Naoko Shimizu - Schumann, R.: Fairy Tales / Britten, B.: Reflections On A Song of John Dowland / Bunch, K.: Suite for Viola and Piano (2004)

Two ARD Prize Winners on Path to Success: The latest CD recording by Naoko Shimizu and Özgür Aydin once again shows that the duo is a first-rate chamber ensemble whose performances of quietly reflective works challenge audiences to cultivate the art of listening.

The works by Schumann and Britten are milestones within the viola-piano repertory: intimate, seemingly suspended in a reverie, yet with ever-recurring dramatic and sonorous passages. The Suite for Viola and Piano by Kenji Bunch (born in 1973) is a perfect complement to its famed predecessors in the literature for viola and piano. The composer and violist composed the piece for Naoko Shimizu, paying her the highest praise imaginable: "Her sensational talent not only inspired the work but also justified its coming into existence."