Kopatchinskaja / Sanchez-Chiong / Romaniuk - Take Two - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

'The dreamer! That double of our existence, that chiaroscuro of the thinking being', wrote Gaston Bachelard in 1961. 'The old is dying, the new cannot be born, and in that chiaroscuro, monsters appear', adds Antonio Gramsci. Sandrine Piau has chosen to use these two quotations as an epigraph to her new recording 'My family and friends know about this obsession that never leaves me completely. The antagonism between light and darkness. The chiaroscuro, the space in between...' This program, recorded with the Orchestre Victor Hugo under it's conductor Jean-François Verdier, who is also principal clarinettist of the Paris Opéra, travels between the chilly Rhenish forest of Waldgespräch, a ballad by Zemlinsky composed for soprano and small ensemble in 1895, the night of the first of Berg's Seven Early Songs (1905-08), and the sunlight of Richard Strauss's Morgen, which are followed by the Four Last Songs, composed in 1948, the first two of which, Frühling and September (evoking spring and autumn respectively) are also, as Sandrine Piau concludes, 'the seasons of life'. Album Tracks 1. Waldgespräch (Ballad for Soprano, Two Horns, Harp and Violin) 2. Morgen!, Op.27 No.4 3. Meinem Kinde, Op.37 No.3 4. Sieben Frühe Lieder 5. Vier Letzte Lieder 6. Malven

For her third album on Alpha, Patricia Kopatchinskaja is joined by a highly talented pianist whose approach to music is as extremist as hers, Polina Leschenko. Together they explore pieces that have many points in common. The Hungarian violinist Jelly d'Arányi, grandniece of Joseph Joachim, was a 'muse' to both Bartók and Ravel. In 1922 and 1923, she premiered the two Bartók sonatas for violin and piano and Ravel dedicated Tzigane to her. He wrote to Bartók 'You have convinced me to compose for our friend, who plays so fluently, a little piece whose diabolical difficulty will bring to life the Hungary of my dreams; and since it will be for violin, why don't we call it Tzigane?' Of course, Tzigane by Patricia Kopatchinskaja, who has been playing and dancing this music since her childhood in Moldova, does not sound like salon music... After a much-fêted recital at Wigmore Hall in 2017, the Financial Times wrote 'In another life, Patricia Kopatchinskaja might have been a rock star. This is a violinist who loves taking risks... But the final reward was worth waiting for a denouement of astonishing force. Album Tracks 1. I. Allegro Con Fuoco 2. II. Intermezzo. TRÈS Lent Et Calme 3. III. Presto Tragico 4. Waltz - Polina Leschenko 5. I. Molto Moderato 6. II. Allegretto 7. Tzigane, M76

This recording presents the double concerto for violin, cello and orchestra of the Spanish composer Francisco Coll, born in 1985. Les Plaisirs Illuminés, a title inspired by Dalí's painting of the same name, is rooted in Spanish traditions, including flamenco, yet is resolutely modern 'It's music is very lively rhythmically, it dances and sings- but at the same time it is very abrupt, always in search of extremes,' says Patricia Kopatchinskaja. For this world premiere conducted by the composer, she is reunited with a longstanding partner who pursues an equally brilliant international career, the cellist Sol Gabetta. The program also features Stravinsky's Concerto in D for string orchestra, composed in 1946 at the request of Paul Sacher for the twentieth anniversary of the Basler Kammerorchester and the Musica concertante for twelve strings by the Hungarian-born Swiss composer Sandor Veress, premiered by the Camerata Bern in 1966. A year earlier, the Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera wrote his fascinating Concerto for Strings. A kaleidoscope of colors and sounds from all over the world Album Tracks 1. Sándor Veress (1907-1992) 2. Musica Concertante Per 12 Archi 3. György Kurtag (*1926) 4. Games, Signs and Messages 5. Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) 6. Concerto Per Corde, Op. 33 7. Béla Bártok (1881-1945) 8. Duo Pizzicato for Two Violins 9. György Ligeti (1923-2006) 10. Balada Si Joc for Two Violins 11. Francisco Coll (*1985) 12. Les Plaisirs Illuminés 13. Camerata's Birds (Improvisation)