Gil Shaham is superb on his reading of Arvo Part's "Fratres" – a piece dedicated to Gideon Kremer, and played here with as much deftness and edge as we find in Kremer's own best work of the time. The larger orchestra fills in amidst the strings with growing force as the piece moves on – and Roger Carlsson provides some percussion as well. Part's "Tabula Rasa" is given an especially beautiful reading, too – with twin violins from Shaham and Adele Anthony, really unlocking the tunefulness of the work – which also includes prepared piano by Erik Risberg. The second half of the album features "Symphony No 3" – a fully orchestral work, conducted by Neeme Jarvi with the Gothenberg Symphony Orchestra. (Classical, Out Sound)CD
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Steve Reich —
Drumming ... CD DeutscheGrammophon (Germany), 1974. Used 2 CDs ...
Out Of Stock
Landmark music from Steve Reich – a set that takes his previous experiments in minimalism and phase shifting, and moves them into a highly percussive mode! The rhythms here become melodies – the sorts that you'd hear on other Reich keyboard albums, but played live with incredible dexterity – as each player puts together their passage in ways that interlocks with the other – than slowly moves in space over time – and letting in marimba, voice, piccolo, and glockenspiel to the mix as well. The shift over time is amazing – something that so many others have copied over the years, but never done this well again! CD
A beautiful larger concept work from Max Richter – based on the writings of Virginia Woolf, which are read at three short points in the set – to introduce the kind of subtle sonic spectrums that we've really come to love in Richter's music! The album mixes together Max's own sounds on piano and modular synthesizer with the larger sounds of the German Film Orchestra, conducted by Robert Ziegler – plus shorter string quartet passages, and occasional solo cello, violin, and soprano voice – layered together in Richter's own studio, with that post-performance sensitivity that's made him one of the key forces transforming the sound of classical performance on record. Gillian Anderson reads some text on "The Waves", Sarah Sutcliffe makes an appearance on "Orlando", and the voice of Woolf herself is heard on "Mrs Dalloway" – but most of the album is instrumental. CD
Various —
Winter Tales ... CD DeutscheGrammophon (Germany), 2021. New Copy ...
Out Of Stock
A new standard in Holiday music, served up by some of the more contemporary artists to record for the legendary DeutscheGrammophon label! The vibe here is similar to some of the more ambient works of the Max Richter generation of talents on the label – but there's also some more pronounced holiday spirit at times too – kind of a mix of moody and mellow moments with a few others that have a bit more touch of holiday cheer. Some cuts are originals, others are reinterpretations of classics – and titles include "Sleep For Mama" by Vikingur Olafsson, "Wanting To Believe" by Roger & Brian Eno, "Coventry Carol" by Balmorhea, "Carol Of The Bells" by Vanbur, "Nu Zijt Wellekome" by Abbot, "What Gently Flowers" by Dustin O'Halloran & Bryan Senti, "Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming" by Ane Brun, and "Sinfonia" by Joep Beving. (Holiday Music, Out Sound)CD