Tanya’s second solo album launched worldwide

Internationally acclaimed British-Sri Lankan composer/ pianist Tanya Ekanayaka’s second solo album (of her works for solo piano) was launched worldwide by Naxos Records (Grand Piano) in September. The album, titled ‘Twelve Piano Prisms’ was performed and produced by Tanya.

The 12 prisms in this album evolved between 2016 and 2017 and correspond to the twelve primary notes of the keyboard, Tanya says, explaining that while autobiographical, they have been inspired not only by classical styles and indigenous world music but also by contemporary pop, rock and film music. The prisms blend adaptations of traditional melodies of Sri Lanka and countries she has been associated with musically - Armenia, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Born and raised in Kandy, Tanya began studying the piano when she was just five years old. In Sri Lanka she studied the piano under the tutelage of her mother Indira Ekanayaka and later with Bridget Halpé. She made her debut public recital appearance at the age of 12, performed her first concerto at 16 with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka (SOSL), as joint winner and youngest competitor of the SOSL biennial concerto competition and has since performed in renowned international concert venues in Asia, Europe and the United States.

A member of the part-time academic teaching faculty of Edinburgh University since 2007, she taught in the Linguistics faculty of Edinburgh University from 2007 to 2011. Since 2007, she has been concurrently teaching performance to students of the Music Faculty undertaking performance courses and has been involved in teaching on academic courses relating to performance and composition since 2012.

She has been contracted with Naxos Records, the world’s largest independent classical music record label since August 2014. Her debut album of compositions for solo piano composed, performed and produced by her, titled ‘Reinventions: Rhapsodies for piano’ was released worldwide by Naxos (Grand Piano) in 2015.

Here are extracts from an email interview:

Why are they called prisms?

The term prism is intended to reflect the manner in which sounds stemming from diverse cultures, eras and the very core of my being, meld, transform and refract through the piano to emerge as new narratives. It is also intended to allude to one of the concepts presented in the album which is that while the 12 prisms are entirely independent they are also connected (structurally and thematically) lending them to be connected in any combination with improvised motifs to form new works.

How do they correspond to the 12 primary notes of the piano?

Each prism explores the primary note assigned to it in terms of both direct and indirect tonality as well as its timbre. In some prisms aspects of such exploration is obvious while in others it is somewhat concealed requiring the listener to discern the exploration in the process of listening.

What’s it like performing on the world stage? It’s clear that your Sri Lankan heritage factors prominently in your music. Could you elaborate how exactly your Sri Lankan heritage has inspired you? What characteristics of Sri Lankan music do inspire you?

I was born and grew up in Sri Lanka. As such the musical and cultural tapestry of my homeland runs in my blood and manifests variously in my works for the piano.

How is Sri Lankan folk music different to folk music from other places?

This is a question-‘topic’ worthy of a book. Sri Lankan folk music is itself a conglomerate of differing genres. Broadly speaking, it is within the core musical elements of melody, rhythm and delivery that the folk music of different communities may be differentiated.

Some musicians have come under fire for their modern interpretations of traditional music. What are your views on this?

Praise, appreciation and criticism in varying combinations have and always will be an inevitable part of creatives’ experience whenever their ‘art’ is released to the world and as such ceases to be theirs alone.

What would you like listeners to take away from your music?

I hope that my music moves the hearts and minds of those who experience it, hopefully in ways which enhance their lives.

Tanya’s album can be purchased online at https://www. naxos.com/catalogue/item. asp?item_code=GP785