Samuel Barber

Samuel Barber's cello concerto has long been considered the weak sister among his three concertos for solo instrument; this release may alter that perception. It was written in 1945, when he was thirty-five, a time in his life when he was still brimming with confidence about his music, not yet on the defensive against attacks received from many quarters, and not yet attempting to bring contemporary elements into his work. Some of the brouhaha was well-intentioned: Americans in the musical world naturally wanted our first internationally successful composer to represent us at our best, our newest and freshest; others decried his conservative romanticism out of personal jealousy at his wide acceptance.

Born in 2000, Swedish violinist Johan Dalene is already making an impact on the international scene. His refreshingly honest musicality, combined with an ability to engage with musicians and audiences alike, has won him many admirers. Johan began playing the violin at the age of four and made his professional concerto debut three years later. A student at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, he has also worked closely with mentors including Janine Jansen, Leif Ove Andsnes and Gidon Kremer. Johan has been a prize winner at a number of competitions, most recently the prestigious Carl Nielsen Competition at which he won First Prize.

Keller Quartett - Ligeti String Quartets & Barber Adagio (2013) {ECM New Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 191 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 121 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 11Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 ECM New Series | ECM 2197
Classical / Chamber Music

György Ligeti was a member in good standing of the musical avant-garde of the mid-20th century, while Samuel Barber was, at the same time, one of the most prominent neo-Romantic composers. They would seem to be an odd couple on this 2013 release on ECM New Series, for Ligeti's two string quartets and Barber's Molto adagio from the String Quartet No. 2 (known in various arrangements as "Barber's Adagio") appear to come from opposing camps, if not different worlds.

It was an imaginative idea to flank Dvorak's Czech-flavoured, turn-of-the-century view of the American outdoors with a pair of twentieth-century American quartets—the one, a passionate essay in musical dialogue, the other, a fairly radical study in proto-minimalism. There's an additional 'theme' in that Dvorak nourished his F major Quartet with 'American Indian-style' tunes and Glass flavoured his Quartet No. 1 with suggestions of Asian Indian music (for example, pizzicato cello glissandos)…I enjoyed it a great deal and felt that the Duke Quartet enjoyed it too. The Barber Quartet has the now highly popular Adagio at its core, yet its restless, rather Ivesian outer movements are hardly less attractive. Listening to it after the Dvorak highlights an honesty, sincerity and melodic sense common to both works, although Dvorak's easy tunefulness and breezy structure bespeak extra experience and a far more distinctive style. The Duke Quartet's performances are pert and lively…the Glass isn't otherwise available (at least not in this country) and its present programming context makes for a most engaging hour's listening.

Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto is well-suited to Hilary Hahn’s expressive range and technical proficiency. Perhaps it is also an ideal vehicle for her impressive musicality, which always overrides virtuosic flashiness. Hahn’s seriousness is matched by the work’s earnest style, and her intellectual grasp of the music is as strong as her emotional commitment to it. Hahn opens the neo-Romantic Allegro with a full sound, complemented by the artful writing for winds. B