Tanya Ekanayaka's compositions are deeply autobiographical and evolve spontaneously at the keyboard, influenced by her multifaceted background, multilingualism, ambidexterity, and partial color synesthesia.
Composer Biography
Tanya Ekanayaka, the composer and performer on this album, is one of Sri Lanka's most acclaimed concert pianist-composers, also working as a musicologist and linguist.
Performer Biography
Tanya Ekanayaka made her public recital debut at age twelve and performed her first concerto at sixteen with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka (SOSL), as the youngest competitor.
Compositional Technique
Each composition on this album integrates melodies from Sri Lankan musical cultures with motifs inspired by the tonal centers of other classical works.
Cultural Impact
The album incorporates reinventions of 10 of the 18 ancient Sri Lankan vannams, which are dances depicting animal movements and dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries.
Recording & Production
This album features world premiere recordings of Tanya Ekanayaka's compositions, performed by the composer herself.
