Violinist Esther Abrami is signed to Sony Classical and has released her latest album ‘Cinema’ We were fortunate enough to talk to her about her new release and more:
Your new album ‘Cinéma’ is out now on Sony Classical. How did you want to approach the making of this album?
I wanted to approach it in a personal way, trying to put as much of myself into it as possible.
It was a process of several steps, thinking of the concept, the music I wanted to record, and what I wanted to say through this album… this is usually what takes the most time!
Who produced the album and where did you record it?
I recorded it in Prague with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. It was produced by Phillip Schulz.
Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?
It was my very first time recording with a live orchestra, I have to admit I was pretty nervous! To know 30 people are there for you, repeating a piece over and over again just for you, it puts a certain pressure!
As the sessions went through, I started getting to know the musicians from the orchestra and developing a real musical bond with them!
Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?
My hometown is Aix-en-Provence in the south of France.
Sunny, nature, lavender, Cézanne, cats
Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals?
In classical musical, we don’t really tend to use or learn to use effects with pedals so I don’t think I’d be able to tell but since the start of my collaboration with electronic musician Worakls, I have started to get interested in these effects and I want to start exploring!
Was it difficult selecting which songs to include on the album and did you have a selection process?
Definitely! I had such a long list of things I wanted to record, I had to have several rounds taking some off every time. It’s really hard making decisions like this!
Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe for 2024?
The next two concerts are in Paris on the 24th of January in Salle Gaveau and in Barbican Hall in London on the 14th of February.
One of the pieces included on the album is ‘Comptine d’un autre été, l’après-midi’. What was the reason for including this and how did you want to approach the recording of it?
Being French, it’s the music from a movie that really marked our country and of which the music became iconic. I loved it when the film came out and wanted to record a new version of it. As it has been recorded a lot, I wanted to try something new and recorded it just by myself with one violin in a looping method.
What is your earliest memory of the cinema?
Seeing Snow White with my parents and being super scared of the witch!
What makes Esther Abrami happy and what makes you unhappy?
Outside of music what makes me happy is reading a book outside with a cat on my lap
What makes me unhappy… places with a lot of noise.
