271 Results for : stravinsky
-
Maurice Ravel
The idea of publishing, performing and recording piano transcriptions is not novel in that this has been an important historical practice by composers and publishers, made popular in performance by artists such as Liszt and Busoni. Reductions of operas, symphonies, and other large works for solo piano or one piano-four hands were customarily done so that a wider public would be exposed to music that otherwise might not have been heard or available in any other context. Concert halls and opera houses were not necessarily or readily accessible. Also, mass media sound reproduction did not yet exist in the 19th Century and it was some time before it was made available and affordable to the general public in the 20th Century. Ravel himself approved transcriptions of his orchestral and chamber works, done at the request of his publisher, Durand. These transcriptions were usually done by Lucien Garban, Jacques Charlot and Roger Branga (who might have been Garban, note the anagram of the name). The idea of performing and recording all three on a solo piano disc UisU novel in that these three works have not been performed or recorded together in that mode. "Ma Mere L'Oye" and "Daphnis and Chloé Suite No. 2," rarely performed and even more rarely recorded by solo pianists, are rich in pianistic challenges, virtuosity and absolutely ravishingly beauty, sometimes in the most simple of phrases. Together, these three ballets form both musical and historical juxtapositions of Ravel's life and compositions during the same time period in his life. "Ma Mere L'Oye" was originally a 5-movement suite for 4-hands written for Mimi and Jean Godebski, although they did not give the premiere performance as they were 6 and 7 years old at the time. "Between 1906 and 1908 we used to have long holidays at my parents' house in the country, La Grangette at Valvins. It was there that Ravel finished, or at least brought us, Ma Mère l'Oye. But neither my brother nor I was of an age to appreciate such a dedication and we regarded it rather as something entailing hard work. Ravel wanted us to give the first public performance but the idea filled me with a cold terror. My brother, being less timid and more gifted on the piano, coped quite well. But despite lessons from Ravel I used to freeze to such an extent that the idea had to be abandoned." (Mimie Godebska Blacque-Belair, 1938) The actual premiere was performed by Jeanne Leleu and Geneviève Durony. "He (Ravel) wanted the Petit Poucet to be very uniform in sonority. I used to wait impatiently for the cuckoo to enter! It was great fun to play the cuckoo! (Jeanne Leleu to Hélène Jourdan-Morhange in Ravel According to Ravel) Jacques Charlot transcribed this version to solo piano in 1910. It was commissioned as a ballet in 1911 and premiered as such fully orchestrated with the addition of a Prélude, an additional movement entitled, "Danse du rouet" and connecting music in 1912. It is not clear whether Ravel or Charlot wrote the additional movements for piano solo. "Ma Mere L'Oye," juvenile piano-duets, dates from 1908. The idea of conjuring up the poetry of childhood in these pieces has naturally led me to simplify my style and clarify my writing. I have made a ballet of the work which has been put on at the Théâtre des Arts." "Daphnis and Chloé" was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes in 1909, although it was 1912 before it would be performed for the first time. The principals involved in it's creation in addition to Diaghilev and Ravel were Michel Fokine, the choreographer, Léon Bakst, the designer, Pierre Monteux, the conductor, and Nijinsky and Karsavina, the dancers. Ravel completed his first version of the score for piano by 1910, however, the birth of this piece was fraught with difficulties, not the least of which was the continual fighting between Fokine and Nijinsky which almost caused Diaghilev to cancel the project. Ravel also had difficulty completing the final dance entitled "Danse générale", which took a full year in the end to finish. At first Ravel had composed it in 3/4 meter, but rethought it. Once he had delivered it, the dancers had difficulty with it's 5/4 meter. They solved this dilemma by using the syllables, "Ser-gei'Di-a-ghi-lev." After seeing it's premiere, Jean Cocteau stated, "Daphnis et Chloé is one of the creations which fell into our hearts like a comet coming from a planet, the laws of which will remain to us forever mysterious and forbidden. Stravinsky called it "not only Ravel's best work, but also one of the most beautiful products of all French music." Suites No. 1 and 2 for orchestra are derived from the full ballet and are often performed separately. Of the three, only "Valses nobles et sentimentales" was originally composed for solo piano and is regularly performed and recorded as such, although it was booed at it's premiere. It was inspired by Franz Schubert's earlier work in the same genre. As Ravel himself said, 'The title sufficiently indicates my intention to compose a succession of waltzes, after Schubert's example.' Louis Albert, to whom this suite was dedicated, gave the first performance of this work in 1911, it was subsequently orchestrated and received it's premiere as a ballet in 1912 under the name Adélaïde ou le langage des fleurs (Adelaide: The Language of Flowers). Allison Brewster Franzetti.- Shop: odax
- Price: 22.44 EUR excl. shipping
-
-
Sons for Accompanied & Unnacompanied Viola
Michael Zaretsky Born in the former Soviet Union, violist Michael Zaretsky graduated from the Moscow State Conservatory cum laude. He began his career as a member of the Moscow Philharmonic String Quartet and the Moscow Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra. In 1972, he immigrated to Israel and became principal viola of the Jerusalem Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra and a soloist of Radio Israel. The following year he played for Leonard Bernstein, who brought him to Tanglewood, where he successfully auditioned for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Besides being a member of the BSO for the past thirty-three years, Mr. Zaretsky regularly plays solo recitals and chamber music, he has appeared with such leading artists as Yuri Bashmet, Yefim Bronfman, Emanuel Ax, and Vadim Repin. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Boston Pops, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. A faculty member at Boston University and the Longy School of Music, he regularly performs in Israel, Japan, and Mexico. In the summer of 2003 he was soloist with the Georgian Chamber Orchestra at the International Music Festival directed by Liana Issakadze in Borjomi, Georgia. In November 2005, at the invitation of the American College of Greece, he performed and discussed the six Bach cello suites in Athens, Greece. In January 2007 he performed Jakov Jakoulov's Viola Concerto No. 2 with the New England String Ensemble. Mr. Zaretsky has made four acclaimed recordings for ARTONA: "Black Snow," an album of Russian music for viola and piano with pianist Xak Bjerken, "Bach, Bach & Bach," with harpsichordist Marina Minkin, "Singular Voices: Brahms, Schumann, and the Viola," with Mr. Bjerken and mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal, and an album of Bach's six cello suites performed on viola. Besides the traditional viola repertoire, Mr. Zaretsky performs an extensive repertoire of new music. His collaboration with composer Jakov Jakoulov has resulted in many works for viola with piano, harpsichord, or orchestra, including Jakoulov's Viola Concerto No. 2, Sonata for Viola and Piano, Chant III for viola and cello, and Chant IV for viola and violin. In 2006, film composer and Boston Pops Laureate Conductor John Williams wrote his Duo Concertante for Mr. Zaretsky and dedicated it him. Mr. Zaretsky and BSO violinist Victor Romanul gave the public premiere of the Duo Concertante in Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood in August 2007. Pianist Xak Bjerken has given solo and chamber music recitals in Europe and throughout the United States. Orchestral solo appearances include Edinburgh with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Rome with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra and in Disney Hall, Los Angeles, with members of the LA Philharmonic. He has performed at the Royal Concertgebouw Hall in Amsterdam, Alice Tully Hall, Weill Hall, the Kennedy Center, and has given recitals in Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Hungary. Mr. Bjerken is the pianist of the Los Angeles Piano Quartet, which tours the U.S. regularly, and with his wife, pianist Miri Yampolsky, directs MAYFEST, an annual chamber music festival in Ithaca, New York. In addition, he has directed three festivals of twentieth-century music: 'Angels, Saints and Birdsong: A Messiaen Festival,' 'Through the Iron Curtain: Music of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union,' and 'The Stravinsky Project.' Mr. Bjerken has held chamber music residencies at the Tanglewood Music Center and the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, performed at the Olympic Music Festival and the Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival, and served on the faculty of the Eastern Music Festival. His first solo recording for CRI, released in 2001, was entitled High Rise, he has also recorded for Chandos, Albany Records, Fleur de Son, and Koch International and has made three recordings with violist Michael Zaretsky for the Artona label. Mr. Bjerken earned his bachelor's degree cum laude at UCLA, studying with Aube Tzerko, and his master's and doctoral degrees from the Peabody Institute as a student and teaching assistant to Leon Fleisher.- Shop: odax
- Price: 30.61 EUR excl. shipping
-
Wherever These Words Land
Ten years ago, Ann McNamee retired as a Professor of Music Theory at Swarthmore College in order to pursue a new career as a songwriter and performer. That debut album (Space In Your Arms) featured Ann on vocals and piano and Eric McFadden on guitar (Eric McFadden Trio, Bo Diddley, Keb' Mo', Living Colour, Les Claypool, George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic, and many others). Fast-forward a decade, and Ann and Eric are performing together again as members of Ann Atomic. These two Bay Area musicians are joined by another Bay Area local, Jon Evans, on bass (graduated from Berklee College of Music, recorded and performed with Tori Amos, Linda Perry, Paula Cole, and Alex Digrassi), as well as Curt Bisquera and Roger Love from Los Angeles. Curt Bisquera (drums and percussion) has recorded and/or toured with Bonnie Raitt, Mick Jagger, Elton John, Nelly Furtado, and Johnny Cash. Roger Love (vocals and keyboard) is one of the premier vocal coaches in America and has worked with John Mayer, Gwen Stefani, Jeff Bridges, the Jonas Brothers, and Reese Witherspoon, as well as many other notable singers, actors, and television personalities. Ann McNamee's portfolio of over 200 songs offers a fresh perspective on relationships and the ever-changing world. Her lyrics and melodies showcase her willingness to be touched, along with a wry acknowledgement of the joys and pains of living. Her Wellesley College B.A. and Yale Ph.D. in Music Theory demonstrate that she knows about the rules she's breaking. Influenced by such diverse masters as Carole King, Lennon and McCartney, Bob Dylan, Elton John, the Velvet Underground, and Igor Stravinsky, Ann composed for and sang with the Flying Other Brothers Band from 1999 to 2006. She currently writes, sings, and tours with the popular San Francisco band Moonalice, led by her husband Roger McNamee. Ann Atomic is honored to be performing as part of the Lilith Fair tour - at The Gorge in Washington state on July 3rd, at Shoreline near San Francisco on July 5th, and at Comcast Center near Boston on July 30th.- Shop: odax
- Price: 24.46 EUR excl. shipping
-
Flute Pieces
Jonas is principal flutist in the Swedish Wind Ensemble with the principal conductor Christian Lindberg. He is also one of the most consulted freelance musicians in Sweden and have played first flute in all major Swedish symphony and opera orchestras and also reacently with the London Philharmonic Orchestra when he performed Tchaikovskys first symhony and the Fairys kiss by Igor Stravinsky. He has also worked with Benny Andersson (ABBA) in the musicals 'Kristina from Duvemåla' and 'Chess' whom expressed his approval of Jonas nice sound and musicality. He have also recorded two CD: s. 'Flute Sonatas' and 'Flute Pieces'. Flute Sonatas was one of Sweden's most sold classical disks under 7 weeks in line, according to radio channel classic FM: s top list and Flute Pieces was attracted attention in the TV program 'musikspegeln' . Furthermore he has contributed in abut 40 other recordings for example in Bo Kaspers Orchestra. His 6 year education he got in Gothenburg and Stockholm, ended with soloist diploma when he performed Carl Nielsens Flute concerto with Gotherburg symphony orchestra with excellent reviews in the papers . He have also had private lessons from Sir James Galway with whom he have had regular contact with since 1987 and that is one of them who bought Jonas own developed 'Jonas Rings' that improves the flute qualities. Jonas is known for his very beautiful tone and that he have a sensitive ear making him a really skillful ensemble and solo musician.- Shop: odax
- Price: 21.75 EUR excl. shipping
-
Music of Bela Bartok
Dr. Elliot Antokoletz wrote the special album notes for this live concert performance CD. While his research is devoted to twentieth-century music in general, Dr. Antokoletz's theoretical contribution to our understanding of the music of Bela Bartok is influential. He was awarded a Diploma from the Hungarian Government. He is the author of the Music of Bela Bartok: A study of Tonality and Progression in Twentieth-Century Music (University of California Press, 1984) Transcription has enriched the literature for many instruments. The most important element is that the works must sound 'convincingly written for the instrument.' Paul Olefsky along with University of Texas Faculty Artists Nancy Garret and William Race has recorded these works in live concert performance. Paul Olefsky and Hai Zheng have also recorded in concert for the twelve duos for two cellos. ELLIOT ANTOKOLETZ, Professor of Musicology at the University of Texas at Austin, has held the Alice Mackie Scott Tacquard Endowed Centennial Chair and E.W. Doty Professorship in Fine Arts. He is the author of The Music of Béla Bartók: A Study of Tonality and Progression in Twentieth-Century Music (University of California Press, 1984), Béla Bartók, A Guide To Research (Garland, 1988, 2nd ed. rev. 1997), Twentieth Century Music (Prentice Hall, 1992), Musical Symbolism in the Operas of Debussy and Bartók: Trauma, Gender, and the Unfolding of the Unconscious (Oxford, 2004), and co-author of Manuel de Falla's Cuatro Piezas Españolas: Combinations and Transformations of the Spanish Folk Modes (VDM Verlag, 2009). He is contributing editor of Bartók Perspectives: Man, Composer, and Ethnomusicologist (Oxford, 2000) and Rethinking Debussy (Oxford, in press). He is also co-editor of the International Journal of Musicology (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, since 1992) and editor of Georg von Albrecht: From Musical Folklore to Twelve-Tone Technique: Memoirs of a Musician Between East and West (Scarecrow Press, 2004). Several book translations include Chinese, Polish, Spanish, and Italian. He has contributed entries to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, articles to most of the major music journals, and chapters to various book compilations such as Sibelius Studies (Cambridge, 2001), Encomium Musicae: Essays in Honor of Robert J. Snow (Pendragon, 2002) on 20th-century composers from Spain, The Bartók Companion (Faber, 1993), Copland and His Times (Princeton, 2005), and Ravel Studies (Rochester, forthcoming). In 1982 he served as scholarly evaluator for the Harry Ransom Center (HRC) at the University of Texas for acquisition of the Stravinsky Archive as well as archival collections of Ravel, Dukas, Roussel, Fauré, and Debussy. The 'Elliott Antokoletz Bartókiana Collection' is housed, together with the 'Benjamin Suchoff Bartókiana Collection' (Former Trustee of the Béla Bartók Estate and Head of the New York Bartók Archive), at the University of South Florida at Tampa. Antokoletz has lectured in Hungary, Germany, England, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and throughout the United States. He received the Béla Bartók Memorial Plaque and Diploma from the Hungarian Government in 1981, two subventions from the National Endowment for the Humanities (1980 and 1982), Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Texas (1981), and PhD Alumni Award from the City University of New York (1987). He was Director of the Bartók International Congress 2000 and Debussy International Congress 2006 at the University of Texas. Antokoletz majored in violin performance under Dorothy Delay and Ivan Galamian at the Juilliard School of Music (1960-1964), and received his PhD in Historical Musicology from the City University of New York (1975). PAUL OLEFSKY is Emeritus Professor of Music from the University of Texas at Austin. He has performed and conducted master classes internationally including master classes at Oxford and Cambridge, sponsored by the European String Teachers Association. His students fill key positions as professors and principals worldwide. He was awarded first prize of the prestigious Naumburg and Michael Memorial International Solo Competitions. He matriculated from the classes of legendary greats Piatigorsky and Casals. After graduating from Curtis Institute of Music, he appeared as a soloist and the youngest principal cellist with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Carnegie Hall under Maestro Ormandy. He is a solo recording artist for the Americus Records, Amatius Classics, Monitor, Musical Heritage, Vox, and Voice of America Records, and his broadcast credits include NBC, CBS and BBC-London. He was on the jury panels of the Piatigorsky International Competition (Violoncello Society of New York), and Interlochen International Competition (General Motor & Seventeen Magazine). Prof. Olefsky has been awarded the Mary Helen Thompson Centennial Professorship and was the director of the UT Plan II Chamber Music Program in the College of Library Arts. He was also a professor of Cello/Chamber Music at Peabody Conservatory and Hart School of Music. Prof. Olefsky and his cellist wife, Hai Zheng have recorded Vivaldi's double cello concerti with the English Chamber Orchestra and appeared with the Chicago Strings for Bach's double violin concerti on two cellos and their live performance was broadcast over PBS in Chicago. NANCY BURTON GARRETT, Professor of Piano has been a member of the piano faculty since 1965. Garrett was the First Prize winner of the G. B. Dealey Competition, first prize winner of the KRBE National Piano Competition and has won numerous other awards including a Fulbright Award for study in London, and Finalist Diploma in the Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, Italy. Critically acclaimed as 'a very important pianist', she has performed throughout the United States, in Europe, Mexico and Taiwan. Also an accomplished fortepianist, Garrett has, since 1991 been teaching and performing with 18th and 19th century fortepianos. A member of Duo Cristofori with Penelope Crawford she has appeared in duo-fortepeiano and four-hand recitals in major U.S. cities and festivals, including the Mozart Bicentennial at Lincoln center, Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, and the International Festival Institute at Round Top, Texas. Garrett students have performed in Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, the Smithsonian Institute, Europe, Mexico, and China and hold teaching positions in universities and colleges throughout the United States. Garrett received the BM with Distinction and Performer's Certificate from Eastman and the MM from the University of Texas. She has also studied at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, and the Royal Academy of Music in London. Her teachers include Cecile Genhart, Dalies Frantz, Leonard Shure, Silvio Scionti, Ilona Kabos, and Charles Rosen. Dr. WILLIAM C. RACE (1923-1999), Priscilla Flawn Regents Professor of Piano at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Race was a member of the keyboard faculty at The University of Texas for thirty-two years, and served as it's chair for twenty years, during which time he was largely responsible for establishing the national and international prestige of the piano faculty and it's programs. His highly-regarded reputation as artist/teacher was complemented by an acclaimed career as soloist, chamber musician, and collaborator. Always a favorite performer on the University campus, he concertized all over the United States, as well as in Europe and Asia. His Town Hall, New York City, debut heralded an important career that won admiration and respect from performers and teachers in all musical circles, including major national and international schools of music. He received accolades from prestigious critics in New York and Los Angeles, and in many other important locales, and recorded an impressive range of piano literature. His dozen of recordings include a complete stylistic va- Shop: odax
- Price: 29.51 EUR excl. shipping
-
Lo Mejor de Javier Echecopar Mongilardi
Javier Echecopar Mongilardi Inició sus estudios musicales a los 7 años, con profesores privados y en el Conservatorio Nacional de Música del Perú. Al término de los mismos, fue becado por la UNESCO para proseguir su formación en la Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris. Posteriormente obtuvo una beca del Consejo Británico para realizar estudios especializados en el Guildhall School of Music de Londres. Ha ejercido la docencia en conservatorios del Perú, Latinoamérica y Europa. Desde sus inicios, ha obtenido el reconocimiento del público y de la crítica en el Perú y en el extranjero, por sus dotes interpretativas como concertista y también como compositor. Ha efectuado durante años un valioso y profundo trabajo de investigación sobre la música peruana, centrado en dos grandes vertientes: el periodo barroco colonial y la tradición popular. Esta tarea lo ha llevado a recorrer el Perú para investigar y preservar el repertorio y la técnica de la música tradicional. Igualmente, ha realizado numerosas investigaciones en catedrales, conventos, museos y archivos tanto nacionales como extranjeros. Asimismo, ha grabado 14 discos, cinco DVD y producido varios libros de partituras de música barroca, de música tradicional y de sus propias composiciones, parte importante de ellas publicadas en Europa. Ha recibido diferentes distinciones nacionales e internacionales, merced a su actividad como intérprete, compositor e investigador. Su obra ha sido declarada de interés cultural para la nación por el Ministerio de Educación del Perú. Anualmente realiza giras internacionales de conciertos y es invitado como jurado en diferentes conservatorios europeos. Ha dirigido orquestas de cámara en Lima y París y sus presentaciones lo han llevado a los más importantes auditorios e instituciones del mundo. Fundó y dirigió la Escuela de Música de la Universidad Católica del Perú y fue nombrado corresponsal ante la UNESCO-París para el Programa Artistas Transfronteras, asimismo tuvo a su cargo la agregaduría cultural del Perú en Madrid, España. Es miembro activo de varias entidades nacionales e internacionales dedicadas a la educación y la cultura, así como a la investigación y difusión del repertorio musical peruano y latinoamericano. COMENTARIOS "Artista extremadamente dotado y sin duda alguna destinado a realizar una brillante carrera". Pierre-Petit, Primer Grand-Prix de Roma. Director de L'Ecole Normale de Musique de París. París, 1978. 'La inteligencia artística de Javier Echecopar, la sobria elocuencia de su talento convencen plenamente'. Bruno Montanaro, revista "Les Cahiers de la Guitare". París, 1987. "Gracias a su profundo conocimiento de nuestra música tradicional, Javier Echecopar, brillante guitarrista, encarna el nuevo espíritu de la música peruana". Edgar Valcárcel, Compositor peruano, Ex Director del Conservatorio Nacional del Perú. Lima, 1992. "Sus interpretaciones tienen algo de sublime y de profundo, ¿debemos decir metafísico?". Revista Le Monde de la Musique, París, 1995. 'Javier Echecopar destaca por sus grandes dotes interpretativas, ya que es un guitarrista de experiencia y gran poder de comunicación. Efectuó unas filigranas con su instrumento que resultaron sorprendentes". Diario "El Mercurio', Santiago de Chile, 1993 "Lo que hace Javier es música vital, el placer de escucharlo no es solo intelectual, es sobre todo para los sentidos". Revista "Guitare & Laute", Colonia, 1994. "Javier Echecopar es uno de los guitarristas peruanos más grandes de todos los tiempos. Dotado de una delicada sensibilidad, balanceada admirablemente por una disciplinada sobriedad y un desusado rigor como ejecutante. Cada interpretación es una joya, donde el virtuosismo técnico está al servicio de una ejecución que cuida hasta los más pequeños matices". "Para calificar el arte de Javier Echecopar se me ocurre un adjetivo habitualmente poco usado: honestidad". Nelson Manrique, Historiador. Diario "El Peruano" Lima, 1996. "El investigador, compositor y guitarrista peruano Javier Echecopar nos ofrece todo un panorama del repertorio barroco para guitarra de su país. Con la alquimia de su maravillosa interpretación nos transporta al corazón de la vida colonial de la Lima del siglo XVIII. Es un excelente trabajo que podría ser comparado a las novelas de Alejo Carpentier... nos hacen voyager dans le temps". Francisco González, revista "Les Cahiers de la Guitare" París, 1996. "Echecopar fue el más aplaudido en el Quinto Festival de Quito (Ecuador). Cualquier comentario sobre la calidad interpretativa de un músico de estas condiciones estaría demás. Javier Echecopar, sin duda alguna marcó el punto más alto del Festival". Diario "El Comercio", Quito, 1998. "Una tradición verdadera es una fuerza viviente que anima e informa el presente, escribe Igor Stravinsky: Javier Echecopar es uno de los músicos de nuestro país más conscientes de esta verdad". Ha cimentado de manera clara y eficaz su lenguaje musical, contribuyendo con verdad a una formación todavía no muy clara de nuestra identidad nacional". 'Las interpretaciones de Javier Echecopar alcanzan una calidad musical extraordinaria'. 'Las transcripciones realizadas por Javier Echecopar constituyen el más valioso y sustantivo aporte de los últimos cien años, incluso en el contexto de los países de Latinoamérica". Celso Garrido Lecca, Compositor peruano y Ex Director del Conservatorio Nacional del Perú. Lima, 1999. "La calidad musical y artística de Javier Echecopar le han permitido recorrer las salas más importantes de las capitales del mundo. Su competencia profesional abarca tanto la musicología como la interpretación y la composición. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Ex Embajador del Perú en Francia, Ex-Secretario General de la ONU. París, 2002. "Los dedos de Javier Echecopar se deslizan veloces y virtuosos sobre las cuerdas que parecen ser más de las que son, así como los sonidos que son irrepetibles, lentos o fugaces, alegres o desgarrados, cayendo como gotas de cristal o sonando como tambores". Maki Miró Quesada, Diario "El Comercio", Lima, 2002. "El concierto Entre lo Barroco y lo Andino fue extraordinario y es absolutamente necesario que se conozca en muchos lugares del país". Raúl Vargas, "Radio Programas del Perú", Lima, 2007. "Un concierto precioso, un compendio de música, historia y color. Hermosas sus composiciones e interpretaciones con el Cuarteto de cuerdas latinoamericano y espectaculares las canciones en las que actuó con Mariela Kohn y Magali Revollar. Ha sido un privilegio tenerle entre nosotros en Madrid". Cecilia Rodrigo, fundadora de las Ediciones Joaquín Rodrigo, hija del compositor español. Madrid, 2011.- Shop: odax
- Price: 30.83 EUR excl. shipping
-
After the Rain
AFTER THE RAIN With this recording, Clare Fischer presents for the first time, a program of original music that falls distinctly into the category of 'classical.' Well known and admired for decades as composer, arranger and pianist of singular originality, he is thought of first for his accomplishments in the jazz field. Clare remarked recently that until about fifteen years ago he thought that he needed to keep his jazz and classical writing somehow separate. More recently he acknowledged that he is what he is - a natural mixture of both. Jazz and classical influences as they are exquisitely entangled in Clare's mind, from his earliest composition to most recent, are heard in these extraordinary recordings. Every perceived moment of beauty or emotion from life experience, whether from music, literature, art or personal relations inevitably affects an artist's work. As an awakening to classical music, Clare's high school music director and first mentor, Glenn Litton, played a recording of Shostakovich's First Symphony for Clare, then age 13. He soon heard Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Ellington's Black, Brown and Beige. The merging of influences had begun. During the years he played in Mr. Litton's high school band, Clare studied and performed on whatever wind instrument was needed to fill out the group's instrumentation. He refers to that as his earliest (and hands-on) study of orchestration. Clare's only period of actual piano study before his university training, was from age 9 to 11. At age 12 he began to play the cello and later declared that instrument his major upon entering Michigan State University in 1947. At the same time, Clare submitted to the composition department a piano sketch of what is heard on this recording as The Early Years, (Movement II) from the Suite for Cello. As one hears this early composition and considers the chronology, it is staggering to think that it was conceived by an 18-year-old composer from a small town in Michigan. It seems clear that Clare never made a conscious decision to be a composer - he was one, fully formed, by the time he graduated high school. It is certainly unlikely that the distinguished composer H. Owen Reed, another mentor and life-long close friend (and the man to whom Clare submitted this early work), was accustomed to encountering such exceptional youthful efforts. As part of the requirement for his Master of Music degree from MSU, Clare composed Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone and Chamber Orchestra. During the subsequent years of his professional career other notable classical compositions include: Rhapsody Nova for Woodwind Soloist and Wind Band, Piano Quartet, Cornucopia for Brass Ensemble, Miniature for Mallet Percussion and Strings and Sonatine for Clarinet and Piano. Of these, only the last, which was commissioned and performed by Richard Stoltzman, has been commercially recorded. On recordings of his own works, Clare has performed on alto sax, e-flat valve trombone, cello, clarinet and bass clarinet. For a recent recording project Clare purchased and learned to play a complete choir of bugles as he composed for them. In the 1980's Clare was 'discovered' by a number of pop vocal artists who chose him to write - mostly for rock and roll recordings - string and orchestral accompaniments to be over-dubbed on their vocal and rhythm tracks. Prominent among these artists are Prince, Vanessa Williams, Robert Palmer, Paul McCartney and Paula Abdul. On one particular date, Clare surrounded a harmonically simple pre-recorded pop vocal and rhythm track with a sweeping orchestral arrangement that left orchestra members applauding. Observing the star and her band while listening to the playback, their slight lifting of the chest and broad smiles seemed to say, 'I didn't know we were that good.' SUITE FOR CELLO AND STRING ORCHESTRA In 1999, with leftover time at the end a record date for which Clare had written the string arrangements, he was able to record The Early Years (Movement II), with Cecilia Tsan as cello soloist. Cecilia, whose solo playing was previously unknown to Clare, showed remarkable presence and identification with the music. After finally hearing this realization of his earliest work (1947), Clare then composed After the Rain and Finale to give the work a three-movement structure. The outer movements were written for Cecilia, produced by Clare and recorded later in 1999. TIME PIECE Time Piece was recorded in 1998 at Capitol Studios with a full symphony orchestra chosen, conducted and produced (paid for!) by Clare. Clare says of this work: 'The title refers to the 44 years between the original conception of this work and it's first hearing. The first half of Homage was conceived and scored in 1953. The original ideas for the second half of the movement were conceived in 1953 but the actual writing of the music took place in 1987.' The homage referred to here is to Igor Stravinsky. Clare's inspiration being the early ballet music of that influential composer. 'The Elegy portion of the second movement, Elegy and Blues was, conceived in 1987. The Blues section was composed sometime in the early 1950's and it represents a manifestation of the duality of my existence as a composer. The piano solo in this movement was freely improvised and transcribed by Clare for this recording. 'The third movement, Fugue and Finale, was conceived in 1987, the fugue theme is jazz-like in phrasing but not in choice of notes. There are sections where I have utilized jazz orchestral procedures but in a classical way, i.e. The use of plunger mutes in the brass including combinations of the tight closed plunger and French horn brass mutes.' This entire work was commissioned by the Reader's Digest Meet the Composer program. The third movement was performed in concert by the New American Orchestra in 1988. Plans to perform the entire work were never completed. BACHLUDES I and II The recordings of these two works are, according to Clare, nearly twenty years old. The performance is striking in quality and these compositions represent, once again, the depth of expression and uniqueness that Clare's harmonic concept always delivers. Harmony equals emotion. I like to imagine that the old Kapellmeister of Leipzig would be thrilled to hear the harmonic priciples he codified taken, as they are by Clare, to the tenth power. -------------- In an over entertained world where music is so often sold to our generation with great calculation and cynicism, the release of this music creates an important and original musical document. Popular culture thrives on the synthetic while Clare Fischer has always woven his own pure harmonic cloth. The breadth of his distinguished accomplishments is greatly widened by the release of these recordings. Gary Foster February 2001.- Shop: odax
- Price: 20.41 EUR excl. shipping
-
Music of Russian Composers
Piano Synergy Duo. Husband-and-wife team Ruslan Sviridov and Irina Khovanskaya created the Piano Synergy Duo in 1996. Using their unique musical potential, the duo designs concert programs in which they perform together as well as individually. The results have been a constantly heavy demand and continuing success. For the past 14 years, the duo has toured extensively throughout Russia, Europe, and the Unites States. Now, for the first time, listeners have an opportunity to hear them on a CD. Irina Khovanskaya was born to a musician's family in Russia's Moscow Region in 1972. She began piano lessons at age 4 and gave her first recital about two years later in Kiev. Ten years of formal musical training followed at the Moscow Central Special Music College, during which time she also concertized extensively as a recitalist and with orchestras. Several of these events took place at the Moscow Conservatory's Small Hall, but she also played as far afield as the Russian Space Center (Moscow Region) and on USSR TV. Receiving a Bachelor's Degree in 1990, Khovanskaya's studies and performing career continued as she entered the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where her teacher was Victor Merzhanov. Now her performances become international. Besides appearances with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and in many Russian cities, she performed in Zurich, Munich, Brussels, and Warsaw. Contests in Russia, Germany, and Belgium were capped by Khovanskaya's winning First Prize in the Texas Steinway Society Piano Competition in Dallas, Texas in 1999. With her Conservatory Diploma (1996) and post-graduate work behind her, Dr. Khovanskaya now resides in San Antonio, Texas. In addition to performance engagements, she teaches piano at the University of the Incarnate Word and adjudicates in piano competitions. Ruslan Sviridov was born in 1973 in Tambov, Russia. He began to study music at age 7 and gave his first public performance at the age of 8. His years of study at the Tambov Music School and later at the Rachmaninov Music College in Tambov were marked by many competition triumphs and literally hundreds of concerts and recitals throughout Russia's Central Region. First prizes came from the Tchaikovsky Regional Piano Contest (1989), the Bartok Regional Contest (1989), and the Kabalevsky Regional Competition for Young Pianists (1990), to name only a few. Sviridov went on to enter the Moscow State Conservatory, studying with Victor Merzhanov. Concerts and competitions continued, now at a higher level. He played with symphony orchestras in several Russian cities, including Moscow, Ulyanovsk, and Tambov, and at the Glinka Music Festival in Smolensk. During 1994-96, he took Grand Prize or First Prize (or both) or a Special Jury Prize at competitions in Italy at Tortona, Alassio, San Bartolomeo al Mare, and Caltanissetta, Sicily. His first U.S. triumph was a Special Jury Prize in Kingsville, Texas (1995). In addition to an international list of recitals, Sviridov's career is distinguished by a substantial body of television tapes and live appearances, starting in Russia and extending through Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, and the United States (NBC). During his studies in Moscow, culminating in a Doctoral Degree (1998), he taught piano and music theory. Leaving Russia in 1998, Dr. Sviridov again picked up his teaching activity in San Antonio, Texas, also his base for concertizing and contest adjudication. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker Suite As charming and entertaining as The Nutcracker ballet turned out, one would hardly imagine that Peter I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) did not care much for the score himself. The composer had been a little reluctant to compose this music on a subject that was prescribed for him and for which the choreographer had given him an over-detailed scenario. He completed the score in 1891, and some months before the premiere of the full ballet the following year he extracted a concert suite. The scenario of The Nutcracker ballet was taken from a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann as adapted by Alexander Dumas, Sr. It has to do with Clara, a young girl who receives a grotesque looking nutcracker for Christmas, only to have it magically transformed into a prince who carries her off on fantastic adventures. The movements of the Suite do not follow the progress of the story exactly, but are ordered to form a good musical sequence. The "March" has a toy quality, reminding us that the only military operations that Clara witnesses are imaginary ones between mice and gingerbread soldiers. The "Dance of the Sugar- Plum Fairy " was composed originally for the celesta, a bell-like keyboard instrument that personifies this character perfectly. This was the first time a composer had written for the instrument. In the second act of The Nutcracker, Clara and her Nutcracker are treated to an international divertissement of dances at the court of the Sugar-Plum Fairy. One part of this is the "Trepak," a wild Russian dance and one of the nationalistic elements in the ballet. More exotic is the Chinese "Dance of the Reed Flutes," originally featuring shrill flutes and piccolos and mumbling bassoons. When we think of waltzes, we usually think of Johann Strauss. But Tchaikovsky was also one of the great waltz composers of his century. Waltzes from Eugene Onegin and the Serenade for Strings bear witness. The "Waltz of the Flowers" is the finale to The Nutcracker Suite and one of the most graceful movements ever penned by Tchaikovsky. Stravinsky, Five Easy Pieces for Piano Duet The years of World War I (1914-1918) were years of small pieces for Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971). Self-sequestered in Switzerland for most of the duration, the composer found few opportunities for performances or publication. Stravinsky occupied himself chiefly with small- scale stage works, songs, and short instrumental pieces. At that time, his oldest children, Theodore and Mika, had become good enough pianists for him to write music for each of them to play with their father. So originated the series of Five Easy Pieces for piano duet. The child's part was usually a melody played in octaves, while the father's part filled out the texture and contained any complicated passage work. Stravinsky later orchestrated four of the duets to produce his Suite No. 1 for small orchestra. Stravinsky's musical sense of humor is, of course, famous. In these miniature character pieces, we can hear the same wry satire that charms us in much of his other music from this period. The Five Easy Pieces touch on various "national" musical characteristics. Following a relatively serious "Andante" comes an "Española" composed after a trip to Spain in 1916. The "Balalaika" celebrates the Russian folk instrument. "Napolitana" was another travel souvenir, this time to Naples in 1917. The concluding "Galop" is a spoof on the archetypical endings of French ballets of the 19th century. It's high spirits and satirical jabs sum up the flavor of the Five Easy Pieces. Rachmaninov, Six Pieces for Piano Duet, Op. 11 Like his mentor Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) did not enjoy teaching. He did so only when he needed money. Rachmaninov found himself in that financial position in 1893, the year Tchaikovsky died. Taking on more private lessons, he also taught music theory at a girls' academy. Rachmaninov's publisher, knowing his need and also knowing the market for his piano music, convinced him to write something for piano four-hands. The result was the Six Pieces for Piano Duet published in 1894, which turned out to be the longest work Rachmaninov ever created for piano duet. The movements are "character" pieces in the best romantic salon tradition, and they contrast with one another effectively. The opening "Barcarolle" floats along on the undulating lilt of a gondola song, yet Rachmaninov infuses it with his own characteristic melancholy. Cas- Shop: odax
- Price: 22.60 EUR excl. shipping
-
