Tags
Language
Tags
May 2023
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
30 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31 1 2 3

Wiltener Sangerknaben, Johannes Stecher - Arvo Part: Babel (2015)

Posted By: Designol
Wiltener Sangerknaben, Johannes Stecher - Arvo Part: Babel (2015)

Wiltener Sängerknaben, Johannes Stecher - Arvo Pärt: Babel (2015)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 227 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 132 Mb | Artwork included
Classical, Contemporary, Choral | Label: Col Legno | # WWE 1CD 20427 | 00:57:24

This is the first ever recording of Arvo Pärt’s wonderful vocal music performed by a boys’ choir. The year of release of this album is also the year when the Estonian composer celebrates his eightieth birthday. More than four decades ago, the musician Arvo Pärt fell silent, and went into retreat for eight years. His silence gave rise to a new kind of music, which has gained him international fame. “I have discovered that it is enough if a single note is beautifully played,” Pärt once said. Based on his study of the cathedrals of sound of the Renaissance or even earlier periods, the composer has developed a very personal and original style: music inspired by spirituality, striving to accomplish the ideal of perfect simplicity, of laying bare the pure essence. An everlasting stopping and pausing: eternity. At the same time a continuous flowing and being carried away: the transitory nature of time.

Alexei Lubimov - Fractured Surfaces: Soviet Avant-Garde 1957-1970 (2003)

Posted By: Designol
Alexei Lubimov - Fractured Surfaces: Soviet Avant-Garde 1957-1970 (2003)

Alexei Lubimov - Fractured Surfaces: Soviet Avant-Garde 1957-1970 (2003)
Arvo Pärt - Andrei Volkonsky - Vitaly Godziatsky - Kuldar Sink
Valentin Silvestrov - Tigran Mansurian - Edison Denisov

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 213 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 186 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Contemporary Classical, Avant-Garde | Label: Solyd | # SLR 0333 | Time: 01:08:51

"This compact disc presents all the studio recordings that remain from a time when, as a twenty-five year old champion of the avant-garde, I had to seek for every possible occasion of playing the new works of our composers. In those days, they were hounded and ripped apart by ideological critics; now they are recognized as the masters of new music. Audiences today need to realize with how much excitement and trust people discovered and took over the new currents seeping in from Europe through the Iron Curtain. These works represent and symbolize a marvelous epoch of friendship, a time when we came to know new horizons and discovered ourselves in the Soviet Union's huge, heterogeneous spaces." (Alexei Lubimov. May 2003)

Mr McFall's Chamber - Solitudes: Baltic Reflections (2015)

Posted By: Designol
Mr McFall's Chamber - Solitudes: Baltic Reflections (2015)

Mr McFall's Chamber - Solitudes: Baltic Reflections (2015)
Olli Mustonen, Zita Bruzaite, Aulis Sallinen, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Kalevi Aho
Arvo Pärt, Toivo Kärki, Jean Sibelius, Unto Mononen, Pēteris Vasks

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 267 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 154 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical, Contemporary | Label: Delphian | # DCD34156 | Time: 01:05:28

No one knows quite when tango was established in Finland, but the style has a long history there – still little known to outsiders – and combines rhythmic interest and yearning melody with a distinctively Nordic melancholy. In this ingeniously curated programme, two Finnish tangos from the 1950s and a tango-based work by Finnish classical composer Aulis Sallinen are woven into a bold tapestry of music from the Eastern Baltic seaboard. Longing, sadness, and a heightened sense of nature infuse all of these works, which also reveal intriguing stylistic connections: the rocking accompaniment of Sibelius’ 'Einsames Lied' seems to prefigure the ‘Baltic minimalism’ of Vasks, Pärt and Zita Bružaité, while Olli Mustonen’s 'Toccata' alternates rhythmic verve with a rich vein of reflective memory. These original compositions are complemented by Robert McFall’s own sensitive arrangements, for a core McFall’s lineup of five strings and piano, and the programme culminates in a truly unique version of Sibelius’s famous 'Finlandia' Hymn.

Alexei Lubimov, Alexander Trostiansky, Kirill Rybakov - Misterioso: Valentin Silvestrov, Arvo Part, Galina Ustvolskaya (2006)

Posted By: Designol
Alexei Lubimov, Alexander Trostiansky, Kirill Rybakov - Misterioso: Valentin Silvestrov, Arvo Part, Galina Ustvolskaya (2006)

Misterioso: Valentin Silvestrov, Arvo Pärt, Galina Ustvolskaya (2006)
Alexei Lubimov, piano; Alexander Trostiansky, violin; Kirill Rybakov, clarinet

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 245 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 199 Mb | Scans ~ 41 Mb | 01:19:54
Contemporary Classical, Chamber | Label: ECM | # ECM New Series 1959, 476 3108

The title of ECM's release of works by three composers born in the former Soviet Union perfectly captures the mood of the CD – it is truly mysterious. Although more than half a century separates the first of these pieces from the most recent, they share a sense of otherness that defies easy explanation. The pieces are not so much mysterious in the sense of being eerie (although there are several moments that might raise the hairs on the back of your neck if you were listening alone in the dark); they are unsettling because they raise more questions than they answer.

Jeroen van Veen - Minimal Piano Collection, Volumes I-IX (2006) 9CD Box Set

Posted By: Designol
Jeroen van Veen - Minimal Piano Collection, Volumes I-IX (2006) 9CD Box Set

Jeroen van Veen - Minimal Piano Collection, Volumes I-IX (2006) 9CD Box Set
Philip Glass - Michael Nyman - John Adams - Terry Riley - Arvo Pärt - John Cage
Friedrich Nietzsche - Erik Satie - Tom Johnson - Wim Mertens - Jacob ter Veldhuis
Yann Tiersen - Klaas de Vries - Simeon ten Holt - John Borstlap - Carlos Micháns

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 2 Gb | Scans ~ 63 Mb | Time: 10:15:53
Classical, Minimalism, Contemporary | Label: Brilliant Classics | # 8551

There's perhaps a touch of irony in the title of Dutch pianist and composer Jeroen van Veen's box set Minimal Piano Collection because at nine discs, it's a pretty massive collection. The program booklet notes that he recorded the entire set, which includes more than ten hours of music, in only six days, an astounding feat. In the program notes, van Veen offers a remarkably clear and concise history of minimalism in music. He defines it broadly enough (following the lead of composer and critic Tom Johnson) to include works by Friedrich Nietzsche and Satie. Philip Glass is the composer most widely represented, with three of the set's nine CDs devoted to his music originally for piano, as well as transcriptions from his film scores and operas. Two discs are given to van Veen's mammoth 24 Préludes, organized according to the framework of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. Other composers range from the very well known, such as Michael Nyman, John Adams, Terry Riley, Arvo Pärt, and John Cage, to the familiar-to-specialists, like Tom Johnson, Wim Mertens, and Jacob ter Veldhuis, to those little-known to American audiences, like Klaas de Vries, Simeon ten Holt, John Borstlap, Yann Tiersen, and Carlos Micháns.

Gidon Kremer & Naoko Yoshino - Insomnia (1999)

Posted By: Designol
Gidon Kremer & Naoko Yoshino - Insomnia (1999)

Gidon Kremer & Naoko Yoshino - Insomnia (1999)
works by Jean Françaix, John Cage, Arvo Pärt, Richard Strauss, Nino Rota, Alfred Schnittke
Erik Satie, Toru Takemitsu, Michio Miyagi, Yuji Takahashi, Kaija Saariaho

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 315 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 194 Mb | Scans included
Classical, Contemporary | Label: Philips | # 289 456 016-2 | Time: 01:18:10

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).

Schumann Quartett - Landscapes: Haydn, Takemitsu, Bartok, Pärt (2017)

Posted By: Designol
Schumann Quartett - Landscapes: Haydn, Takemitsu, Bartok, Pärt (2017)

Schumann Quartett - Landscapes: Haydn, Takemitsu, Bartok, Pärt (2017)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 308 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 152 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Berlin Classics | # 0300836BC | Time: 01:05:42

Joseph Haydn is a conscientious revolutionary. His “Sunrise” Quartet op. 76 No. 4 is littered with idiosyncrasies. Just as you are thinking you can get the hang of this music, it slips away from you again. The Schumann Quartet is hooked on Joseph Haydn! There’s a reason for this addiction, of course; without Haydn, the “string quartet” genre would be like a string instrument without a bow. True, the composer is still – somewhat disrespectfully – called “Papa Haydn”, whether to stress his place in the evolutionary chain linking Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadéus Mozart or because his works allegedly lack the inquisitiveness of a Mozart or the philosophical profundities of a Beethoven. Joseph Haydn has yet to recover from such false assessments. And it is abundantly clear from the “Sunrise” Quartet op. 76 No. 4 just how false they are. The three brothers Mark, Erik and Ken Schumann, who grew up in the Rhineland, have been playing together for five years.

Borusan Quartet - Company: Arvo Part, Hasan Ucarsu, Philip Glass, Peteris Vasks (2017)

Posted By: Designol
Borusan Quartet - Company: Arvo Part, Hasan Ucarsu, Philip Glass, Peteris Vasks (2017)

Borusan Quartet - Company: Arvo Pärt, Hasan Uçarsu, Philip Glass, Pēteris Vasks (2017)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 283 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 169 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical, Contemporary | Label: Onyx Classics | # 4171 | Time: 01:03:45

Of four living composers here, one is less well known. Like the Borusan Quartet itself, Hasan Uçarsu (born 1965) is Turkish. His String Quartet No 2 “The Untold” consists of two short, pensive outer movements – called epilogue and prologue – and two questing, energetic central movements full of Anatolian folk inspiration. Arvo Pärt’s Summa is a string version of a meditative vocal piece from 1977. Pēteris Vasks, like Pärt, found his own spiritual voice within or despite the restrictive Soviet aesthetic, as witnessed in his poignant String Quartet No 4. Philip Glass, in contrast, wrote his Quartet No 2, robustly minimalist, as stage music for an adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s novel Company. A fascinating, engagingly played quartet of quartets.

Allar Kaasik - Timeless Light: Estonian Cello Works (2017)

Posted By: Designol
Allar Kaasik - Timeless Light: Estonian Cello Works (2017)

Allar Kaasik - Timeless Light: Estonian Cello Works (2017)
works by Galina Grigorjeva, Tõnu Kõrvits, Arvo Pärt, Kuldar Sink, Erkki-Sven Tüür

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 314 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 192 Mb | Artwork included
Classical, Contemporary | Label: BIS | # BIS-CD-1887 | Time: 01:20:55

Allar Kaasik has enjoyed a long and fruitful career, in his native Estonia as well as abroad. Reflecting on it in the liner notes to this very personal disc, he singles out one particular aspect: the ambition to embrace the very latest compositions by Estonian composers. Performing in churches as he often does, Kaasik finds music resounding in a church a part of the Holy Service. This is reflected in many of the works which have been written for him, with composers such as Galina Grigorjeva and Kuldar Sink enriching the tradition of Estonian church music. Among Allar Kaasik’s many partners in performing these works, several appear on the present disc, including two eminent choirs – the State Choir Latvija and Estonian National Male Choir – as well as the Latvian organist Kristīne Adamaite. A focal point of the programme is the cello concerto Pro et contra by the most celebrated of all Estonian composers, Arvo Pärt. Kaasik is supported by the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peeter Lilje and the recording has a particular significance – originally released by Melodiya in 1989, it was the first recording of Pärt’s music published on disc in the Soviet Union following the lifting of the unofficial ban on his music. The remaining works on Timeless Light were all recorded between 2014 and 2016.

Peter Dijkstra - Arvo Part: Te Deum; Berliner Messe; Wallfahrtslied; Dopo La Vittoria (2015)

Posted By: Designol
Peter Dijkstra - Arvo Part: Te Deum; Berliner Messe; Wallfahrtslied; Dopo La Vittoria (2015)

Arvo Pärt: Te Deum; Berliner Messe; Wallfahrtslied; Dopo La Vittoria (2015)
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, conducted by Peter Dijkstra

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 266 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 154 Mb | Artwork included
Classical, Sacral, Choral | Label: BR Klassik | # 900511 | Time: 01:07:04

On this BR-KLASSIK recording of sacred music by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt (b. 1935), the regularly award-winning Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, conducted by Peter Dijkstra, is joined by the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, a frequent occurrence in their concert series that regularly include sacred music from the 19th through the 21st c. The present three compositions were written in 1984 and 1990 in the composer's own tintinnabulation style of composition (from the Latin word for the 'ringing of bells'). In his Te Deum, Pärt makes a conscious departure from the traditionally powerful and festive sound of such precursors as Charpentier, Bruckner and Verdi. The restraint of the Wallfahrtslied (Pilgrims' Song), a setting of Psalm 121, evokes the ancient Judeo-Christian tradition of psalm recitation. The Berliner Messe (Berlin Mass) is so named because it was first performed in the city's St. Hedwig's Cathedral (1990) to mark the German Katholikentag (Catholics Day).

The Hilliard Ensemble, Alexei Lubimov, Stuttgart RSO, Andrey Boreyko - Arvo Part: Lamentate; Da pacem Domine (2005)

Posted By: Designol
The Hilliard Ensemble, Alexei Lubimov, Stuttgart RSO, Andrey Boreyko - Arvo Part: Lamentate; Da pacem Domine (2005)

Arvo Pärt - Lamentate; Da pacem Domine (2005)
Alexei Lubimov, piano; The Hilliard Ensemble
SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andrey Boreyko

EAC | APE | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 145 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 118 Mb | Artwork included
Classical, Contemporary | Label: ECM | # ECM New Series 1930, 476 3048 | 00:42:44

The brief opening piece for chorus on this new release, "Da Pacem Domine," is based on a 9th century Gregorian work and has the usual, familiar–and very beautiful–Pärt-ian characteristics: a soft, endless stream of easy tritones and harmonies that make this plea for peace immensely moving. The major work, Lamentate, is scored for large orchestra and solo piano–a very unusual combination for Pärt. Even his fans will be surprised. In ten brief sections, it begins with a quiet drum roll, immediately followed by horn calls. There are forte explosions for full orchestra and piano, with heavy percussion. At times the only thing we hear is a hushed piano part with strings supporting very quietly. The effect is dark yet alluring. It ends peacefully. This is another stunning CD of Pärt's music for his fans–old and new.

Tamara-Anna Cislowska; Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Fritzsch - Into Silence: Gorecki; Part; Pelecis; Vasks (2017)

Posted By: Designol
Tamara-Anna Cislowska; Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Fritzsch - Into Silence: Gorecki; Part; Pelecis; Vasks (2017)

Into Silence: Henryk Górecki; Arvo Pärt; Georgs Pelēcis; Pēteris Vasks (2017)
Tamara-Anna Cislowska, piano; Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Fritzsch, conductor

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 327 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 207 Mb | Scans included
Classical, Contemporary | Label: ABC Classics | # ABC 481 6295 | Time: 01:21:32

This recording from Australian label ABC Classics presents beautiful piano music by Vasks, Gorecki, Part and Pelecis - some of it with orchestra, some of it solo piano. The Pelecis concerto that opens the album is almost completely unknown, and stunning. Tamara-Anna Cislowska's recordings have won, amongst others, the 2015 ARIA Award for Best Classical Album and Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice. Absorbing simplicity, transcendent serenity, deep spirituality. Into Silence, the new album from pianist Tamara-Anna Cislowska, immerses us in the sound world of an extraordinary generation of composers from the Baltics: Henryk Górecki (born Poland, 1933), Arvo Pärt (Estonia, 1935), Peteris Vasks (Latvia, 1946) and Georgs Pelcis (Latvia, 1947).

Louth Contemporary Music Society - A Place Between: Tavener, Part, Silvestrov, Knaifel, Gorecki, Cage (2009)

Posted By: Designol
Louth Contemporary Music Society - A Place Between: Tavener, Part, Silvestrov, Knaifel, Gorecki, Cage (2009)

Louth Contemporary Music Society - A Place Between (2009)
John Tavener · Arvo Pärt · Valentin Silvestrov · Alexander Knaifel · Henryk Górecki · John Cage

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 251 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 184 Mb | Scans included
Label: Louth Contemporary Music LTD | # LCM5901 | Time: 01:04:36
Classical, Contemporary, Spiritual Minimalism

World première recordings of works by John Tavener, Arvo Pärt, Valentin Silvestrov and Alexander Knaifel sit alongside pieces by Henryk Górecki and John Cage on the first recording from a new Irish label operated by noted concert promoters Louth Contemporary Music Society (LCMS). All of these very popular contemporary composers have in various ways been deeply influenced by profound spiritual, religious or cultural encounters, and the disc celebrates them in a moving, magical programme. A Place Between intersperses - to wonderful effect - beautiful works for string quartet (Silvestrov's meditative Ikon, Tavener's deeply moving Ikon of Joy/Sorrow, Pärt's reflective Da Pacem Domine) with two solo piano works (Pärt's uplifting Hymn to a Great City, and Cage’s melodic and expressive In a Landscape). Górecki's memorial for Michael Vyner, Good Night and Knaifel’s mystical O Heavenly King both feature the haunting voice of soprano Patricia Rozario. Silvestrov's 25.X.1893 lullaby is a melancholic and lyrical piece for violin and piano.

Elena Riu - Piano Icons for the 21st Century (2000)

Posted By: Designol
Elena Riu - Piano Icons for the 21st Century (2000)

Elena Riu - Piano Icons for the 21st Century (2000)
works by Arvo Pärt, Peter Sculthorpe, John Tavener, Leoš Janáček, Federico Mompou

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 211 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 186 Mb | Scans included | 01:14:33
Classical, Contemporary | Label: Linn Records | # CKD 111

‘Piano Icons For The 21st Century’ is an exceptionally performed collection of contemporary piano works by Pärt, Janáček, Sculthorpe and Mompou, plus the world premiere recording of John Tavener's Ypakoë. Piano Icons For The 21st Century was widely acclaimed upon its release and named a Gramophone ‘Critics' Choice': 'my disc of 2000 is without hesitation Elena Riu's extraordinarily fine CD.' John Tavener was inspired to write his first major solo work for piano in over twenty years after hearing Elena play. She premiered Ypakoë, a series of meditations on the death of Jesus, at the City of London Festival. The programme also includes Janacek's In The Mist, an intensely personal and darkly hued cycle, plus an intriguing collection of miniatures by three composers who, in her view, are on a similar wavelength: Peter Sculthorpe, the late Catalan composer Federico Mompou, and Arvo Pärt.

Ralph van Raat - Arvo Part: Piano Music (2011)

Posted By: Designol
Ralph van Raat - Arvo Part: Piano Music (2011)

Ralph van Raat - Arvo Pärt: Piano Music (2011)
Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, conducted by JoAnn Falletta

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 218 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 173 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Naxos | # 8.572525 | Time: 01:05:50

Dutch pianist Ralph van Raat's collection of Arvo Pärt's piano music spans nearly 50 years of his career, from student pieces written in 1958 to a work from 2006. This would not be the right album for listeners looking primarily for Pärt's legendary austere simplicity, but it would be ideal for anyone already familiar with the composer looking for exposure to the broad stylistic and expressive range of which he is capable.