Various Artists - Romantic Orchestral Masterpieces / Various - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Fanned by the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, the longing for pure wilderness and the cultivation of rural life, the Nordic National Romanticism arises. All three composers on this album are descendants of this Nordic Romanticism. Although they did not all have the same nationality, their lives are intertwined. In their compositions, Svendsen and Halvorsen remain in form and harmony close to the music of their good friend Edvard Grieg and the distinctive Nordic use of melody; Carl Nielsen, however, goes on a voyage of discovery towards a new idiom with a strong desire for renewal on the one hand and a great need for the revival of the pure archaic on the other. His violin concerto clearly shows this conflict. In a neo-classical 4-part form, reminiscent of the setup of the Baroque concerto grosso, with seemingly simple classical-like themes and references to both Bach and Mozart, he takes the listeners on an incredible adventure throughout Nordic landscapes of pure wilderness and takes all sorts of harmonic and rhythmic twists and turns. Lisa Jacobs writes InchSince the first time I performed the Nielsen violin concerto in 2007, I have been overwhelmed from the very first note. Such an incredible connection with the whimsical Nordic nature that is displayed in this music, such as a natural use of the violin as both a lyrical and virtuoso instrument and such an originality.Inch

Leonard Slatkin celebrated his 75th birthday in September 2019. Many of the selections in this program come from a concert given in his honor and are also a tribute to his remarkable musical family, both past and present. Historical recordings include Leonard's cellist mother, Eleanor Aller, being conducted by Korngold in the Haydn concerto and a 1944 broadcast of his father, Felix, as a solo violinist in Brahms. Every piece here has a deeply personal connection for the family. For his composition The Raven, Leonard used Edgar Allan Poe's poem in a work that is Inchalmost like a concerto for speaker and orchestra.Inch

Various Artists - Romance / Various [COMPACT DISCS] date 01/23/1996