Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica – New Seasons (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 1:17:43 minutes | 2,51 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source:highresaudio.com | @ Deutsche Grammophon
Gidon Kremer returns to the Yellow label after more than a decade with the brand new reference recording of Philip Glass Second Violin Concerto The American Seasons. The album also features works of Arvo Pärt and Giya Kancheli two composers both closely associated with Gidon Kremer, and who are both set to celebrate milestone 80th birthdays this year. Gidon has added the short piece by the well-known Japanese film composer Shigeru Umebayashi as a tribute to his Japanese friends.
The New Seasons referred to in the title here are the so-called American Four Seasons, the Violin Concerto No. 2 of Philip Glass, which has even less of a connection to Vivaldi’s model than do Astor Piazzolla’s Buenos Aires Four Seasons and other works that take Vivaldi as a point of reference. The work is in eight sections, but which ones are supposed to represent which season is left up to the listener. It’s really a typical but unusually effective example of late-period Glass, with the composer’s usual textures intact but lots of harmonic motion. Part of the interest here lies in hearing Latvian violinist and conductor Gidon Kremer and his Kremerata Baltica, long champions of minimalism’s Baltic branch, tackle a work by one of the leaders of Western minimalism. The American Four Seasons get a treatment that’s a bit rougher than usual, but then Kremer turns around (after a Pärt girls’ choir interlude) and delivers pristinely smooth, glassy textures in Giya Kancheli’s Ex contrario. The program closes with a fascinating little melody by Japanese rock musician and film composer Shigeru Umebayashi, a daring and effective choice. This may not be to the taste of all Glass lovers, but it’s an unusual minimalist selection, performed to the Kremerata Baltica’s usual sterling standards.
Tracklist:
01 – Philip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 2 “The American Four Seasons”: Prologue
02 – Philip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 2 “The American Four Seasons”: Movement I
03 – Philip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 2 “The American Four Seasons”: Song No. 1
04 – Philip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 2 “The American Four Seasons”: Movement II
05 – Philip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 2 “The American Four Seasons”: Song No. 2
06 – Philip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 2 “The American Four Seasons”: Movement III
07 – Philip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 2 “The American Four Seasons”: Song No. 3
08 – Philip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 2 “The American Four Seasons”: Movement IV
09 – Arvo Pärt: Estonian Lullaby
10 – Giya Kancheli: Ex Contrario
11 – Shigeru Umebayashi: Yumeji’s Theme (From “In the Mood for Love”)
Recordings: Vilnius, Lithuanian National Radio Recording Studio, 2/2013 (Glass, Kancheli, Umebayashi); 9/2014 (Pärt).
Sound Producer: Helmut Muhle. Balance and Recording Engineer: Vilius Keras. Recording Engineer: Aleksandra Suchova.
Mastering: Johannes Muller, Christoph Stickel.
Download:
mqs.link_GidnKremerKremerataBalticaNewSeasns2015HRA24192.part1.rar
mqs.link_GidnKremerKremerataBalticaNewSeasns2015HRA24192.part2.rar
mqs.link_GidnKremerKremerataBalticaNewSeasns2015HRA24192.part3.rar