Julius Berger - Music for My Cello - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Julius Berger - Birth of the Cello [COMPACT DISCS] date 09/01/2007

When Pablo Casals rediscovered the cello suites of Bach at the beginning of the 20th century, the novel thing about it was that he played them Inchsenza bassoInch, i.e. without piano accompaniment. In a time of music-historical over-maturity and experimentation, renowned composers soon came up with their own attempts, among them most famously Max Reger's InchSolo SuitesInch and Kodály's InchSolo SonataInch, both written in 1915. The cellist Julius Berger has made amazing discoveries especially in this early history of new cello solo music and presents them here as a performer in a most lively way. In the accompanying booklet, he enriches the production by adding exciting and witty stories worth knowing about the composers recorded here and their works. The introduction and transition to the new discoveries is made with the second of Reger's three suites, which Julius Berger comments on in an informative and very personal way. Adolf Busch, on the one hand an eminent musician of the best German (emigrant) tradition, a world-famous violinist, and on the other hand a composer who is at the same time a highly experienced instrumentalist, wrote a Suite dedicated to his cellist brother Hermann in 1914, which is beyond neo-baroque models as regards the character of it's movements, as well as a InchPrelude and FugueInch from 1922, such as often composed by Bach, but not for cello. The British composer and musicologist Sir Donald Francis Tovey was a friend of the Busch brothers and admired as a genius by Casals. His expansive InchPassacagliaInch reminiscent of Bach's InchCiaconnaInch is admirably mastered with regard to it's large-scale form and dates from 1910. The program is completed by a suite that makes reference to baroque movement types by Swiss composer and Munich composition teacher Walter Courvoisier from 1921, which Julius Berger premiered as recently as 1 October 20

A very prolific member of the Criss Cross family, trumpeter Alex Sipiagin has logged in nine releases as a leader for the tag over the span of 12 years. He is also a vital member of the all-star collective Opus Five, that group's most recent effort being the critically acclaimed Pentasonic (CRC 1351). for his tenth session at the helm, Sipiagin has delivered his most freewheeling recital to date. An integral member of the trumpeter's inner circle since his 2000 debut, Steppin' Zone (CRC 1202), the always exciting Chris Potter fills out the front line on saxophones. And for the first time, Sipiagin has opted for an ensemble sans piano or guitar. With frequent collaborators Scott Colley on bass and Eric Harland on drums, the results over eight original compositions are as fresh and contemporary as they come.