Gubaidulina: The Canticle Of The Sun - CD

ENGLISH

Sofia <span data-scayt_word="Gubaidulina’s" data-scaytid="1">Gubaidulina's</span> <span data-scayt_word="80th" data-scaytid="4">80th</span> birthday in October 2011 generated much press coverage around the world, appropriately stressing the uniqueness and the variety of her compositional approaches. Both are in evidence on these recordings from <span data-scayt_word="Lockenhaus" data-scaytid="5">Lockenhaus</span>. <span data-scayt_word="Gidon" data-scaytid="8">Gidon</span> Kremer is the soloist and <span data-scayt_word="Kremerata" data-scaytid="9">Kremerata</span> <span data-scayt_word="Baltica" data-scaytid="10">Baltica</span> the ensemble on the premiere recording of "The Lyre of Orpheus", dedicated to the memory of <span data-scayt_word="Gubaidulina’s" data-scaytid="2">Gubaidulina's</span> daughter. Kremer has long been a committed advocate of <span data-scayt_word="Gubaidulina’s" data-scaytid="3">Gubaidulina's</span> work, and the composer has praised the way the violinist seems to unleash music from the soul. In this work of austere beauty and raw lyricism, violin, string orchestra and percussion intermingle in new ways. At a subterranean level, the piece is also an exploration into acoustic phenomena and the physics of sound, with pulsating difference tones part of its underlying structures. "The Lyre of Orpheus" was recorded in 2006, a month after Kremer gave the first performance. "Canticle of the Sun", recorded in 2010, revisits the celebrated piece that <span data-scayt_word="Gubaiduilina" data-scaytid="11">Gubaiduilina</span> wrote in tribute to <span data-scayt_word="Mstislav" data-scaytid="12">Mstislav</span> <span data-scayt_word="Rostropovich" data-scaytid="13">Rostropovich</span> on the occasion of his <span data-scayt_word="70th" data-scaytid="14">70th</span> birthday in 1997. <span data-scayt_word="Rostropovich’s" data-scaytid="15">Rostropovich's</span> famously sunny disposition was an inspiration, by association prompting <span data-scayt_word="Gubaidulina" data-scaytid="16">Gubaidulina</span> to set St Francis of Assisi's "Canticle of the Sun" for choir. In this recording, Nicolas <span data-scayt_word="Altstaedt" data-scaytid="17">Altstaedt</span>, one of the most accomplished cellists of his generation, takes on the highly expressive lead role. A further, timely, <span data-scayt_word="Lockenhaus" data-scaytid="6">Lockenhaus</span> connection here: as of this year, <span data-scayt_word="Altsteadt" data-scaytid="18">Altsteadt</span> takes over from Kremer as the new director of the <span data-scayt_word="Lockenhaus" data-scaytid="7">Lockenhaus</span> Chamber Music Festival.