Violin Music of Alfred Schnittke

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Alfred Schnittke was the leading figure of the Soviet post-war avant-garde and remains a prominent composer of international acclaim. His numerous works can best be described as eclectic. The majority were written using the classical forms of symphony, sonata and concerto, but with twentieth-century freedoms applied. The result is a mixture of past and present and is representative of his hallmark trait of "polystylism."

Schnittke's Sonata for Violin and Piano, No. 2 (1968) was his first experiment into polystylism and contains harp musical contrasts and collisions of distant, even polar, styles and ideas. It begins with a single, unexpectedly loud chord on the piano, which, after a long pause (approximately 6 seconds), is answered in the same manner by the violin. A struggle between the worlds of disharmony (present) and harmony (past) ensues. Brief, dissonant chords, glissandos and agitated, chaotic sounds are juxtaposed with various transformations of the motif B-A-C-H, first introduced in the piano in a quiet chorale harmonization. In other settings it appears in a romantic style, à la Liszt, and later in combination with the theme from Beethoven's Variations, Op. 35. In its final guise, the motif is tainted by dissonance's "impurities," thus ruling out the possibility of pure harmony in today's disjunct world. Although also composed using polystylistic techniques, Schnittke's Concerto No. 3 for Violin and Orchestra (1978) is a bit more restrained. While energetic at times, the overall sense and direction of the piece is towards the quiet and deeply moving ending. The chant-influenced orchestra writing treats the ensemble like a large organ in which each instrument functions like a "stop," reserving the section string sound for the very end. The last movement also contains a vestige from the past in the form of a theme in the style of Carl Maria von Weber. Coupled with a return of the chant-like theme in the strings, it creates a dark, ominous atmosphere at the close of the work. As one would expect from its title, central to Schnittke's A Paganini for Violin (1982) are excerpts from Nicolo Paganini's violin music, namely the Caprices. The themes are presented as part of a cadenza (direct precursor to the caprice), once again interrupted by harsh chords. Non-Romantic in conception, this very difficult piece could be interpreted as a nightmarish portrayal of Paganini's so-called "devil-inspired" violin playing.

Tracks:

Fratres
Cantus In Memory Of Benjamin Britten
Fratres
Tabula Rasa

Amazon.com essential recording

This seminal disc now almost seems like the manifesto for a whole new strain of minimalism that has found an enormously receptive audience. It represented a breakthrough for Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, whose music--like that of his European colleagues John Tavener and Henryk Górecki--pursues an austerely beautiful simplicity that suggests spiritual illumination. Fratres, given here in two versions, one for piano and violin and the other for 12 cellos, repeatedly intones a sequence resembling chant to convey a sensibility that seems at once archaic and beyond time. Violinist Gidon Kremer, for whom Pärt wrote the exquisitely contemplative and hypnotic title work, grasps the music's koan-like idiom, allowing an inner fullness to resonate through the most fragile, ethereal wisps of tone against the mysterious clangings of prepared piano. The tolling of the tubular bells in Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten is an emotionally charged lament, based on a simple minor descending scale, that introduces Pärt's fascination with what he calls "tintinnabulation": the literal and metaphorical sound of ringing bells. This recording is also famous for the acoustically warm presence produced by ECM's Manfred Eicher, which magnificently captures the mystical simplicity of Pärt's sound world. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

music so good you'll cry.......2007-04-21

I first heard one of the songs playing in a Starbucks and had to ask them what it was... I couldn't hear it very well, but I knew I needed to hear more. After I got home and listened to the previews on Amazon, I was hooked.

There is so much depth and sweetness to this music. It has literally brought me to tears. If you're looking for an album of chamber music that truely goes beyond the normal lulling sound and into the realm of true artistic expression, this is one to own. It is one of the prizes of my collection.

This is one for everybody.......2006-08-30

I'm not completely dug on classical and contemporanean music, ECM stuff included. Lygeti, Xenakis they make me sense, all along american minimalists like Reich or Cage. Electro-acustic is more ear-friendly for me (Ferrari, Parmegiani) but... All this speech just to say that thsi is one ECM record I own - the 1977's Tabula Rasa. The great Gidon Kramer (check out "Silence" from Nonesuch who has another version of tabula rasa) is here with all his magic, even the world-piano-star K. Jarrett plays piano, and everything makes sense. The music is so cold and complex, ethernal yet listenable for the common of mortals. Give a try, i did and i'm inloved with.

should be accepted by any rational person as strong evidence for God's existence........2006-06-20

arguably, it was THIS music by THIS composer that Manfred Eicher's label, ECM, was meant for. If an album was released on ECM, no doubt it sounds lovely, but when purpose is paired so perfectly with sound, even ECM attains something angelic and beyond. Arvo Part's non-modulating approach to harmony, great care and attention with so few notes, and the reverent spirit that carries through his efforts encompasses a catalogue of works so great and beautiful I'm not sure any 20th century composer can remotely compare.

This ECM disc is possibly the best of all. _Tabula Rasa_, first and foremost, is a masterpiece. A violin concerto of sorts, it flows through static haze and torrid whorls, with ghostly sounds of strings punctuated by the bell- and chime-like intonations on sounds of prepared piano. Divine and without momentum, this piece forever hovers between being and nothing. _Fratres_, performed in two versions here (for violin and piano, and for 12 cellos), features a chorale-like figure recurring over an ethereal drone. Radiant and simple, not a sound is out of place. the _Cantus_ is based on rich chords arranged in a variety of rhythmic patterns, so beautiful one kind of wishes it would last longer.

this is an excellent introduction to one of the best composers of the 20th century. i would really encourage you to hear this.

Fill in your blank slate with some innovative music..........2006-01-03

This CD started it all. In 1984 it introduced the then little known Arvo Pärt to a new western audience. Pärt had long before made his "tinntinnabulation" discovery (around 1976). Before this pivotal epiphany, the majority of Pärt's work fell into the serialist category. His early work shows all of the grinding atonal experimentation of the 1950s. It thus lies in stark contrast to his later work as presented on this CD (he shares this same evolutionary path with the Polish composer Górecki).

"Tabula Rasa" introduced a new music and a new style to the west. This music doesn't follow traditional harmonic or melodic forms. Listening to Pärt differs from listening to Sibelius or Stravinski. In Pärt, environment and setting are everything. The melodies and harmonies function to set a mood rather than to follow a path or a harmonic progression leading to an ultimate resolution. Subsequently, one experiences rather than listens to Pärt's work. The notes merely provide the structure. In this way Pärt's pieces represent frameworks for music (which probably explains, as related in the CD booklet, why the members of one orchestra asked "where is the music" upon seeing the score for "Tabula Rasa"). So Pärt not only presents beautiful and moving music but also helps listeners conceive of it in new ways.

The tracks on this CD provide the perfect showcase for Pärt's work. Beginners should start here. Two versions of the meditative "Fratres" appear, but each utilize such different arrangements that they sound like two separate works. "Cantus" remains one of Pärt's most moving compositions. It sounds like a slowly exploding wall of catharsis. The nearly half hour "Tabula Rasa" features incredible violin work and prepared piano (a la Cage). Overall, the mood of each piece on this CD veers strongly toward the meditative, mystical, and ethereal. As such it serves as a great introduction to the "late" Pärt and as a showcase of incredible musicianship.

Pärt remains more of a phenomenon on CD than in the concert hall. The lush rich sound of this CD, which will have your cochleas swimming, provides some evidence as to why. Not only that, the amount of quietude and silence utilized by Pärt must create difficulties for orchestra hall performance. Pärt's music, intimate and close, probably plays best in seclusion or in small venues. For the maximum experience, put on some headphones and listen to this CD. In this way listeners can experience all the subtle harmonics and nuances that make up the music of Arvo Pärt.

Modern classical music that is beautiful.......2005-10-23

Too many modern classical composers have sacrificed beauty for virtuosity and expermintality. Not so Part. This Baltic composer writes melodic music of outstanding lyricism and profound beauty. He has succesfully managed to write in the classical format while not sounding like a repetition of the great artists of yore. The music is melancolic, but not tragic, pensive but not unpenetratable. I had the great honour to listen to a live perfomance of works by Part by the Hilliard Ensamble at the Royal Festival Hall in London, UK. It was one of the few times I know of that the audience gave a standing ovation, and just did not want to stop. Mr Part was present and he almost started crying.
Part has contributed music to films as diverse as Les Amants du Pont-Neuf and Fahrenheit 9/11.

Martha Argerich and Friends: Live from the Lugano Festival, 2006

Average customer rating:

Lots of Schumann, not much Argerich, plus some real oddities

Martha Argerich and Friends: Live from the Lugano Festival, 2006

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

A Piano Evening with Martha Argerich [DVD Video]
Haydn: Piano Sonatas
Martha Argerich and Friends Live from the Lugano Festival 2005: Chamber Music
Piano Quintet in F Min / Complete String Quartets (1, 2, 3)
Volodos Plays Liszt

ASIN: B000PFU9OM
Release Date: 2007-06-05

Tracks:

I: Sostenuto Assai/Allegro Ma Non Troppo
II: Scherzo: Molto Vivace
III: Andante Cantabile
IV: Finale: Vivace
I: Allegro Assai Vivace
II: Allegretto Scherzando
III: Adagio
IV: Molto Allegro E Vivace
I: Zart Und Mit Ausdruck
II: Lebhaft, Leicht
III: Rasch Und Mit Feuer

Tracks:

I: Mit Energie Und Leidenschaft
II: Lebhaf, Doch Nicht Zu Rasch
III: Langsam, Mit Inniger Empfindung
IV: Mit Feuer
I: Introduzione: Adagio Mest/Allegro
II: Scherzo
III: Largo
IV: Finale: Allegro Vivace

Tracks:

I: Nauges
II: Fetes
I: Andante
II: Allegretto
III: Largo
IV: Allegretto Scherzando
I: Overture
II: Idylie
III: Cadenza
IV: Menuet
V: Finale Alla Marcia

Amazon.com

This inexpensively priced 3-CD set of music from the 2006 Lugano Festival with pianist Martha Argerich at its center presents a fascinating cross-section of chamber music, expertly performed. In addition to Argerich, we hear from 15 other instrumentalists - pianists, cellists, violinists, violists, a flugelhorn player (who plays along with Argerich in three of Schumann's Fantasiestücke, to very strange and not very welcome effect), and a wind ensemble made up of members of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana that plays with cellist Gautier Caupcon in Friedrich Gulda's Concerto for Cello and Wind Orchestra: a jazzy, definitely eclectic, and playful finale to the third CD. The infrequently played but rapturous Schumann Piano Quartet is a particular treat. Ravel's transcriptions of two Debussy Nocturnes for two pianos played by Sergio Tiempo and Karin Lechner are a delight as well. This is an off-the-beaten-track collection that will fascinate true devotees of chamber music. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Lots of Schumann, not much Argerich, plus some real oddities.......2007-06-08

EMI has gotten into the pleasanat habit of issuing a 3-CD bargain box of Martha Argerich's summer music from Lugano, and they are caviar for chamber music lovers, mixing familiar and unfamiliar works in sterling live performances. It's hard to think of any comparable series meeting such high standards since the heyday of the Marlboro Festival under Rudolf Serkin in the Fifties and Sixties. This 2006 edition is no exception, my only disappointment being the absence of Argerich herself in so many works. She even gives up her place in the two-piano arrangement of Debussy's Nocturnes to her protege Sergio Tiempo (she has been a long-time devotee, if not addict, of two-piano arrangements that almost every other serious musician eschews).

The dominance of works by Schumann reflects Ms. Argerich's personal fondness for him, and she appears in the Piano Quartet, which has enjoyed a wonderful, highly personal reading by Glenn Gould and the Juilliard Qt. (Sony), among others. This one displays every virtue of live musicmaking, with Argerich's fervent, spontaneous playing leading the way. Compared to earlier sets, the 2006 collection contains more rarities and because of all the sSchumann, less representation by great composers. The flugelhorn arrangement of Schumann's Fantasiestucke for clarinet sounds like a joke. The once unknown Tanayev Piano Quintet gets a committed reading that should help to boost its popularity. The Debbusy Nocturnes actually bring pleasure in the two-piano arrangement. You won't be prepared for Gulda's concerto for Cello and Piano, which sounds like three-beer night at your local German jazz club. But its worth a smile and a listen.

In the end, however, this installment might be best left to connoisseurs while newcomers to Argerich's summer festivities should begin with the earlier, more conventional editions.

Here's the listing of works and personnel since Amazon doesn't supply it:

Martha Argerich / Renaud Capucon / Lida Chen / Gautier Capucon - Piano Quartet in Eb op.47 (Schumann).

Gautier Capucon / Gabriela Montero - Sonata for cello and piano No.2 in D op.58 (Mendelssohn).

Sergei Nakariakov / Martha Argerich - Fantasiestucke op.73 - version for flugelhorn and piano (Schumann).

Nicholas Angelich / Renaud Capucon / Gautier Capucon - Piano Trio in D minor op.63 (Schumann).

Lilya Zilberstein / Dora Schwarzberg / Lucy Hall / Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg / Jorge Bosso - Piano Quintet in G minor op.30 (Taneyev).

Sergio Tiempo / Karin Lechner - Three Nocturnes : Nuages / Fetes (Debussy transcribed for two piano Ravel).

Alissa Margulis / Polina Leschenko - Sonata for violin and piano No.1 (Schnittke).

Gautier Capucon / Alexander Rabinovich-Barakovsky - Concerto for cello and windband (Gulda).

Average customer rating:

Not what I was Expecting
Mournful works for strings and piano performed by those who knew and loved Schnittke
Wonderful
Absolutely Amazing
Weeping Russian Music

Schnittke: Chamber Music

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Duets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
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Schnittke: Complete String Quartets
Kremer Plays Schnittke
Schnittke-Concerto Grosso No. 2/Viola Concerto
Schnittke: Complete music for cello and piano
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ASIN: B00004YYQV
Release Date: 2001-02-20

Tracks:

Fuga - Mark Lubotsky
Klingende Buchstaben - Alexander Ivashkin
Pno Qnt: Moderato
Pno Qnt: In Tempo Di Valse
Pno Qnt: Andante
Pno Qnt: Lento
Pno Qnt: Moderato Pastorale
Stille Musik - Mark Lubotsky/Alexander Ivashkin
Str Trio: Moderato - Mark Lubotsky/Theodore Kuchar/Alexander Ivashkin
Str Trio: Adagio - Mark Lubotsky/Theodore Kuchar/Alexander Ivashkin

Amazon.com

Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) is not really known for writing simple music, or at least music whose many arguments are rather easy to follow. Yet what we have here are brilliantly conceived (and brilliantly executed) chamber works of astonishing simplicity, works that nonetheless convey Schnittke's characteristic polytonal style with absolute clarity. Best here is the meditative Piano Quintet (of 1976), in which the piano tends to unify the clashing lines of the argumentative strings. The same holds true for the String Trio (of 1985). This work is more laden with satirical moments, as it starts out flirting with the Baroque then becomes more twisted and nightmarish as it unravels. Schnittke's music isn't for everybody, but this disc might stand as an excellent primer for newcomers. Highly recommended. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

Not what I was Expecting.......2007-05-27

...mediocre and best and the music was not at all what I thought it would sound like. I would have purchased something else

Mournful works for strings and piano performed by those who knew and loved Schnittke.......2006-09-12

This Naxos disc collects five pieces by the late Russian composer Alfred Schnittke. The first is recently rediscovered youthful work in its world premiere recording, and we then skip over his dabbling in serialism in the 1960s to music from later periods. The performers here are virtuosi, many of whom knew Schittke personally, such as the composer's widow Irina Schnittke on piano, his biographer Alexander Ivashkin on cello, and a dedicatee of several works, Mark Lubotsky, on violin. The pieces were recorded live at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music (hence the advertisement in the liner notes for the Townsville City Council) but all sound superb.

"Fuga" for solo violin (1953) appears for the first time here. Written when the composer was only 19 years old, this fugue hints much at the restricted musical life of Stalinist Russia in its ability to channel Bach so directly without interference from 20th century musical developments. A pizzicato passage between two arco portions divides the work cleanly in half. While entertaining enough, the piece seems totally unconnected from the rest of Schnittke's career, and so ultimately comes across as fairly unsubstantial.

Schnittke wrote his great "Piano Quintet" (1976) in memory of his mother, though many believe it to be mourning for Shostakovich as well. Opening with sorrowful pointilistic piano writing, it strikingly transforms into a gentle waltz, which is then intensified in tempo and dynamic until any element of fun in its swinging motions is overcome by tears. There follows a string threnody marked Andante . Schnittke has always had a talent for stunning endings--witness the Cello Concerto or the Concerto Grosso No. 2--and in the efervescent notes of the final "Moderato pastorale" the mourning of the previous four sections is slowly but firmly replaced by acceptance and peace.

The "String Trio", written in the spring of 1985, is one of Schnittke's last overtly polystilistic pieces--his first stroke later in the year changed his style drastically--and it is one of his most profound. Originally commisioned for the Alban Berg's centenary, the piece explores the general theme of earlier Viennese music as seen by a composer in a very different place and time. It is also bound up with Schnittke's brief residence in Vienna in his youth, when the city of so many musical heroes had been ravaged by war. Its musical basis is on the one hand fairly simple, a recurring six-note cadence, but on the other hand this twenty-minute work ranges through all sorts of styles in its repetition of this theme, from elegant classicism to melodramatic romanticism to the Soviet tradition.

"Stille Musik" (1979) is a brief piece for violin and cello that is probably my favourite here, a rich landscape of various sounds that avoid any fixed points but which nonetheless have a clear dramatic arc. Pizzicato and microtones give it some exotic touches. "Klingende Buchstaben" for solo cello (1988) is the latest piece represented here and the only one in his later style. The polystylism and hints at romanticism of his earlier material are gone, and instead we find a new clarity of texture and aggression.

If I rate this disc less than five stars, it's only because I'm partial to Schnitke's orchestral works. After getting used to the expanded timbres of the "Viola Concerto", "Cello Concerto No. 1", and the concerti grossi, these chamber works sound a tad bit lacking. Nonetheless, for fans of the composer who seek a budget introduction to some of the more sombre parts of his oeuvre this is a worthy buy. The strength of the performances and the renowned players make it all the more recommended.

Wonderful.......2005-10-18

Absolutelly beautiful,spiritual and sometimes very moving(especialy Quintet)CD of one of the XX century music giants.Alfred Schnittke is one from the group of former Soviet-Russian composers(others being Arvo Part,Valentin Silvestrov,Sofia Gubaidulina,Gya Kanchely and Edison Denisov) whose music got its true recognition all over the world ,proving that no political system can supress a true and profound Artist.Highly recommended ,together with another wonder - Trio Sonata+Viola Concerto performed by Yuri Bashmet.

Absolutely Amazing.......2004-07-08

After listening to this CD, I'm surprised Schnittke does not have a more famous name in the classical music world. I happened to come upon this item here and bought it because the previous reviewers seemed to like it so much, and I was not disappointed! Some of the pieces get a bit dense at times and seem to slip into meaningless cacophony, but overall these pieces are absolutely beautiful. My favorite, strangely enough, is the fugue for solo violin. How can this have gone unrecorded for so long!?

Highly recommended.

Weeping Russian Music.......2003-01-17

Up until I got this disc, I had little interest in the music of Schnittke, though I had heard him praised to the nines in the pages of Fanfare. I had heard one piece before that had struck me as forbiding and had not explored the composer in any more depth. My loss. This CD, at it's bargain price, induced me to try a little more Schnittke and I'm glad I did. This music is haunting and profound.

The two major works on this disc are the Piano Quintet and the String Trio. Both are sustantial, dark works in a "weep for Russia" kind of style. Schnittke obviously shows influence of Shostakovitch, and through the older Russian, of Mahler, Bruckner, Brahms, Beethoven....you name it. But he also includes techniques pioneered in the 60s in Germany France and Poland. Of the two large pieces, the Quintet is nominally more interesting. The piece is a heartfelt response to the death of the composer's mother. The string writing is dense, with the piano often chiming in on one repeated note, like a bell toll. Several movements contain the ghost of an old waltz, twisted beyond recognition. The language careens between tonal, and violently atonal and even microtonal. However the conclusion of the piece, in unadulterated major, is a true apotheosis. It moved me to tears.

The Trio is also a beautiful and very moving work. Set it a primarily dissonant serial language, windows open up in the work where romantic motives and lush triads ring through for a few seconds. What amazes about Schnittke's style in these works is how beautifully it all holds together. The works never feel like a pastiche. The tonal material is integrated into the overall framework in some mysterious way that I can't quite put my finger on. (Are there motivic connections? Is it something deeper?) As such, it seems more of a piece than much of the work of more quotational composers like Rochberg, fine as he is.

The smaller works on the album are also effective. The duo for Violin and Piano shows Schnittke's mastery of string writing. The sound is so rich and full that you rarely are aware that there are only two instruments, yet, the players never sound taxed beyond their limits. The solo cello work is lovely and the Fugue is a fun piece of juvenilia. On the whole, a terrific program

Tracks:

Haru No Umi
Nocturne
Stanza 2
Insomnia
Les Fils De Etoiles: Prelude Du Premier Acte 'La Vocation'
Cinque Piccoli Duetti: Preludio
Cinque Piccoli Duetti: Pastorale
Cinque Piccoli Duetti: Canzonetta
Cinque Piccoli Duetti: Sogno
Cinque Piccoli Duetti: Rondo
'Daphne' Etude
Six Melodies: No. 1 (Rubato)
Six Melodies: No.2 (Legastissimo)
Six Melodies: No.3
Six Melodies: No.4
Six Melodies: No.5
Six Melodies: No.6
Spiegel Im Spiegel
Il Padrino
Suite In The Old Style: Pantomime

Amazon.com

This may be one of the least abrasive albums of contemporary music you'll ever hear. On this culture-melding disc, violinist Gidon Kremer and harpist Naoko Yoshino explore the dizzying roots and offshoots of modern compositions from the Far East and Europe. Every work on Insomnia--whether written by John Cage, Arvo Pärt, or Richard Strauss--seems to share influences and similarities with the next. While Japanese composer Michio Miyagi (1894-1956) was looking to France for influences on Haru no umi, Erik Satie (1866-1925) was looking to the East on the preludes to Le Fils des Étoiles. The comparisons are fascinating, and Kremer and Yoshino make this difficult music sound easy and hypnotic. Especially effective: Pärt's gorgeous Spiegel im Spiegel and Schnittke's almost New Age-sounding "Pantomime" (from Suite in the Old Style). Great stuff for modern lovers. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

sublime and fascinating.......2006-02-25

I could not agree more with the next reviewer: this is one of the most cohesive collections I've heard; each track segues effortlessly into the next. While the dissonance and atonality of much modern music grates on me; this CD is devoid of such things. The compositions are wonderfully luminous and the performer(s) approach rivets the listener. Excellent night-time composition music, seduction music- what have you. I strongly encourage you to take a chance on this!

Insomnia- No Way! This one is hot!.......2000-06-16

The title is misleading if not down right dubious. This is one hot album. Gidon Kremer is a performer of rare ability and he is at his best with the broad range of composers featured here. He is accompanied by an excellent harpist Naoko Yoshino who adds her own special charm to these pieces. They work well together and their skills are clearly evident. This album is not for everyone; it challenges the listener and forces you to pay attention but it is worth it.

Insomnia? No Way-This is for the living!.......2000-06-15

Gidon Kremer is at his most provocative best! The wide range of composers played here require all of his skill and he comes through. This album is not for everybody but those who want something new won't be disappointed. Naoko Yoshino's contributions on the harp are a delight in themselves and shouldn't be missed. From a musical point of view this is not for quiet nights! It gets you up and keep you up This album may challenge some people but that's one of its charms. Need a challenge go for it; its truly an adventure.

Schnittke-Concerto Grosso No. 2/Viola Concerto

Average customer rating:

Striking
Two 1980s "polystylism" pieces in truly definitive performance
fantastic performances of two Schnittke works for strings

Schnittke-Concerto Grosso No. 2/Viola Concerto
Alfred Schnittke , Oleg Kagan , Natalia Gutman , Gennadi Rozhdestvensky , and Yuri Bashmet
Manufacturer: Moscow Studio
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
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Kremer Plays Schnittke

ASIN: B0002IQMO8
Release Date: 2004-09-07

Tracks:

I. Andantino. Allegro
II. Pesante
III. Allegro
IV. Andantino
I. Largo
II. Allegro Molto
III. Largo

Album Description

The term "authentic performance" is tossed around loosely these days, but here is a historic recording as "original" and "authentic" as has ever been produced. The Concerto Grosso No. 2 was composed by Alfred Schnittke expressly for violinist Oleg Kagan and his wife, cellist Natalia Gutman, who are the soloists here. The Viola Concerto was written by Schnittke for violist Yuri Bashment, who performs it here.

These works are representative examples of Schnittke's "polystylism," scored for conventional orchestra augmented by electric guitar, drum kit, brake drum and other instruments not usually heard in "classical" music.

Customer Reviews:

Striking.......2006-12-10

I am new to Schnittke and I bought this album really out of curiosity. His music is unique and has to be heard as it contains some of the most strikingly beautiful melodies I have ever stumbled across. The quality of audio is also top class...

Two 1980s "polystylism" pieces in truly definitive performance.......2005-08-20

This disc, part of the Moscow Studio Archives series of groundbreaking Soviet performances, collects two works by the late Alfred Schnittke, his Second Concerto Grosso for violin, cello, and orchestra, and the Viola Concerto. They are performed by the dedicatees themselves with the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky. In the early 1980s, Schnittke was exploring a style he called "polystylism", a Russian answer to postmodernism in which modern elements mingle effortlessly with quotations from the works of centuries past. The works here serve as fit examples of this intriguing method of composition.

The "Concerto Grosso No. 2" for violin, cello, and orchestra was written for the Soviet dynamic duo of violinist Oleg Kagan and his wife the cellist Natalie Gutman, a legendary partnership that ended with Kagan's untimely death. Schnittke's first concerto grosso was a stately and serious piece in which a distinctly modern tone was occasionally invaded by quotation from baroque works. This second concerto grosso, on the other hand, is comical. The violin begans by playing the well-known tune "Silent Night" before the orchestra brashly interrupts with a quotation from Bach's Sixth Brandenburg Concerto. The work then becomes positively zany as electric guitar and a rock drum kit join in the performance of the Handel quotation. Over the first movement, tension is built by pairing baroque writing and more Handel quotations against menacing modern moments. In the second movement, "Silent Night" returns, but it becomes ever more obvious that orchestral forces are out to stop the tune from reaching the listener. In the third movement, the Brandenburg quotation waltzes triumphantly over the scene, but eventually collapses under its own weight, letting "Silent Night" return at the end without impediment. This performance by the work's dedicatees is certainly much better than a recent one on Chandos with Gridenko and Ivashkin, which is unlistenable in comparison.

The "Viola Concerto" was written in 1985 especially for Yuri Bashmet, the most renown violist of the 1980s and 1990s, and one credited with the rebirth of writing for the instrument. The concerto is in a standard three movements, but is noteworthy for using no violins, which lends a poignant tone to the work, which must depend on low strings. The opening movement is sorrowful, with an opening motive based on Bashmet's name. The middle movement is quintessential Schnittke, a blend of colours and styles (waltzes, military marches, elegies, romantic tearjeakers) that are incongruent yet strangely complementary to each other. However, the viola is battered by the many orchestral forces, and in the long, drawn-out last movement he slowly expires as from a mortal wound.The Viola Concerto is a downer, a piece that charts Schnittke's fascination with pain and death as well as anything else he wrote in the last fifteen years of his life. This piece is not as immediately entertaining as the concerto grosso, but in the end is perhaps superior.

All in all this is an exceptional disc and a wonderfully economic purchase. It may also serve as an important document of art under Communism, as the soloists are continually beaten up by great impersonal forces. If you've never heard the work of Alfred Schnittke before, pick this up as a fine introduction, although the Deutsche Grammaphon disc (part of the "Echo 20/21" series) with Gidon Kremer playing in two other concerti grossi is a good buy as well.

fantastic performances of two Schnittke works for strings.......2005-06-12

This release in the valuable new Moscow Studio Archives series includes two superb performances, and the first recordings of both works -- the "Concerto Grosso No. 2" and the "Viola Concerto." Both are performed by their dedicatees, violinist Oleg Kagan and cellist Natalie Gutman, who were married, and violist Yuri Bashmet. Gennady Rozhdestvensky conducts the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra for both recordings, from 1986 and 1987.

Like the CG1, the CG2 is full of wild, polystylistic elements, including electric guitar and drums playing funk rock and a reference to Bach's Fifth Brandenburg Concerto. The core contrast is the violin and cello playing Silent Night (the sacred), interrupted again and again by a barrage of loud, grotesque and quite profane outbursts from orchestra and percussion, until the quiet, worshipful melody finally reasserts itself in the end. While certainly not Schnittke's finest composition, Kagan and Gutman in this performance best capture the sacred standpoint against which all the other mayhem surges. The more recent recording by Ivashkin and Polyansky (paired with Schnittke's Symphony No. 6 -- see my review) is more superficial, as it fails to establish the ground against which the dizzying array of parodic figures is contrasted.

The "Viola Concerto," written for Bashmet, is clearly one of Schnittke's finest works, lyrical melodrama at its best. Bashmet's performances from the beginning were wildly popular, and established his reputation as a world-class violist. He has recorded it again, as has Kim Kashkashian, and I haven't heard any of the alternative performances, but this one, the first, is powerful and moving.

This disc is absolutely superb, essential for Schnittke devotees and highly recommended to anyone coming to his music for the first time!

Philip Glass: Concerto For Violin And Orchestra / Alfred Schnittke: Concerto Grosso No. 5, for Violin, an Invisible Piano & Orchestra - Gidon Kremer

Average customer rating:

Terrible Recording of the Glass
Terrible Glass, and not one of Schnittke's better pieces
Two great tastes...
for schnittke and kremers' sake, buy this
A masterful recording of two great works.

Philip Glass: Concerto For Violin And Orchestra / Alfred Schnittke: Concerto Grosso No. 5, for Violin, an Invisible Piano & Orchestra - Gidon Kremer
Gidon Kremer , Rainer Keuschnig , and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Kremer Plays Schnittke
From My Home: Music from the Baltic Countries
Violin Concertos of John Adams & Philip Glass
Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie; Quatuor pour la fin du temps
Schnittke: Chamber Music

ASIN: B000001GH8
Release Date: 1993-02-01

Tracks:

Con for Vn and Orch: 1/4 = 104-1/4 = 120 - Gidon Kremer
Con for Vn and Orch: 1/4 = 108 - Gidon Kremer
Con for Vn and Orch: 1/4 = 150-Coda: Poco meno 1/4 = 104 - Gidon Kremer
Con Grosso No.5 for Vn, Pno and Orch: Allegro - Gidon Kremer/Rainer Keuschnig
Con Grosso No.5 for Vn, Pno and Orch: Without tempo indication - Gidon Kremer/Rainer Keuschnig
Con Grosso No.5 for Vn, Pno and Orch: Allegro vivace- - Gidon Kremer/Rainer Keuschnig
Con Grosso No.5 for Vn, Pno and Orch: Lento - Gidon Kremer/Rainer Keuschnig

Amazon.com

This is one of the major releases of the 1990s. It begins with Glass's Concerto of Violin and Orchestra (1987), one of the best examples of Minimalism around. The genuine surprise here is Schnittke's Concerto Grosso No. 5 for Violin: An Invisible Piano and Orchestra (1990), which is actually a violin concerto, or a concerto grosso with violin obbligato. What it has in common with Glass's concerto is its overriding sense of play. Schnittke, for all his daring and his mastery of a wide range of writing styles, is one of the few composers with a sense of humor, or delight. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

Terrible Recording of the Glass.......2006-07-21

I can't imagine a worse recording of the Glass. The orchestra, the sound engineers, or both simply did not care. How else does one explain the underheated, tinny performance?

I'm still working on the Schnittke.

Terrible Glass, and not one of Schnittke's better pieces.......2006-06-10

This 1993 Deutsche Grammophon disc contains music for violin by Philip Glass and Alfred Schnittke with Gidon Kremer in the soloist role. Christoph von Dohnanyi leads the Vienna Philharmonic. It should be noted that this disc faces deletion. However, each of the pieces here was reissued in DG's "Echo 20/21" series, with Glass's Violin Concerto ending up on a disc with similar concertos by Leonard Bernstein and Ned Rorem, and Schnittke's Concerto Grosso No. 5 finding a new home on a disc alongside the Russian composer's Concerto Grosso No. 1 and "Quasi una sonata".

Philip Glass' three-movement "Concerto for violin and orchestra" (1987) is fairly entertaining but utterly uninsightful. I think minimalism is one of the greatest disasters to befall contemporary music, and has provided more charlatans than any other style (and I would definitely include Glass among such). I prefer the zahlenmystik of Gubaidulina, the frenetic business of Lindberg, or even the intellectual struggles and endless curiosity of Boulez. Yet, I can appreciate some works of Reich and Part. The music of Glass, on the other hand, lacks innovation and is so blatantly derivative of the passionate music of yesteryear, and this piece comes from what even many Glass fans consider to have been his darkest days.

Alfred Schnittke's "Concerto grosso no. 5" for violin, invisible piano, and orchestra (1990-91) is typical of the "late Schnittke", music written after his great stroke of 1980. While Schnittke's early "polystylism" work, such as the first four concerti grossi, abound with quotations from Bach and other great masters, this piece is typical of the late style in avoiding quotation. The form is unusual as well, highlighting the violin with elaborate cadenzas, while the piano, "invisible" in that it is placed off stage and amplified, provides only the simplest of supporting roles. Therefore, it is more of a violin concerto than concerto grosso. While some of the rhythmic motifs here are interesting, I find the piece to be as dissatisyingly pessimistic and undramatic as the lesser products of Schnittke's late work, and therefore do not return to this often.

I cannot recommend the disc much, but I would encourage all to sneak out Schnittke, especially the Moscow Studio Archives disc with his Concerto Grosso No. 2 and Viola Concerto, for this composer often showed brilliance.

Two great tastes..........2004-11-29

... That don't go together.

I really enjoyed the Philip Glass, but I think the Schnittke takes a more refined ear than I have. To me, it sounded atonal and disjointed, which I suppose, was the whole point.

for schnittke and kremers' sake, buy this.......1999-09-05

the schnittke leaves one in shock, much like the same impact of his concerto grosso 1. don't know where the "fun" is from. there's cry and dispair, and also kremer's unmistakable tone and techniques, but certainly nothing laughable here. glass is nothing in comparison. but buy this for the schnittke 5. it worths anything.

A masterful recording of two great works........1999-08-02

After hearing the recording of Glass's violin c. on the radio, I bolted to the record store to get my own copy. What a reddition! The third movement is breathtaking. A must for anyone who wants to get familiar with contemporary music. Glass is a major composer, as though we didn't know before.

Average customer rating:

The Many Musics of Gidon Kremer

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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From My Home: Music from the Baltic Countries
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Silencio

ASIN: B000LC4TIQ
Release Date: 2007-02-13

Tracks:

1. Allegro Non Troppo
2. Adagio
3. Allegro Giocoso, Ma Non Troppo Vivace
2. Andante
3. Allegro Molto
Note=104 - Note=120
5. Rondo: Agitato
6. Epilogo (Tempo Di Elegia)

Tracks:

1. Allegro Con Brio
2. Adagio Cantabile
3. Scherzo: Allegro
4. Finale: Allegro-Presto
3. Allegro Vivace
Theme-Variation 1: Animato-Variation 2-Variation 3: Maestoso-Variation 4: Lento-Variation 5: Marcato-Variation 6: Amoroso-Variation 7
2. Improvisation. Andante Cantabile
4. Rondo Alla Zingarese
Wie Der Alte Leiermann
Fuga Y Misterio
Oblivion

Average customer rating:

Listen to the Tzigane

East Meets West

Manufacturer: Warner Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Reggae | International | Styles | Music
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West Meets East: The Historic Shankar Menuhin Collection

ASIN: B00028X2AU
Release Date: 2004-09-14

Tracks:

Aochar (Introduction)
Gat in Teentala [Rhythmic Cycle of 16 Beats]
Tzigane-Rapsodie de Concert for Violin and Luth [Original Version]
Paoruno
Nana
Asturiana
Canci
Jota
Polo
Romanian Folk Dances: Stick Dance
Romanian Folk Dances: Sash Dance
Romanian Folk Dances: In One Spot
Romanian Folk Dances: Horn Dance
Romanian Folk Dances: Romanian Polka
Romanian Folk Dances: Fast Dance
Sonata 1955 for Violin and Piano: I
Sonata 1955 for Violin and Piano: Andante
Aochar (Introduction)
Gat in Teentala [Rhythmic Cycle of 16 Beats]

Amazon.com

Daniel Hope is an excellent violinist, very much in tune with today's tastes and fashions, as reflected in his remarkably swift rise to prominence. His technical mastery lets him exploit all the resources of his instrument; his adventurousness leads him to explore the music of many lands. However, the multifarious colors of his tonal palette threaten to overwhelm the music and become an end in themselves; to prove his stylistic versatility, he resorts to excess and exaggeration. Yet on this recording, which features works influenced by folk-music and inviting an improvisatory approach, his playing is strangely unspontaneous, planned, and unimaginative. The program is flanked by two ragas by Ravi Shankar, accompanied by Indian instruments, carefully reconstructed from recordings of Yehudi Menuhin, for whom they were written and with whom Hope was closely associated. They sound beautiful and thoroughly authentic. Recorded here for the first time is a recently discovered sonata by Schnittke, written when he was 20 and studying at the Moscow Conservatory. Tonal, harmonically and structurally conventional but not really derivative, it is full of strong contrasts and abrupt shifts of dynamics, mood and character, which the players bring out very convincingly. For the rest of the program, Hope's fine pianist plays a luthéal, described as an attachment to the piano capable of producing exotic sounds resembling harmonics, lute, cymbalon, harp and flute; it is claimed that Ravel originally wrote the accompaniment to his Tzigane for it. Indeed, on this recording it recreates the orchestral colors much better than the piano. Unfortunately, Hope attacks his part with unbridled ferocity rather than gypsy abandon. Bartók's Romanian Dances are equally excessive: either slow and sentimental or rough and scratchy, and de Falla's Suite populair espagnole lacks grace and charm. Hope recently joined the Beaux Arts Trio, becoming its youngest member ever; his first recording with the group, of works by Mendelssohn and Dvorak, has just been released. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

Listen to the Tzigane.......2006-08-03

When I was writing an essay about "Tzigane" in my blog, I met this CD. This is the first time I ever heard the original version of Tzigane. I bought it immediately.

Although this is a violinist Daniel Hope's album, the main character here seems to be luthéal, a piano-like instrument that sounds reminds you, if you are a lover of gypsy music, a cimbalom. He plays Fella and Bartók also with the instrument.
"Tzigane" by Ravel has been my favorite piece, my most favorite piece of Ravel. And after listening the Hope's playing, I found that the piece is definitely written to accompany with the luethéal, neither a piano nor an orchestra I always felt the later part of "Tzigane", after accompanying with the piano, that sounds are not like I expected. But here I listened to the original version, that made a sense at all.

Other thing that surprise me is a suite by Falla. I never got interested in Falla pieces but "Suite populaire espagnole" attracted me. Especially the second piece "Nana", I thought it is written by a contemporary composer.

Romanian Folk Dances by Bartók here was not surprise but a fine performance. Hope plays them as if he is a gypsy violinist not a classic concert violinist. In my impression, Bart&243k's pieces were not as effective by using luthéal as Ravel and Falla.

He plays also a violin sonata of Shunittke, strangely the sonata sounds the closest to Classical Music in the album. I don't get well why he puts the sonata in the album. It could be a British joke? Famous contemporary composer's piece sounds more classical than several decades ago pieces, the sonata was written in 1955 though.

The album starts and ends with Shankar, Famous Indian sitar player and composer, who wrote some pieces for Menuhin, Hope's teacher, it would be rather his predecessor than just a teacher. Hope dedicates the album to Rave Shankar.

I think Hope has a good sense of ensemble, he is not a so-called star player, not like "listen-to-MY-playing!!, me, me, me!!" And he wrote commentary about the composers by himself that is not usual, at least I saw the commentary by the player of the album the first time. When I visited in London I was impressed by great organized information in museums. The commentaries are somehow different from ordinary classic music albums and I saw there are deep understanding and admiration to history of music and composers who dedicated their lives to music.

One disappointment of the album is the title, "East Meets West". As I am an Asian and live in a far east country, Japan I imagine East means Asia. He picks Indian music but most of pieces were created by European, two of them, Ravel and Falla, are even from Western Europe. So in my sense, is this East?? Probably East means here rather Roma, Gypsy, or Tzigane who are supposed to originally come from India, than east area.

Anyway I wish Mr. Daniel Hope considers to make a album "Far East Meets West" someday. I tell you, Mr. Daniel Hope, there are many great composers in Asia too.

Sergey Prokofiev: Sonata in D Major, Op. 115, for Solo Violin / Sonata in C Major, Op. 56, for 2 Violins / Dimitri Shostakovich: Sonata Op. 134, for Violin & Piano / Alfred Schnittke: Praeludium in Memoriam D. Shostakovich, for 2 Violins - Lydia Mordkovitch

Average customer rating:

Rarely Heard Dramatic Works by Three Russian Composers

Sergey Prokofiev: Sonata in D Major, Op. 115, for Solo Violin / Sonata in C Major, Op. 56, for 2 Violins / Dimitri Shostakovich: Sonata Op. 134, for Violin & Piano / Alfred Schnittke: Praeludium in Memoriam D. Shostakovich, for 2 Violins - Lydia Mordkovitch

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Duets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000000ANV
Release Date: 1992-10-28

Tracks:

Sonata In D Major, Op. 115: 1. Moderato
Sonata In D Major, Op. 115: 2. Tema: Andante dolce
Sonata In D Major, Op. 115: 3. Con brio - Allegro precipitato - Tempo 1 - Allegro precipitato
Sonata For Two Violins In C Major, Op. 56: 1. Andante cantabile
Sonata For Two Violins In C Major, Op. 56: 2. Allegro
Sonata For Two Violins In C Major, Op. 56: 3. Commodo (quasi allegretto)
Sonata For Two Violins In C Major, Op. 56: 4. Allegro con brio - Piu presto
Praeludium In Memoriam D. Shostakovich - For Two Violins
Sonata For Violin And Piano, Op. 134: 1. Andante
Sonata For Violin And Piano, Op. 134: 2. Allegretto
Sonata For Violin And Piano, Op. 134: 3. Largo - Andante - Largo

Customer Reviews:

Rarely Heard Dramatic Works by Three Russian Composers.......2006-02-13

Recordings such as this superb one serve to remind us that though we may think we know the output of the major composers, there are still treasures to be discovered. Works for individual instruments find their way into recital programs but often lie in shadow of the 'big works' for the concert.

It is refreshing to hear these four works on one CD. The two Prokofiev pieces, 'Sonata for violin solo in D major, Op. 115' and 'Sonata for 2 violins in C major, Op. 56' are filled with graceful melodies as well as Prokofiev's pungent wit and bitter moments. Lydia Mordkovitch surveys the solo work with complete conviction and beauty of tone and is joined by Emma Young for the Op.56. They convey the work as though the two violins were and extension of one, so integrated is their performance.

Dmitri Shostakovich's Sonata for violin & piano, Op. 134 is a more dense and complex work and in the hands of Lydia Mordkovitch and pianist Clifford Benson it shines as a composition of exquisite interplay between the two instruments.

The most intriguing work on the CD is the 'Praeludium in Memoriam D. Shostakovich, for 2 violins or violin & tape' by Alfred Schnittke, the least well known of these composers - but hopefully not for long. The work reflects and respects Shostakovich but does so in Schnittke's own original language. It is hauntingly beautiful, strange in its appeal to the ear, yet wholly successful as an organic homage not only to its dedicatee but also to the legacy of ancient religious music.

This is a very well balanced program, beautifully recorded, and benefits not only from its highly original programming, but also from the brilliance of the performance by these three artists. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, February 06

Average customer rating:

Pop Mozart is the draw here
Mozart's Playful Side
Kremer has produced another winning collection

After Mozart
KREMERata BALTICA , Alexander Raskatov , and Alfred Schnittke
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Silencio

ASIN: B00005NSQU
Release Date: 2001-09-18

Tracks:

5 Min. Aus Dem Leben Von W.A.M. - Gidon Kremer/Andrey Pushkarev
Serenata Notturna in D, K.239: I. Marcia - Maestoso - Eva Bindere/Gidon Kremer/Ula Ulijona/Danielis Rubinas/Andrey Pushkarev
Serenata Notturna in D, K.239: II. Menuetto - Trio - Eva Bindere/Gidon Kremer/Ula Ulijona/Danielis Rubinas/Andrey Pushkarev
Serenata Notturna in D, K.239: III. Rondeau - Allegretto - Eva Bindere/Gidon Kremer/Ula Ulijona/Danielis Rubinas/Andrey Pushkarev
The Messenger - Gidon Kremer/Naida Cole
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik in G, K.525: I. Allegro - Gidon Kremer/Eva Bindere/Ula Ulijona/Marta Sudraba/Danielis Rubinas/Reinut Tepp
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik in G, K.525: II. Romanza - Andante - Gidon Kremer/Eva Bindere/Ula Ulijona/Marta Sudraba/Danielis Rubinas/Reinut Tepp
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik in G, K.525: III. Menuetto - Trio - Gidon Kremer/Eva Bindere/Ula Ulijona/Marta Sudraba/Danielis Rubinas/Reinut Tepp
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik in G, K.525: IV. Rondo - Allegro - Gidon Kremer/Eva Bindere/Ula Ulijona/Marta Sudraba/Danielis Rubinas/Reinut Tepp
Moz-art A La Haydn - Gidon Kremer/Eva Bindere
Kinder-Sym (Berchtolsgadener) in C: I. Allegro - Kremerata Baltica
Kinder-Sym (Berchtolsgadener) in C: II. Menuetto - Trio - Kremerata Baltica
Kinder-Sym (Berchtolsgadener) in C: III. Finale - Allegro - Kremerata Baltica

Customer Reviews:

Pop Mozart is the draw here.......2007-03-06

First off, I am guessing you are considering this record because it is done by Gidon Kremer. If not, please understand that he is a gifted nut job. He is not the place to go for a canonical interpretation. And Mozart would applaud this judgement and Kremer's course. Mozart loved fun, not reverence and protocol. He did opera for the masses.

I called Kremer a nut job, but in a serious way. He does not fool with the music. The performances are tight, disciplined presentations. But he does have his own way. Not technically, mind you, as we see some performers do. Rather it is a context of presentation where faithful joins fun.

Back to the rest of you Kremerata fans. Getting past the opening tintinabulation and more, rather than kleine, nachtmusik, you get to some quite interesting Schnittke. Here you are in the heart of what Kremer knows how to do best. This piece is the anchor for the record.

But I confess that the Leopold Mozart's Kids Symphony is the real draw for me. I promise not to tell on you for this cheap pleasure. The trick is not to play to the toys. You gotta do it strait or it would be a pandering flop.

Mozart's Playful Side.......2006-07-26

The performances on this CD are superb. They are especially successful at bringing out the playful side of the Mozartian musical vision -- not only as shown in the obviously experimental pieces by other composers, but also in how the more-familiar pieces by Mozart are interpreted and recorded (e.g., the cadenzas in the final movement of the "Serenata Notturna"). Less impressive is the way these pieces fit together. The Kremerata Baltica do bring out the essential commonality of the music, but that commonality is sometimes overwhelmed by the prominent idiosyncracies: the Raskatov contribution with its keening violin, the somber Silvestrov piece floating in from far away on a windy day, the jarring familiarity of "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" in the middle of works you're likely hearing for the first time, and especially the loudly recorded toy sounds interpersed throughout Leopold Mozart's symphony. Not to say that these distracting traits make for bad music -- Gidon Kremer's playing on the Andante is particularly lovely -- or that someone listening closely to the CD would find these traits objectionable. But potential buyers at least should be aware that they will not be getting the sort of Mozart disc that people put on as background music so that they can relax and drink a cup of chamomile tea. You'll need to approach it with the same playfulness that Mozart often exhibited in his compositions.

Kremer has produced another winning collection.......2002-11-13

Violinist Gidon Kremer and his talented ensemble, Kremerata Baltica, have been producing fresh interpretations of classic and contemporary classical works for some time now. This release is no exception.

The idea behind "After Mozart" is a simple one but produces wonderful results. The music features compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (and his father, Leopold), as well as latter-day composers inspired by him. Raskatrov, Silvestrov and Schnittke are among the composers featured.

As usual with this ensemble, the music is bright, brilliant, and a true celebration of the compositions. I could have done without the inclusion of "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" (a nice piece of music but soooo overexposed), but otherwize the selections are wisely chosen. Bravo to Kremer and his musicians.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Salamander

The Leipzig Chorales of J. S. Bach

These Kind of Blues

Paris [Import] [Limited Edition]

Son of Ham [Import]

The Complete SSS International Recordings

The Best of the Mighty Clouds of Joy, Vol. 2

String Quartet Op 59

Take Me Back to Ireland [Import]

Texas Swings

The Delivery Man [Enhanced] [Limited Edition]

Tengo Una Idea

Simplemente Unicos [Import]

Drive Time Devotions, Vol. 2

Vol. 23-Jazz in the Charts-1935-36