My Strong Will is a new album of "Ethiopian Classical Music" by Girma Yifrashewa. Recorded with Bulgarian musicians and the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra in Sofia, Bulgaria, the album is a return to where Yifrashewa completed his own conservatory training in the late 1980s and early 1990s, across both sides of the fall of Communism. Guided by Yifrashewa's piano, these chamber works bring the music of Ethiopia into a Western Classical format, uncovering meditative and emotional new vistas for both traditions.
All tracks: Girma Yifrashewa, Piano; Valentin Toshev, Viola; Ivaylo Danailov, Violin; Mihail Zhivkov, Clarinet ; Victor Traykov, Cello – Recorded by Pavel Stephanov in 2013 at National Academy of Music, Sofia, Bulgaria - Except: “The Shepherd with the Flute”, performed by the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Dian Tchobanov, Conductor; Ventsi Mitsov, Orchestration. Recorded 2005 at Zala Bulgaria, Sofia, Bulgaria. Mastered by Pavel Stephanov and Cut by Lupo.
Artwork by Wosene Worke Kosrof, WordPlay (2002), 18" x 18". Design by D. Norsen.