Naxos releases Tanya’s sixth solo album inspired by 16 Sri Lankan isles
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Dr Tanya Ekanayaka pictured on the cover of the new album
‘16 Sri Lankan Piano Isles’ – Dr Tanya Ekanayaka’s sixth solo album will be released worldwide by Naxos Records on their Naxos World label on May 23, 2025.
Dr Ekanayaka is the first Sri Lankan composer to have entire albums of original music released globally by international record labels, Naxos being one of the world’s largest classical music conglomerates. With an expansive portfolio of compositions for solo piano to her name both as composer and performer, her music has been streamed in over 170 countries and featured across numerous international media worldwide.
Sri Lanka’s over one hundred small isles spread around the coast as well as inland are rich in natural beauty and home to diverse wildlife, plants and ecosystems while some are also home to small communities. 16 Sri Lankan Piano Isles is inspired by 16 of these isles and each composition tells a story and reflects a personal journey, drawing on the unique environment of the isle.
“The evolution of ‘16 Sri Lankan Piano Isles’ is rooted in my deep affection for these isles and concerns for their conservation, as a Sri Lankan, privileged and profoundly grateful to know what growing up and living amidst the breathtaking natural beauty of my homeland feels like,” Dr Ekanayaka writes.
An accompanying theme throughout the music is water, its movement, waves and presence. The compositions allude to this through flourishes, ornamentation and repeating rhythmic patterns.
Comprising world première recordings of 16 new compositions, the album embodies two distinct types of composition-performance. Eight compositions were composed between 2022 and 2024. Like traditional sheet music compositions, they were fully created before being recorded, though never written down. As with all of Dr Ekanayaka’s previous compositions, they exist in her memory in precise detail, and are published as recordings.
The other eight compositions, labelled “Extempore”, were created and recorded simultaneously on a single day in April 2024. All were performed in a single take, making them unique to that moment. Each Extempore composition contains a short, pre-composed motif lasting from half a second to ten seconds, the motifs inspired by specific aspects of the corresponding isles and serve as a basis for the surrounding spontaneous music. The motifs will stay the same whenever these Extempore compositions are performed again, but the rest of the compositions will change, as the composer-pianist reimagines them in real time.
The first part of each Extempore title (e.g. Elubu-Extempore) comes from the name of the isle it represents. This contrasts with the other eight compositions, which are named after themes or specific elements of their isles.
For further information about Dr Tanya Ekanayaka see – https://www.tanyaekanayaka.com/
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