Stephan Moccio - Winter Poems (2020) [Hi-Res]

Grammy and Academy Award-nominated composer, songwriter and producer Stephan Moccio has announced he will release his first Christmas album, Winter Poems, on 6 November 2020. Listen to the new singles ‘Carol of the Bells’ and ‘Christmas Time is Here’ released today.

After writing chart-topping hits for global artists including ‘Wrecking Ball’ for Miley Cyrus, ‘A New Day Has Come’ for Celine Dion and ‘Earned It’ for The Weeknd – a track featured in the film Fifty Shades of Grey for which he received an Oscar nomination – Stephan Moccio decided to return to his roots in classical composition, and to the instrument he knows best, the piano.

Stephan Moccio started playing the piano when he was only three years old. Fascinated by Tchaikovsky, Mozart and Chopin, as well as the songs he heard on American radio stations, his diverse perspective took shape early on. He studied classical piano at the University of Western Ontario, completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in composition and piano performance in 1994, and signed his first publishing deal with Sony/ATV in 1995.

Stephan Moccio’s previous album, Tales of Solace, took inspiration from some of life’s most profound themes including love and relationships. He puts that same sentiment into his new album, Winter Poems, which features peaceful and melodic solo piano arrangements of timeless classics including ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’, ‘O Holy Night’ and several original compositions.

Stephan Moccio explained, “My intention with this instrumental music, is that these poems and hymns will transcend cultures. These timeless melodies are like wordless poems, told with simply one instrument, my piano. My hope is to have every listener feel like I am playing to them solely.”