TULEVAISUUS mackenzie melemed
The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 Prelude and Fugue No.22 in B-Flat Minor, BWV 867 Johann Sebastian Bach
1 2
I. Prelude II. Fugue
2:26 2:53
TULEVAISUUS
mackenzie melemed, piano
Prelude and Fugue (Aeolian) Stephen Hough
3 4
I. Prelude. Maestoso energico II. Fugue. Allegro molto ritmico
2:43 4:13
Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, S. 173 Franz Liszt
5 6
VII. Funérailles Threnody…October 2024
Laura Kaminsky
13:19 11:34
Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op.9 Johannes Brahms
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Thema Var. 1, L'istesso tempo Var. 2, Poco più moto Var. 3, Tempo di tema Var. 4, Poco più moto Var. 5, Allegro capriccioso Var. 6, Allegro Var. 7, Andante Var. 8, Andante Var. 9, Schnell Var. 10, Poco adagio Var. 11, Un poco più animato Var. 12, Allegretto, poco scherzando - Allegro Var. 13, Non troppo presto Var. 14, Andante Var. 15, Poco adagio Var. 16, Adagio
24 Lament and Variations Avner Dorman
1:18 1:15 0:33 1:07 0:45 0:51 0:50 0:58 2:04 0:37 2:15 1:05 0:45 0:33 0:58 1:47 2:21 15:13
Produced by Mackenzie Melemed Recorded at Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts April 28-30, 2025 Engineered by Mie White • Mastered by Jennifer Nulsen © 2025 • BSTC-0227 • brightshiny.ninja • All rights reserved Unauthorized replication & distribution prohibited
Tulevaisuus—Finnish for “future”—is my debut album and musical introduction to a global audience. For this project, I chose compositions by Bach, Liszt, and Brahms, works that have served as guideposts throughout my artistic development. I invited three composer colleagues—Sir Stephen Hough, Laura Kaminsky, and Avner Dorman—to create modern responses to these masterpieces, reimagining their spirit in today’s world. Each pairing forms a dialogue across time, adding to our musical continuum. Stephen Hough’s Prelude and Fugue (Aeolian) draws on one of Bach’s darkest works—the Prelude and Fugue in B-flat minor (WTC Book I)—but plays mostly on the white keys until the original key returns in a bold, dramatic surge. The fugue subject, drawn from the letters of my last name, weaves the personal into the structural. Laura Kaminsky’s Threnody…October 2024 responds to Liszt’s Funérailles with a raw, urgent expression of today’s anxiety and grief, much like how Liszt captured the spirit of the 1848–49 Hungarian Revolution. Avner Dorman’s Lament and Variations takes inspiration from Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9, a work marked by introspection and devotion. Dorman’s piece, dedicated to those lost in the October 2023 attack in Israel, moves through sorrow and resilience, building to a powerful climax before Finding Peace in Stillness—a solemn benediction that returns us to the opening lament, though somewhat changed from all that's preceded it. Rooted in the past and a reflection of the present, Tulevaisuus invites listeners to explore how tradition, memory, and new voices can come together to shape what lies ahead. —Mackenzie Melemed
Recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant, 30-year-old American pianist Mackenzie Melemed has emerged as one of his generation’s most distinctive musical voices. A child prodigy, Melemed gave 500 concerts before age 13, including an appearance on The Rosie O’Donnell Show as well as five performances at The White House. A laureate of the 2021 American Pianists Awards and the 1st China International Music Competition, Melemed has collaborated with conductors Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gerard Schwarz, Michael Stern, Mei-Ann Chen, Yoel Levi, and many others. He has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic, and the KBS Symphony at venues like Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, the Helsinki Music Centre, and Warsaw’s National Philharmonic. Melemed is a Steinway Artist and graduate of The Juilliard School’s prestigious Artist Diploma program, where he studied with Robert McDonald and Emanuel Ax.
Special thanks to Ms. Kuniko Washio and William Scollard, as well as to the following donors: Mary Beth and David Alexander, Lynn Bernard, Alex Blakemore, Carol Butler, Robert and Virgil Chan, Bob Cundall, Vic Dhooge, Brian Feit, Susan Jacobs, Elise Jacques, Rich McNally and Kelly Lizotte, The Rains Family, Lou and Jil Valerio, and John Wohlstetter.