Various Artists Conception

Qu’elles soient macabres, diaboliques, tristes, transcendantes, russes ou italiennes, ces « Voltiges » obéissent à la tyrannie de la virtuosité.

Any DJ set tells you, unconsciously or not, about its author. Through the record choices and the way they are organized, one can feel the DJ’s state of mind and find out a bit more about the musical deposit discovered that is being shared and dug through by him or her at the moment.

Frank Kimbrough has been a brilliant and often-overlooked pianist on the scene for more than 30 years. His brilliance is right there in the music, no great mystery. His overlooked-ness is a bit more puzzling, but also less of an issue now than it was earlier in his career.

A Super Soul Conception by Marvin Jones. A Compilation by Kev Roberts.

Ståle Kleiberg is a major Norwegian composer with a considerable international reputation. The works on this album represent a lesser-known, but valuable, part of his output. His innovatory approach, formal command and technical mastery are especially apparent in his chamber music oeuvre, and it is gratifying to be able to present the following selection here: String Quartet No. 2, Ruf und Nachklang, Ashes, Piano Trio No. 2, Sonata for Violin and Cello and Sonanza e cadenza.

Today, the label of “classical music” covers an enormous timespan, and, within it, a variety of genres. In some cases, one could say that a particular work was a “Classic” since its premiere, or even since its conception. Arguably, Beethoven imagined his Ninth Symphony as aiming at the status of “Classic” well before it was ready for performance. His standing at the time, his unquestionable genius, and the efforts he put in its creation were just as many guarantees for the Symphony’s reception and for its lasting appreciation.Such works were conceived from the outset for public performance; they may require a large ensemble of professionals in order to be played, and a large venue to be enjoyed. In a way, these are the “classics of classical music”.However, today the umbrella of “classical music” covers also a great number of works which never aimed at such a status. They were works conceived for private performance, for “immediate consumption”, so to speak, and for the delight of their players more than of their listeners (if listeners were at all present).In other words, works which were intended as the “light music” of the past have become now, by virtue of their age rather than of their intrinsic qualities, part of “classical music”. This includes also their displacement from the private home to the concert hall (or to the recording medium).