6.4.22
MOSSOLOW • KABALEVSKY • SCHNITTKE • KARAJEW : Composers from Russia (1987) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Alexander Mossolow
1 Soldiers Songs: Suite
Conductor – Vitaly Gnutov
Orchestra – Osipov Russian Folk Orchestra
Dmitri Kabalevsky
2-10 Romeo And Julet Op. 55
Conductor – Dimitrij Kitaenko
Orchestra – The Moscow Symphony Orchestra
ALfred Schnittke
11 The Inspectors Tale
Conductor – Gennadi Rozhdestvensky
Orchestra – USSR Ministry Of Culture Symphony Orchestra
Kara Karajew
12 Seven Beauties = Die Sieben Schönen
Conductor – Mark Ermler
Orchestra – Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
24.1.21
Gidon Kremer & Naoko Yoshino - Insomnia (1999) FLAC (tracks), lossless
This is a handsome-looking compact disc release, with strikingly muted graphics in cool purple tones, featuring Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer and Japanese harpist Naoko Yoshina. Here the pretty graphics go a little too far: the buyer finds no listing of compositions on the outside of the package and has no way of knowing what is played aside from a bare mention of the names of the 11 composers featured. That's where the All Classical Guide comes in. The works were all written in the twentieth century. They are: Michio Miyagi's Haru no umi (Ocean in Spring, a calming, melodic piece); Kaija Saariaho's Nocturne for violin solo (a somewhat avant-garde coloristic piece); Toru Takemitsu's Stanza II for harp and tape (also pretty far out and very Japanese-sounding); Yuji Takahashi's Insomnia for violin, voices, and kugo (strange, but oddly soothing); a movement from Satie's Le fils des étoiles as arranged by Takahashi (austere); Jean Françaix's Five Little Duets (100 percent charming); the Étude for violin from Richard Strauss's Daphne (also charming); Six Melodies by John Cage (simple and pleasant); Arvo Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel (even simpler and not startling); Nino Rota's love theme from The Godfather (you know this one); and the final movement from Schnittke's Suite in the Old Style (gently Classical except for one deliberately horrendous dissonance). So there you have the emotional progression of this carefully planned album. Much of it could cure insomnia; three or four pieces could cause it. The mood is nocturnal throughout. The recording was made in 1996 in Kioi Hall, Tokyo, with Wilhelm Hellweg as producer and engineer. It completely succeeds in what was intended; the microphones are close enough to Kremer that bowing sounds are very evident, but apparently only when the producer wants them to be. by Joseph Stevenson
Harp – Naoko YoshinoViolin – Gidon Kremer
23.4.20
ALFRED SCHNITTKE - Film Music Edition (2009) 4CD / FLAC (tracks), lossless
Listeners familiar only with Alfred Schnittke's frequently spiky concert music may be taken off guard by the fluency with which he created film scores in a completely accessible vernacular aesthetic. Given the catholicity of languages he incorporated in his polystylism, though, it's not surprising that when required to, he could isolate an idiom and write music of a more conventional stylistic unity. While he does draw on a number of influences, including jazz, Baroque, and folk song, these are used in the way a traditional film composer might employ them, not in Schnittke's usual astonishing juxtapositions. What may be surprising is the genuinely memorable lyricism of this music -- these scores don't sound like they were casually knocked off, but are lovingly and carefully constructed, the product of an exceptionally fertile imagination. The scores for the Russian films by director Elem Klimow -- Sport, Sport, Sport (1970) and The Adventures of a Dentist (1965) -- have an easy lyricism and driving rhythmic energy that would make them attractive to fans of more traditional film soundtracks. Both pieces are notable for their inventive orchestrations, strong dramatic impulse, and seamless incorporation of elements of pop and European folk traditions. The two multi-movement suites are arranged by Frank Strobel who conducts the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin in stylish and lively performances. The sound of Capriccio's SACD is exceptionally vivid and well-defined. The recording should be of strong interest to Schnittke fans, not only because if the compositional versatility it demonstrates, but because the music itself is so engaging and enjoyable. by Stephen Eddins
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ESBJÖRN SVENSSON TRIO — Winter In Venice (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Esbjörn Svensson has stood not only once on stage in Montreux. He was already a guest in the summer of 1998 at the jazz festival on Lake Gen...
