For the Record, Op. 44: New Recordings by Daniel Hope; Orava Quartet; Turtle Island Quartet
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!
Daniel Hope. Photo by Cooper & Gorfer, courtesy Deutsche Grammophon.
Journey to Mozart
Daniel Hope, violin
Violinist Daniel Hope, who is Music Director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and this year became Artistic Partner of San Francisco’s New Century Chamber Orchestra,
This album aims to put the Classical period in context, with violin concertos by Haydn, Josef Myslivecek, and Mozart, as well as excerpts from Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, a Romance by Johann Peter Salomon, and Mozart’s Adagio in E and Rondo alla turca, in a new arrangement for orchestra. "I love researching different styles of music," Hope said. "So much of Mozart’s music is so modern, so revolutionary that I find it hard to relate the term ‘Classical’ to it. We often use the word today to mean old-fashioned, and yet Mozart is anything but old-fashioned. I find the Classical style and period of music history to be fascinating, because it was at this time that composers began to be themselves, to break away from serving kings and princes and gain their independence as artists. We see how the Classical style, governed by the rules of music, became a way of life. It was out of this order that the idea of the brilliant artist was born; it was the beginning of the way we think about music today." BELOW: Excerpts from a special new arrangement of Mozart's Piano Sonata No.11 In A, K.331 -"Alla Turca" - 3. Alla Turca (Arr. For Violin Solo And Chamber Orchestra By Olivier Fourés):
Tchaikovsky-Rachmaninov-Shostakovich
Orava Quartet
Daniel Kowalik, violin
David Dalseno, violin
Thomas Chawner, viola
Karol Kowalik, cello
The Australian-based Orava Quartet's debut album with Deutsche Grammophon Australia features Tchaikovsky's first String Quartet in D major, Op. 11 (which includes the famous Andante cantabile second movement); the little-known fragmented String Quartet of Rachmaninov, in which only two movements have survived; and Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8, Op. 110. It also includes Australian soprano Greta Bradman, singing Rachmaninov's famous Vocalise, arranged especially for this recording for soprano and double string quartet by Australian composer Richard Mills AM. The Orava Quartet performed both quartet parts, overdubbing themselves in the studio. The album was recorded across three days in June 2017 at Cannon Hill Anglican College in Brisbane, and was engineered by Geoff McGahan. BELOW: the album trailer, introducing this young quartet and including excerpts from the album.
Birds Eye View
Turtle Island Quartet
David Balakrishnan, violin
Alex Hargreaves, violin
Malcolm Parson, cello
Benjamin von Guzeit, viola
Jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker is the inspiration for this album, in which Parker classics such as "KoKo," "A Night In Tunisia," and "Dewey Square" are juxtaposed with original responses by quartet members, and intertwined with other thematic pieces from the bebop era and beyond such as Sonny Rollins’ "Airegin," "Miles Ahead" by Gil Evans/Miles Davis, and "Subconscious-Lee" by Lee Konitz. It also includes a newly commissioned work, "Aeroelasticity: Harmonies Of Impermanence," composed by the group’s founder and first violinist, David Balakrishnan. BELOW: The TISQ performs "Subconscious-Lee" by cool jazz saxophone legend Lee Konitz:
If you have a new recording you would like us to consider for inclusion in our Thursday "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:
- Interview with Daniel Hope: Four Seasons, For Seasons
- For the Record, Op. 43: New Recordings by Tomás Cotik; Judith Ingolfsson; Peter Herresthal; Gautier Capuçon
- For the Record, Op. 42: Kelly Hall-Tompkins' 'Fiddler' album; cellist Maya Beiser; Damla Bozkurt (DMLLL)
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February 12, 2018 at 12:10 PM · The Turtle Island guys are cool. I don't really understand why people seem to think "jazz" automatically means "no vibrato." Bebop horn players used it. Also, their solos: Written out or improvised? The former I guess.