By Laurie Niles: Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening!![Gidon Kremer]()
Violinist Gidon Kremer.Songs of FateGidon Kremer, violin
Vida Mikneviciute, soprano
Magdalena Ceple, violoncello
Andrei Pushkarev, vibraphoneKremerata BalticaProkofiev MilestonesLana Trotovek, violinBoris Bizjak, fluteMaria Canyigueral, pianoBreveEuclid Quartet
Jameson Cooper, violin
Aviva Hakanoglu, violin
Luis Enrique Vargas, viola
Justin Goldsmith, cello
Violinist Gidon Kremer.
Together with his Kremerata Baltica chamber ensemble and soprano Vida Mikneviciüte, violinist Gidon Kremer approaches scores by Baltic composers Raminta Serksnyte, Giedrius Kuprevitius, Jekabs Janevskis and the Polish-Jewish composer Mieczysiaw Weinberg. In a performer's note, Kremer explains how, reflecting on the different threads that create the fabric of this programme, "I realize - to my own surprise - that in many ways, this project revolves around the notion of 'Jewishness'." The album includes excerpts from the chamber symphony "The Star of David" and "Kaddish" by Giedrius Kuprevitius, as well as the "Jewish Songs" by Mieczyslaw Weinberg, plus premiere recordings of Raminta Serksnyte's "This too shall pass" and Jekabs Janevskis's "Lignum." BELOW: Weinberg: Aria, Op. 9
This album features three sonatas and an arrangement of music from Romeo and Juliet performed by violinist Lana Trotovek, flutist Boris Bizjak and pianist Maria Canyigueral. First performed in 1943, the Sonata for Flute and Piano (Op. 94) is, as Robert Matthew-Walker comments in his notes, "music not of war, but of peace." It is heard again, transformed, in Prokofievs own transcription for Violin and Piano (Op. 94a). The Sonata for Two Violins (Op.56) is heard in a new arrangement by Boris Bizjak for violin and flute. A suite drawn from Romeo and Juliet, and arranged for violin and piano by Lidia Baich and Matthias Fletzberger, revels in Shakespeares great romance and Prokofievs ardent response to it. BELOW: Romeo and Juliet Suite (Arr. for Violin & Piano by Lidia Baich & Matthias Fletzberger): IV. Balcony Scene
Designed to be played on shuffle, the 11 single-movement tracks in "Breve" have only their brevity in common otherwise their styles and moods are about as disparate as classical quartet music gets. Spanning three centuries, the pieces include an adagio and fugue by Mozart, a polka by Shostakovich, a tango by Piazzolla, a lullaby by Gershwin, a rag by Bolcom, and more."We thought it would be fun to collect these contrasting little gems together in one album," said violinist Jameson Cooper. "These works have been with us every step on our 25-year journey and it is long overdue to spotlight them. Most of them feel very much like 'old friends' of the Euclid Quartet!" Formed in Ohio in 1998, the Euclid Quartet takes its name from the famous Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, home to a wealth of renowned artistic and cultural institutions. The quartet currently is the Faculty Quartet-in-Residence at Indiana University South Bend, where its members teach private lessons and coach chamber music. BELOW: Hugo Wolf: Italian SerenadeRebecca Clarke Sonatas for Violin and ViolaDuo Ingolfsson-Stoupel Judith Ingolfsson, violin and viola Vladimir Stoupel, piano
Born in London in 1886, violinist/violist Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) was also a composer who produced a significant number of works; her songs and chamber music were particularly notable. Although her output became neglected after the Second World War, it experienced a renaissance in the 1970s. This album consists of three works by Clarke: Sonatas for Violin and Piano in D major and G major (written in 1908-1909), and the Sonata for Viola, written about a decade later. BELOW: Viola Sonata: II. VivaceIf you have a new recording you would like us to consider for inclusion in our "For the Record" feature, please e-mail Editor Laurie Niles. Be sure to include the name of your album, a link to it and a short description of what it includes.You might also like:
- For the Record, Op. 267: Frank Peter Zimmermann, Alyssa Wang, Igor Kalnin
- For the Record, Op. 266: James Ehnes; Tomás Cotik; Wanchi Huang; Mikhail Pochekin
- For the Record, Op. 265: Michael Ludwig - Samuel Jones' Violin Concerto
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