HEARTLAND POEM
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July 24th, 2026
Recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London, July 2025.
Featuring GRAMMY®-nominated pianist Robert Thies and conductor Geoffrey Paterson. Two large-scale orchestral works capturing the sweep and beauty of the American heartland.
Track List
1. Piano Concerto, I. Rhapsody
2. Piano Concerto, II. Elegy
3. Piano Concerto, III. Rondo
4. Heartland Poem
Featured Artists
Robert Thies
Piano
Pianist Robert Thies first captured worldwide attention in 1995 when he won the Gold Medal at the Second International Prokofiev Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia, and became the only American pianist to win a Russian piano competition since Van Cliburn's triumph in Moscow in 1958. Thies enjoys a diverse career as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and recording artist. He has already performed forty different concerti with orchestras around the world, including the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Auckland Philharmonia, the Mexico City Philharmonic, the Louisville Orchestra, and the Naples Philharmonic. Based in Los Angeles, he is highly sought after for recording projects. In 2024 he received a GRAMMY® nomination for his work as featured pianist and producer on composer Danaë Xanthe Vlasse's "Mythologies II," a recording made with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also recorded for such film composers as John Williams, James Horner, and James Newton Howard. robertthiespianist.com
Geoffrey Paterson
Conductor
Geoffrey Paterson is a conductor praised for his 'natural and charismatic authority' (Opera World) and 'impeccable grace' (The Guardian) across repertoire spanning Baroque to contemporary music. His BBC Proms debut in 2020 featured Steve Reich's City Life, and he maintains a longstanding collaboration with the London Sinfonietta. Recent highlights include Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Bernstein's West Side Story with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Opera credits include productions for the Royal Danish Opera, Glyndebourne, Opera North, English National Opera, Frankfurt Opera, and the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. He has performed with ensembles including the Philharmonia, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and is renowned for his work in contemporary music. He began his career as a Jette Parker Young Artist at the Royal Opera House. geoffreypaterson.co.uk
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1946 and led by Music Director Vasily Petrenko, is regarded as the world's most versatile symphony orchestra. Based in London and performing around 200 concerts per year worldwide, the RPO reaches a live and online audience of more than 70 million people annually through a programme spanning the great symphonic repertoire, pop collaborations, and film, TV and video game soundtracks. The Orchestra holds residencies at Cadogan Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and the Royal Albert Hall, and tours extensively across Europe, Asia and the USA. Passionate about accessibility, the RPO's community and education programme, RPO Resound, is one of the world's most respected of its kind. With the patronage of His Majesty King Charles III, the RPO continues to build on an enviable heritage while remaining open-minded, forward-thinking and accessible to all. rpo.co.uk
Program Notes
Piano Concerto
Dedicated to the memory of Meroy Nichols and Stacy Nichols Mau
It's a magnificent piece; it has a wonderful, dramatic, sweep; moments of exquisite, delicate beauty and romantic grandeur—and it carries you…in one huge romantic arc from the beginning to the end."
— Geoffrey Paterson, Conductor
The 1st movement, Rhapsody, is atypical because solo piano begins the work, and there are two cadenzas framing the middle of the movement. This expansive first movement expresses a vast emotional pallete, from deeply intimate exploration, to conversational and even argumentative moments, to rousing and heroic expression.
The 2nd movement, Elegy, is in memoriam of two women from the family that commissioned the concerto. This movement portrays different aspects of grief, and the happy remembrance of loved ones, with two beautiful alternating themes.
The 3rd movement, Rondo, blends the 19th century compositional style with more modern dissonance and hints of minimalism. The music alternates a melancholy main theme with more hopeful secondary themes in Major keys which lead to an uplifting and exciting resolution of the entire concerto.
Heartland Poem
Dedicated to the memory of Dr. Ray and Lois Robinson
Heartland Poem is a single-movement programmatic work that portrays the feeling, expanse, and history of the American Heartland. It is in a neo-romantic style, with a mix of Americana, and minimalism.
The piece portrays a heartland sunrise, then takes listeners to pioneer times with a joyous theme that unwinds into a deeply evocative nostalgia. The bucolic scene takes an ominous turn as it moves to a more modern sound. This music, now in 7 beats per measure, represents uncertainty, struggles, and the "hard times" related to the land, the weather, and the economy. Finally, the piece transitions to a Major key and a more regular meter, representing hope for the future and culminating in a musical triumph over adversity.
Album Art: The painting on the cover, entitled 'Heartland Poem' is by Tammy Schuett, a lifelong friend of the composer. For more information, visit TammySchuettArt.com.
Album Credits
Recording
Recorded July 16–17, 2025
Abbey Road Studios, London
Artists
Composer: James Viggo Poulsen
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Pianist: Robert Thies
Conductor: Geoffrey Paterson
Production
Producers: Danaë Vlasse, James Poulsen, Robert Thies
Production Consultant: Emilio D. Miler
Album Art: Heartland Poem by Tammy Schuett. TammySchuettArt.com
Engineering
Recording Engineer: John Barrett
Recordist (Pro-Tools) & Editing: Daniel Hayden
Assistant Engineer: Neil Dawes
Head Studio Runner: Annie Gasiorowski
Mix Engineer: Phil Young, Trilix Studio, Des Moines
Mastering Engineer: Melanie Montgomery
Executive Producer: Bob Lord
VP of A&R: Brandon MacNeil
A&R: Danielle Sullivan
VP of Production: Jan Košulič
Audio Director: Lucas Paquette
Parma Recordings
VP, Design & Marketing: Brett Picknell
Art Director: Ryan Harrison
Design: Edward A. Fleming
Publicity: Chelsea Olaniran, Kacie Tzuo, Aidan Curran
Marketing Manager: Brett Iannucci
Design and Marketing
Gratitude
I am deeply grateful to pianist Robert Thies for his nuanced and commanding interpretation of this concerto, and for inspiring me to record at Abbey Road. Equal thanks to Geoffrey Paterson for his beautifully intuitive conducting, and to the brilliant producer Danaë Vlasse for believing in this project. To my family — Christopher, Erin, Elise — thank you for being such an important part of this journey, and to my wife Lori, eternal love and gratitude for your unwavering support and inspiration through the years: you are part of every note in these pieces. Also, a heartfelt thanks to those who commissioned these works: Scott Nichols and his family for the Piano Concerto in 2001, and Neal and Lori Robinson for Heartland Poem in 2007. Finally, I'm indebted to Joseph Giunta and the Des Moines Symphony for premiering these works.
Extra Thanks: Ian Maclay and everyone at the RPO; John Barrett, Dan Hayden and Neil Dawes for flawless engineering, and the rest of the Abbey Road team, including Kayla Hopkins and Abigail Duncan; Phil Young for marvelous mix engineering at Trilex Studio, Des Moines; Melanie Montgomery for mastering, as well as everyone at PARMA Recordings. Dave Hage at Dakota Music, London; Jeff Atmajian for recommending Geoffrey Paterson; Matt Brown, attorney, at Abrams, Garfinkel, Margolis & Bergson, LLP, Burbank, for overseeing contracts. Special thanks to Tom Sawyer and Andrew Lawson for capturing memories in videography, and to Mark Green for his continued support.
Special Acknowledgement: Marilyn Brubaker and Richard Grosshauser for making this recording possible.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Tamás András
Mark Derudder
Rosemary Wainwright
Eriko Nagayama
Victoria Irish
Joanne Chen
Aysen Ulucan
Izzy Howard
Eleanor Mathieson
Anais Boyadjieva
Tanya Sweiry
Aoife Ni Bhriain
First Violins
Elen Hâf Rideal
Victoria Lyon
Daniel Meyer
Nicola Hutchings
Sheila Law
Clare Wheeler
Colin Callow
Catriona Parker
Elspeth Macleod
Susan Evans
Second Violins
Nicholas Bootiman
Esther Harling
Triona Milne
Delyth John
Louise Hawker
Timothy Grant
Julia Kornig
Martin Fenn
Violas
Brian O'Kane
Alessandro Sanguineti
Colin Alexander
Toby Turton
Lucy Gijsbers
Coral Lancaster
Jacqueline Phillips
Tamaki Sugimoto
Cellos
David Gordon
Marianne Schofield
Josie Ellis
Samuel Rice
Guillermo Arevalos
Yijia Cui
Double Basses
Ian Mullin
Holly Melia
Flutes
Clarinets
Katherine Lacy
Meline le Calvez
Horns
Daniel Curzon
Paul Cott
Bass Trombone
Daniel West
Feargus Brennan
Kevin Earley
Gillian McDonagh
Geoffrey Boynton
Percussion
Oboes
James Hulme
Bassoons
Paul Boyes
Cor Anglais
Maxwell Spiers
Trumpets
James Nash
Oscar Whight
Tuba
Stuart Beard
Contra Bassoon
Luke Whitehead
Trombones
Ryan Hume
Timpani
Antoine Siguré
Piano Concerto, Copyright 2002 by James V. Poulsen. All rights reserved.
Heartland Poem, Copyright 2008 by James V. Poulsen. All rights reserved.
Published by James V. Poulsen. Scores and Parts available at JamesViggoPoulsen.com