NICOLE ESPOSITO

"Esposito plays with a rich, smooth, full-bodied sound she can make punchy, sultry, or nostalgic and even diminish until it disappears. Akyol sets moods that are energized, tranquil, or touching. The sound, balancing the harp from its deep bass to top treble, presents their magic spell with clarity. Only a few minutes taken from anywhere will enchant you and capture your attention."

Gorman, American Record Guide [July/August 2022]

"Enjoyable and skillfully arranged works... a wonderful collaborations by artists Esposito and Akyol."

Pan Pipes (SAI) [Spring 2022]

“Dancing Dreams, in which a golden flute engages with a resonate harp, results in gem of an album in which many well-known pieces become so alive as if we had not heard them before as well played. The virtuoso playing of Nicole Esposito on flute matched with masterful Cagatay Akyol on harp results in a stellar performance and splendid recording for the MSR Classics label... magic occurs in this direct and simple interplay and repartee by flute and harp. Like a cut gem in the sunlight, the music sparkles and thrills the listener... Esposito and Akyol have created an exceptional album that deserves a top shelf place in any music collection."

Joel C. Thompson, Cherry Grove Music Review [February 2022]

"All the arrangements, by whatever hand, balance the instruments nicely and provide listeners with an interesting opportunity to hear a number of well-known works sounding quite different from the way they usually do.
The flute-and-harp combination seems especially well-suited to the delicacies of French Impressionism: Debussy’s Rêverie and Clair de lune, Fauré’s Berceuse, Après un rêve and Sicilienne, and Ravel’s Pièce en forme de Habanera and Pavane pour une infante défunte – all of them quite familiar and quite closely related in the way they make their points – are all pleasant and pleasurable here, offering listeners a dreamlike, wavelike, drifting experience in which the instrumental combination is less illustrative than it is smooth and soothing. Indeed, although this is not a pandemic-driven or pandemic-focused release, it is the kind of CD that can easily be used to encourage meditation, quiet escape from the rigors of a difficult time, and a pleasurable immersion in delicacy and beauty before it is necessary to return once again to a harsher and more demanding reality."

Mark J. Estren, InfoDad [March 2022]

"Flautist Nicole Esposito and harpist Cagatay Akyol provide euphonious touches to œuvres quarried from French impressionism and spicy cadences of Astor Piazzolla.... Esposito’s airy notes are seductively supported by Akyol’s pristine harmonics; performing an arrangement by Brian Noel, Debussy’s Clair de lune still retains that timeless and dreamy value…enchanting."

Christie Grimstad, ConcertoNet [March 2022]

The combination of flute and harp always adds enlightenment and a stately decorum to timeless classics. Nicole Esposito and Cagatay Akyol are superbly matched as a team which makes these arrangements (several of them created by the duo) all the more inviting and enticing.

Christie Grimstad, ConcertoNet [February 2022]

"Dancing in Dreams meshes the considerable talents of flutist Nicole Esposito and her partner in this recital, harpist Çağatay Akyol... From what I hear on the present recording, she must have been a native of Birdland, so airborne and mellifluous is the sound of her flute."

Phil Muse, Atlanta Audio Club [March 2022]

Dancing in Dreams brings together French impressionism and the evocative compositions of tango composer, Astor Piazzolla. As the impressionistic style sought to capture ambiguous moods and emotions, and its composers frequently used titles that suggest this, it lends itself particularly well to depictions of dreaming.


Nicole Esposito enjoys a career as soloist, chamber music collaborator and orchestral musician across the United States, Central and South America, Europe and Asia. She is sought after as a recitalist and master class presenter by prestigious music schools and festivals around the world. Also active as a recording artist, she can be heard on the Albany, Con Brio and MSR Classics labels. Esposito, who holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon University, is the flute professor and head of the woodwind area at The University of Iowa School of Music, from which she received the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Collegiate Teaching Award; she also serves as a visiting  Professor at the University of Chile. Esposito is an Artist for Miyazawa flutes and LefreQue sound bridges. She plays on a solid 14k gold Miyazawa flute with a 14k MZ-10 head joint with platinum riser and 24k gold and platinum LefreQue sound bridges. [ www.nicoleespositoflute.com ]

International harp soloist and composer Çagatay Akyol is principal harpist of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra in Ankara, Turkey. After completing his harp studies in Berlin, Akyol performed with many orchestras and chamber orchestras such as the RSO Berlin, Staatskapelle Dresden and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He has played under numerous noted conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Peter Eötvös, Michael Gielen, Bernard Haitink, James Judd and Giuseppe Sinopoli, and has performed as a harp soloist with the Bursa State Symphony Orchestra, Borusan Chamber Orchestra, Çukurova State Orchestra, Izmir State Orchestra, Milli Reasürans Chamber Orchestra and residential Symphony Orchestra. Akyol has participated in numerous radio and television programs and is the founding member of the Anatolian music group, Arpanatolia. Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
RÊVERIE
Arranged by Nicole Esposito and Çagatay Akyol
 
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
BERCEUSE
Arranged by Robert Webb
 
Claude Debussy
CLAIR DE LUNE
Arranged by Brian Noel
 
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
LOS SUEÑOS
Adapted by Nicole Esposito and Çagatay Akyol
 
OBLIVION
Arranged by Nicole Esposito and Çagatay Akyol
 
MILONGA from Incidental Music for Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Adapted by Nicole Esposito and Çagatay Akyol
 
Gabriel Fauré
APRÈS UN RÊVE
Arranged and edited by Ervin Monroe and Patty Masri-Fletcher
 
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
PIÈCE EN FORME DE HABENERA
Arranged by Nicole Esposito and Çagatay Akyol
 
Gabriel Fauré
SICILIENNE
Arranged by Dewey Owens
 
Maurice Ravel
PAVANE POUR UNE INFANTE DÉFUNTE
Transcribed and edited by Dewey Owens
 
Astor Piazzolla
HISTOIRE DU TANGO
Arranged by Kari Vehmanen
Bordel 1900
Café 1930
Nightclub 1960
Concert d’aujourd’hui



MSR Classics