ECM CD-1824: RAVEL Tzigane / ENESCU Sonata No. 3 etc Leonidas KAVAKOS

Description: ****Welcome to our listing, thanks very much for looking!Leonidas Kavakos (born 30 October 1967) is a Greek violinist and conductor. As a violinist, he has won prizes at several international violin competitions, including the Sibelius, Paganini, and Indianapolis competitions. He has also recorded for record labels such as Sony/BMG and BIS. As a conductor, he was an artistic director of the Camerata Salzburg and has been a guest conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Born in Athens into a musical family, Kavakos first learned to play the violin when he was five and later enrolled in the Hellenic Conservatory, studying with Stelios Kafantaris. An Onassis Foundation scholarship enabled him to attend master classes with Josef Gingold at Indiana University. He made his concert debut at the Athens Festival in 1984. In 1985, he won the International Sibelius Competition in Helsinki and in 1986 won silver medal in the Indianapolis International Violin Competition. He also took first prizes at the Naumburg Competition in New York (1988) and the Paganini Violin Competition (1988). This record pairs two composers linked by personal and stylistic association with two performers ideally suited to their music technically and temperamentally. Both composer were attracted to gypsy music, as is shown in the works included here: one early and one late work each. Both were members of Fauré's composition class at the Paris Conservatoire, and it seems likely that Ravel's violin sonata--written in 1897 but not published until 1975--with its lush, impressionist texture and soaring, high-flying violin line, was inspired by Enescu's playing and first performed by the two of them, as was Ravel's second, famous sonata three decades later. However, Enescu was not involved with Ravel's Tzigane, dedicated to the young Hungarian virtuoso Jelly d'Aranyi, perhaps because by 1924 he had turned away from pure bravura gypsy fiddling. His own Third Violin Sonata is influenced more by specifically Roumanian folk music; some of the melodic lines, harmonic progressions and general air of melancholy have an almost Oriental character. The 10 Impressions are fascinating, depicting moods, situations and visual scenes, complete with sound effects like squeaking birds, cuckoo clocks, and whistling wind. The main interest of this record, however, is in the playing, and it is spectacular. Kavakos, multiple prize-winner in Europe and America, is a stunning virtuoso but seems uninterested in mere technical display, tossing off the most hair-raising fireworks, from bravura bowings to double harmonics, with casual ease. His tone has a uniquely personal expressiveness; dark, pure, focused, and variable, it can glow intensely or float delicately. Identifying naturally with the idiomatic rhythms, harmonies, and character of the music, he plays with great warmth and passion--a sort of controlled abandon. This must be one of the best Tziganes on record, and Nagy, a splendid pianist and partner, almost sounds like a orchestra. --Edith Eisler The selection of works by Maurice Ravel and George Enescu on this 2003 disc brings to mind their common interest in using exotic folk material -- note the Romanian-styled themes in Enescu's Impressions d'enfance and the Sonata No. 3, and the gypsy elements in Ravel's Tzigane -- as well as their shared tendency toward strong coloristic effects and atmospheric harmonies. Yet Ravel's fledgling student work, the Sonate posthume, is out of place on the program. Clearly influenced by Gabriel Fauré and redolent of fin de siècle sweetness, it is not as challenging or innovative as the other pieces, and seems a peculiar choice for ECM's New Series -- unless its late publication in 1975 qualifies it for inclusion. That quibble aside, violinist Leonidas Kavakos and pianist Peter Nagy deliver a moody but elegant performance of this early composition, and play the Enescu works and Tzigane with abundant wit, energy, and fire. Kavakos may seem the most interesting member of the duo to follow, for his playing is quite intense and his parts more audibly virtuosic. But Nagy holds his own, and his solid, unshowy accompaniment gives Kavakos strong support and ample room for brilliance. ECM's sound quality is excellent. - Blair Sanderson Long out of print and a rare CD title, this is a USED / OPENED CD, in excellent plus overall condition, PRESSED and ISSUED by ECM of a highly collectible title from their catalog, featuring - Maurice Ravel / George Enescu CD Title - Ravel: Sonate Posthume / Tzigane - Rapsodie de ConcertEnescu: Impressions d'enfance, Op. 28 / Sonata No. 3 Op. 25 Track Listing -1. Sonate Posthume - 14:282. Impressions D'Enfance Op. 28 - 24:51 2.1. Ménétrier (Allegro Deciso, Non Mosso) 2.2. Vieux Mendiant (Un Poco Andante, Malinconico) 2.3. Rousselet Au Fond Du Jardin (Andante Tranquillo E Flessibile) 2.4. L'Oiseau En Cage Et Le Coucou Au Mur (Andantino) 2.5. Chanson Pour Bercer (Con Moto Moderato) 2.6. Grillon (A Tempo Tranquillo) 2.7. Lune À Travers Les Vitres (Molto Tranquillo) 2.8. Vent Dans La Cheminée (Allegretto Moderato) 2.9. Tempête Au Dehors, Dans La Nuit 2.10. Lever De Soleil Sonata No. 3 For Violin And Piano A Minor, Op. 25 3. I Moderato Malinconco - 9:47 4. II Andante Sostenuto E Misterioso - 9:47 5. III Allegro Con Brio, Ma Non Troppo Mosso - 8:11 6. Tzigane ‎– Rapsodie De Concert - 10:32Performed by -Recorded At – Radio Studio DRS • Composed By – George Enescu (tracks: 2 to 5), Maurice Ravel (tracks: 1, 6) • Engineer [Tonmeister] – Stephan Schellmann • Piano – Péter Nagy • Producer – Manfred Eicher • Violin – Leonidas Kavakos The CD is from the rare ECM series of LONG Out of Print CDs. CD catalog # ECM 1824 (B0001485-02)CD made in the USACD issued in 2003Recorded March 2002 Radio Studio DRS, Zürich The CD, JEWEL CASE AND INSERTS are all in excellent overall condition - the CD has some very light marks on the reflective side of the disc, nothing serious - play tested perfectly. The jewel case shows a bit of shelf wear...see pictures with this listing as they are of the actual item. This CD is an audiophile quality pressing (any collector of fine MFSL, half speeds, direct to discs, Japanese/UK pressings etc., can attest to the difference a quality pressing can make to an audio system).Do not let this rarity slip by!

Price: 19.99 USD

Location: New York, New York

End Time: 2024-12-25T20:26:00.000Z

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