Nigeria’s Echezonachukwu Nduka to release second piano project

Titled Nine Encores, it is set for release by Apotheosis Art House in the US and follows his debut EP Choreowaves, which was released in April.

The earlier project and its maker have since been featured on BBC Newsday, Radio Nacional Clasica de Argentina, Classical Journey Ep 134, African Composers and other platforms.

Speaking about that work, Nduka said he was pleased. “I am happy that my debut EP sparked off conversations on the performance of piano music by composers of African descent. Importantly, I appreciate the fact that it ignited some interest in some pianists to also study and perform such works.”

On the forthcoming project, Nduka would be changing the direction of his work by deploying a mix of geographies. “It's different from my debut recording which featured an exclusive programme of African composers,” he told Music In Africa. “I like the idea of cultural convergence in my sophomore.”

Nduka also said he would release a longer work following Nine Encores. “It is my last EP before the release of my full-length album. Although it's short, as one would expect in an EP of its kind, I attempt to show how Western and African classical piano music are like two sides of a coin.”

At around 16 minutes, Nine Encores will comprise nine short pieces by Joshua Uzoigwe, Fred Onovwerosuoke, Christian Onyeji, Robert Schumann, Frederic Chopin, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev and Ludwig van Beethoven. Most of the songs, besides those by Uzoigwe, Onovwerosuoke and Onyeji, are favorite pieces in the standard piano repertoire. But with Nine Encores, says a statement, “Nduka seeks to present first-hand, the sublimity of a varied programme with both standard and new works in the classical piano repertoire.”

“I look forward to seeing more pianists include works by African composers in their concert programmes,” Nduka said. “I think it makes for diversity and extends the idea of what is known as standard repertoire.”