duet Archive

STRAVINSKY: Music for Violin and Piano  Vol.1 – Ilya Gingolts/ Peter Lauls – BIS 

STRAVINSKY: Music for Violin and Piano  Vol.1 – Ilya Gingolts/ Peter Lauls – BIS 

STRAVINSKY: Music for Violin and Piano  Vol.1 – Ilya Gingolts/ Peter Lauls – BIS SACD 2245, 60:48, (7/7/17) ****½:  In Stravinsky’s late-period laboratory of chamber music reinvention. Stravinsky was famously skeptical of the violin, especially in combination with the piano.  Well into his career, he had produced no chamber music with this conventional pairing. In his own words: “For many years I had taken no pleasure in the blend of strings struck in the piano with strings set in vibration with the bow. In order to reconcile myself to this instrumental combination I was compelled to turn to the minimum of instruments, that is to say, only two, in which I saw the possibility of solving the instrumental and acoustic problem.” This changed in 1930, when he met the violinist Samuel Dushkin. This meeting provided both inspiration and insight in how to write for these two instruments. He made up for lost time with a new productivity in chamber music, a genre one does not usually associate with the Maestro. This release features the violin/piano music that arose from this fruitful encounter circa the early 1930’s. What we have are mostly arrangements made by Stravinsky himself from the famous ballets […]

Steve REICH, “Duet” = Duet for Two Solo Violins, compositions – MDR Leipzig Symph. Orch./MDR Leipzig Radio Choir/Kristjan Järvi – Sony Classical

Steve REICH, “Duet” = Duet for Two Solo Violins, compositions – MDR Leipzig Symph. Orch./MDR Leipzig Radio Choir/Kristjan Järvi – Sony Classical

Steve REICH, “Duet” = Duet for Two Solo Violins, compositions [Tracklist follows] – MDR Leipzig Symphony Orchestra/MDR Leipzig Radio Choir/Kristjan Järvi – Sony Classical 88985366362 (2 CDs), 92:58, (11/11/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Some of Reich’s best works given excellent performances, As one of the founding composers and one of the best known of America’s minimalism movement, Steve Reich has been incredibly consistent. He continues to write music that is very recognizably of his own signature style and I think always of high quality. The best thing about his output – and of others of his generation, most notably Philip Glass and John Adams – is that he writes in a very personal idiom that has evolved over the years and yet cannot be simplistically labeled as ‘minimalist’ – let alone be confused for music by others such as Glass and Adams. (and the same can and should be said of them, as well) To me, there are two elements to Steve’s music that help to define his art; almost all of his pieces have a very buoyant and recognizable rhythmic ‘palate’ for rhythms have always been an even bigger hallmark of Reich’s music than other composers and – often […]

Jeff RUPERT & Richard DREXLER – Imagination – MediaRupe

Jeff RUPERT & Richard DREXLER – Imagination – MediaRupe

Jeff RUPERT & Richard DREXLER – Imagination – MediaRupe 016 CD, 57:52 (1/2/17) ****: (Jeff Rupert; tenor sax/ Richard Drexler; piano) Two University of Central Florida instructors go deep into a mid-80s Stan Getz bag. It was John Coltrane himself who famously said of his contemporary/rival Stan Getz, “Let’s face it. We would all sound like that if we could.”  As it turned out, Coltrane had the more numerous imitators and followers, yet the Getz sound has not lost its magic, nor has the critical esteem for his supreme lyrical gifts waned. They represent nearly unattainable ideals within the jazz tradition. Thus, it is all the more surprising to come upon an Orlando-based musician who has mastered down to the details this style and can pass for a persuasive facsimile of Mr. Getz himself on “Imagination,” a duet with fellow University of Central Florida music program instructor Richard Drexler. The live performance takes place at the White House, an Orlando institution founded by Cirque du Soleil musical director Benoit Glazer. In front of an appreciative crowd, Rupert steps up to the mike and delivers a most exacting personification of Getz at his best on “Without a Song.” Sustained notes contain […]

Presley – The Wonder Of You – Elvis Presley With The Royal Philharmonic Orch. – RCA Legacy

Presley – The Wonder Of You – Elvis Presley With The Royal Philharmonic Orch. – RCA Legacy

A CD compilation of Elvis tracks. Presley – The Wonder Of You – Elvis Presley With The Royal Philharmonic Orch. – RCA Legacy [10/21/16], 51:15 ***1/2: (Elvis Presley – vocals, bass; James Burton – guitar; John Parricelli – guitar; Steve Pearce – bass; Ralph Salmins – drums; Pete Murray – piano; Gen D. Hardin – piano; Reggie Young – guitar; D.J. Fontata – drums; Don Reedman – guitar; Charlie McCoy – organ; Don Reedman – guitar; Nick patrick – guitar; Floyd Cramer – piano; Nick Patrick – percussion;; Jochem Van Der Saag – organ; Tommy Tedesco – guitar; Dennis Linde – guitar; Robin Smith – string arrangements; Chris Walden – orchestral arrangements; Steve Sidwell – brass, string arrangements) The Elvis Presley cultural legacy seems endless. Nearly forty years after his death, new recordings are being released by his estate. This is not a commercialization phenomenon to only Presley. The Beatles released a single with John Lennon on lead vocal as part of the Anthology series. Natalie Cole recorded a version of “Unforgettable” with her iconic father. So it is no surprise that the “King Of Rock And Roll” has gotten into this act. The latest album is The Wonder Of […]

SAINT-SAENS: Music for Piano Duo and Duet, Vol. One = Martin Jones & Adrian Farmer, p. – Nimbus

SAINT-SAENS: Music for Piano Duo and Duet, Vol. One = Martin Jones & Adrian Farmer, p. – Nimbus

A deliciously joyful collection of four-hand work to complement your Saint-Saens library. SAINT-SAENS: Music for Piano Duo and Duet, Vol. One = Tarantelle, Op. 6; Duettino in G Major, Op. 11; Le Rouet d’Omphale, Op. 31; Koenig Harald Harfagar, Op. 59; Septet: Menuet & Gavotte; Polonaise, Op. 77; Feuillet d’album, Op. 81; Berceuse, Op. 105; Scherzo, Op. 87; Pas redouble in B-flat Major, Op. 86 – Martin Jones & Adrian Farmer, pianos – Nimbus Alliance NI 5940 65:35 (8/12/16) [www.wyastone.co.uk] ****: This recording (May & October 2015) presents the first of two volumes of original compositions and arrangements for piano duo and duet by Camille Saint-Saëns. This program offers the substantial Scherzo, Op. 87 and Polonaise, Op. 77 for two pianos, alongside a number of smaller works for two pianos and piano four hands. Saint-Saens (1835-1921)himself re-cast several of his chamber music compositions for piano-duo performance, as in his 1857 Tarantelle, Op. 6.  Typically, this composer’s music enjoys the brio of life, its sparkle and elan. Playful clarity combines with serenity in craft and security of expression. The other significant chamber music arrangement, from the 1880 Septet, Op. 65, arranges the staid Menuet & Gavotte in liquid tones. Two orchestral […]