Listen to the article's playlist as you read:
The years between 2019 and 2021 will forever go down in history as the pandemic years, conjuring up images of global chaos, social distancing and long periods of time spent at home.
But despite all the pain, grief and tragedy, the event also brought many surprises and positives, as the planet and local communities alike rose to the challenge, pulled together and came up with creative ways of coping with what was after all something fairly unique in our modern history, and overwhelming on both an individual and societal level.
One of the small shards of light and hope for us here at Deutsche Grammophon, was the PROJECT XII series, which began in 2019, just before the pandemic arrived. Taking the shape of a new digital single release every month, the project was intended to introduce new or lesser-known contemporary artists and showcase the diversity of the contemporary classical music scene. The best bit was the full-length vinyl album that was released at the end of each year, and which neatly pulled the year’s twelve songs together in one place.
The inaugural single release, in January 2019, was “Moon Square”, a hypnotic solo piano piece by Berlin-based pianist, composer, sound engineer and producer Arnold Kasar, who had already caused some ripples with his celebrated Einfluss album alongside Kraitrock legend Hans-Joachim Roedelius back in 2017. Ideal listening for a winter evening, it was followed over the course of the year by a series of seasonally-savvy releases, including Alice Baldwin’s fragile and evocative “Was am Ende” and the gently-swirling guitar and electronics of “Silent In A World Of Talking” by Malmö-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Gustafsson;
Also released by the end of the year was the soaring and cinematic “Constellations” by acclaimed film composer London-based Alex Baranowski, and the final release of the debut series, “Wove It Into Cloth” by American composer and arranger Rachel Grimes—a compelling solo piano version of her previously released song “Patsy”.
The project was such a resounding success that it was decided to emulate it again the following year, with PROJECT XII 2020, which was kick-started right away in January 2020 with Brazilian composer and pianist Rossano Snel’s meditative “Sunday 23”. As the pandemic got underway, the series continued with a flow of consistently wonderful talent, including Peru’s Sergio Díaz De Rojas (the atmospheric, piano-led “Mundo Flotante”), some sublime orchestral ambiance from Christina Vantzou (“Siren III”), and “Lillian’s Aria” by Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin—a solemn but touching piece commissioned as a sonic tribute to a deceased mother.
The project also showcased a couple of bold reworkings of classical classics, namely Franco-Swiss composer Vivian Roost’s take on Erik Satie’s “Gymnopédie No. 2”, which added harmonium, strings and a triplet time signature to create a composition every bit as dreamy and enigmatic as the original; and Leon Weber’s more dramatic overhaul of the third movement of Ravel’s String Quartet in F major “Très lent” on his electronic instruments and with some help from the Philharmonia Quartet Berlin.
As the pandemic surged and the concept of ‘home listening’ took on a whole new meaning, it was decided to continue the series for one more year and bring as much sonic comfort to as many listeners as possible—hence PROJECT XII 2021. This was kicked off with a very special release called “Home”by Hamburg composer and pianist Abbott, a contemplative composition featuring the Vocaal Ensemble Cordier and cellist Ruben Jeyasundaram. It was followed by the equally poignant “Alone” by Armenian composer and pianist Marie Awadis, who went on to record her sensational debut DG album Études Mélodiques in 2024.
Other songs on this final project included the evocative “Timelines” by Polish cellist Dobrawa Czocher, whose Inner Symphonies, created with her friend and fellow Polish composer Hania Rani during lockdown, was released in 2021; a filmic masterpiece called “Arrival” by synthesiser duo Felsmann + Tiley; the delightfully whimsical “Magic Hour”, made on an M-Tron Pro (an emulation of the Mellotron) by British electronic artist Emma Davis; and the haunting “Landslide” by American singer-songwriter and violinist Hannah Epperson.
The final song for the 2021 series, and the project overall was “Moon Window” by guitarist and producer Freya Arde. Although unintentional, it was a perfect ending for a series that began with a song about the moon, and which—although the pandemic still had a way to go before it was officially declared over—helped guide many of us through some seriously dark times.
