We first had a chance to work with the awesome American pianist Sandra Carlock in 2005. Her recording of Piano Music by Edward McDowell (SOMMCD 043) was met with unanimous praise: "Such music requires a specially committed pianist and it would be difficult to imagine a more glowing or ardent champion than Sandra Carlock". Gramophone, August 2005
"Sandra Carlock proves herself a passionate and persuasive advocate for the composer, responding to all the musical challenges with a rare insight and breathtaking dexterity..." International Piano, July-August 2005
"Her touch and sense of lyrical line is quite exceptional... She delivers the very difficult Etude de concert with consummate ease." International Record Review.
Sandra and her artistic partner, violinist Guillaume Combet are resident in Philadelphia and since founding the Carlock-Combet Duo three years ago, they have delighted audiences throughout the Philadelphia, Metropolitan and Delaware Valley areas with their musicianship and adventurous programming. Their recitals of French repertoire are always warmly received and their performance on this disc brings added depth to the much-loved Franck Violin Sonata as well as brilliance and freshness to the Sonatas by Poulenc and Saint-Saëns.
Sandra Carlock graduated with a B.Mus. and M.Mus. from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, with post-graduate study at The Juilliard School. In addition to her career in the US, she has performed frequently in Great Britain and Europe, in recital in London’s major concert halls.
Guillaume Combet graduated with a Premier Prix (First Prize) in Violin and Chamber Music from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. He was leader of the Chicago Civic Orchestra under Barenboim and Boulez, soloist and deputy leader of the Chicago String Ensemble, soloist with the Orchestre Symphonique de Tours, and toured internationally with Les Virtuoses de France. He has performed with numerous orchestras in Paris, Chicago and Philadelphia—Orchestra de l’Opéra de Paris Bastille, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, Network for New Music, Opera Philadelphia, Philly Pops, and Pennsylvania Ballet. As a sought-after chamber musician, he has performed throughout the country including the Luckman Fine Arts Complex in Los Angeles, the Chicago Cultural Center on the WFMT Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, the University of Chicago, the University of Delaware, Temple University, and the Philadelphia Ethical Society.
