Firestarters 2

FIRESTARTERS 2 (THE CD)
Emma Sayers, piano
Emma Sayers comes from Wellington and is active as a solo
pianist, accompanist, chamber musician and teacher.
After studies with Judith Clark she graduated from Victoria
University, receiving a TVNZ Young Achiever’s Award in 1993. This
led to five years at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest,
as a pupil of Rita Wagner. During this time she also worked with
Ferenc Rados, Péter Solymos, János Devich (Kodály Quartet) and
Hargitai Géza (Bartók Quartet).
Sayers has a strong interest in contemporary music and performs
with the new music group STROMA. She is a National Recording
Artist for Concert FM and has collaborated with Richard
Mapp, members of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
and international artists. Currently, she is a lecturer at Massey
University, Wellington.
Emma Sayers appears courtesy of Massey University.
Firestarters 2 (PE068/CD), for Piano
Tracks 1–5 & 7 recorded by Emma Sayers at the Conservatorium of
Music, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand, 9 June 2002.
The recording was made possible through the support of Massey
University.
Producer: Thomas Liggett
Engineer: Richard Caigou
Piano Technician: Michael Ashby
Thanks to Buzz Audio and Matthew Marshall
Track 6 recorded by Michael Houstoun in the Ilott Concert
Chamber, Wellington, New Zealand, 12 March 1996 (from the CD
Elusive Dreams – Trust Records MMT2010)
Emma Sayers appears courtesy of Massey University
Michael Houstoun appears courtesy of the HRL Morrison Music
Trust
[1] Torrent © 2001 Penelope Axtens
[2] Ritual © 1981 Anthony Ritchie
[3] Waiting for the Lights to Change © 2001 James Ledger
[4] Equator Loops © 2001 Stuart Greenbaum
[5] Mechanically Speaking © 2001 Matthew Hindson
[6] Waiting for the Aeroplane © John Psathas
[7] Micro-Piece for Xenia © 2000 Ross Harris
Firestarters 2 (PE069/CD)
© 2005 Promethean Editions Limited
P 2005 Promethean Editions Limited
PO Box 10-143, Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
http://www.promethean-editions.com
Michael Houstoun, piano
Michael Houstoun was born in Timaru in 1952 and received
his early musical training from Sr Mary Eulalie at the Convent
of Mercy. Later he studied with Maurice Till in Christchurch
and Dunedin. Maurice Till prepared him for the 1973 Cliburn
International Piano Competition where he won third prize. In
1974 he was placed fourth in the Leeds International Piano
Competition.
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From 1974 to 1981 he lived in the USA and London, spending
a year during this time at the Curtis Institute of Music in
Philadelphia. In London he studied with Brigitte Wild and
recorded albums of music by Beethoven and Bartók for EMI.
Since 1981 Houstoun has been resident in New Zealand.
In 1993 Houstoun celebrated his 40th birthday year with a feast
of Beethoven, performing the five concertos with the New
Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and then the 32 piano sonatas in a
three-week cycle in Wellington; later repeating this in Auckland,
Christchurch, Dunedin and Napier. He went on to record the
complete cycle of sonatas for Trust Records during 1995 and
1996, and the first 3-CD set of this project received the Recording
Industry Association of New Zealand ‘Tui’ award for the best
classical album of 1995.
In May 1999, Houstoun received an honorary doctorate in
literature from Massey University.
PE068 – 46