew Cooperstock - announces the release of their new recording, Opus Two Celebrates Stephen Sondheim New Chamber Music Arrangements (Bridge Records 9605) now available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and major retail outlets.
As a follow-up to their previously released single, A Little Night Music Suite, recognized as “a winner” by BBC Magazine, the recording was also praised by Take Effect Magazine for Cooperstock and Terwilliger's "incredible chemistry and attention to rhythm. Their meticulous dynamics between the strings and keys effectively illuminates Sondheim’s vision with a radiance that does justice to the classic musical.” Now, this new full-length release features world-premiere recordings of highlights from Stephen Sondheim's exceptional Broadway shows. These include Not While I’m Around from Sweeney Todd, Broadway Baby from Follies, I Remember from Evening Primrose with soprano Elena Shaddow, Main Title from Stavisky, Every Day a Little Death from A Little Night Music with cellist Beth Vanderborgh, Sorry/Grateful from Company for violin solo, Finishing the Hat from Sunday in the Park with George with baritone Andrew Garland, Now You Know from Merrily We Roll Along for piano solo and Fleet Street Suite: A Sweeney Todd Medley.
Arranger Eric Stern reminisces about his work with Sondheim: “I was one of the many lucky ones who got to work with Sondheim and experience close hand his genius, collaborative nature, and inherent kindness.” Stern added “my last conversation with him was about the A Little Night Music Suite which you’ll find on this album. We were all extremely grateful for his enthusiastic endorsement of the arrangement and performance, muted only by our sorrow that the rest were written after his passing. Stern's work with Sondheim included the 1984 revival of Pacific Overtures, conducting Sunday in the Park with George in the second year of its original run, co-music directing the first production of Into the Woods, conducting productions of Follies, and conducting Merrily We Roll Along at the Kennedy Center.
Opus Two has been internationally recognized for its “divine phrases, impelling rhythm, elastic ensemble and stunning sounds,” as well as its commitment to expanding the violin-piano duo repertoire. The acclaimed duo, which has served as longtime Artistic Ambassadors of the U. S. State Department, has been hailed for its “unanimity of style and spirit, exemplary balance and close rapport.” Violinist William Terwilliger and pianist Andrew Cooperstock have performed together across six continents, including engagements at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, London’s St. John’s Smith Square, and on Hong Kong’s Hell Hot! New Music Series, as well as in such international destinations as Paris, Geneva, Monte Carlo, Canberra, Kiev, Beijing, Seoul, Taipei, Sapporo, Vladivostok, Accra, and Quito, and on NPR, American Public Media's Performance Today, Radio France, the BBC, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The two have served as artist-faculty at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Brevard, Round Top, and the Saarburg Festival (Germany), among others, and they have presented master classes worldwide from Juilliard to the China Central Conservatory. Champions of American music, Opus Two has recorded a critically acclaimed series of single-composer discs dedicated to the music of Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Paul Schoenfield, Lowell Liebermann and Leonard Bernstein.