We are excited to announce that Lewis Spratlan’s, Bangladesh, is one of the world premiere recordings featured on Nadia Shpachenko’s album The Poetry of Places, which was bestowed with the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium. Victor and Marina Ledin, were also honored with a nomination for Classical Producer of the Year. The album, which was envisioned as a sonic tour of iconic global architecture using the piano, voice, electronics, and percussion, showcases Ms. Shpachenko in ten new music pieces.

“It’s so thrilling to hear one’s music totally understood and projected, but, moreover, to hear the flowering of ideas that only occurs when the performer expands on the given and invests it with her own life experience and art. I’m forever grateful for this wonderful recording of Bangladesh.”

Lewis Spratlan

Lewis Spratlan’s contribution, Bangladesh, is inspired by the National Assembly Buildings in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This brick and concrete building was designed by world famous architect Louis Kahn. In five movements, the piece includes the water, concrete, vapor, local melodies, and workers of the building scurrying about at different phases of its construction. Spratlan, who dedicated Bangladesh to Ms. Shpachenko, created pitch centers for the music. Water is drawn to the pitch of C, the Bangladeshi people to the pitch of F#, and buildings to F and G.

This is not Lewis Spratlan’s first foray into architectural compositions, or even Louis Kahn. His opera Architect, created with Jenny Kallick and John Downey, is a dramatization of Kahn’s personal and professional life.

Congratulations to Nadia, Victor, Marina, and Lew!