Chamber Music

Chamber music by Taneyev, Arensky, Shostakovich and Catoire. Chances are the you have heard of the first two composers. But have you ever heard any of their chamber music? And Catoire? Well, this self-taught composer has been a well-hidden treasure whose small out-put is rarely performed.
Russian born violinist Boris Tsoukkerman introduced Catoire's interesting chamber music to some of his Dutch colleagues. As a result several recordings were made to share their enthusiasm about this repertoire with a wider audience. At the time none other that Tchaikovsky admonished Catoire to continue composing. And later on both Arensky and Taneyev advised him on his work. And Rachmaninorr too liked Catoire's music

This recording brings together four of Chausson's chamber works from different periods of his short life. His youthful Piano Trio and the Andante and Allegro date from April 1881; the Pièce for cello and piano—one of his last compositions—from 1897. Throughout his life the composer favoured vocal and chamber music. He wrote the Andante and Allegro (which is much more adventurous than its simple title implies) while preparing for the Prix de Rome. It was followed by the admirable and passionate Piano Trio in G minor, a work of an altogether different calibre and hue.

The KAAÅS Trio was founded in 2011 by three Finnish musicians full of initiative. Annemarie Åström is well versed in Nordic music for the violin, an active events organiser and Artistic Director of the Wegelius Chamber Strings. The cellist, Ulla Lampela, is a member of the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra and has produced hospital concerts in Helsinki for patients suffering from eating disorders, for psychiatric wards and for palliative care centres. Tiina Karakorpi, the pianist, has reaped major success in competitions and per-formed at prestigious concert venues around Europe. She is a constant advocate of equality in musical life, has recorded works by forgotten female composers and edited publications of their music.

Chamber Music is a collaboration between Ballake Sissoko, who plays the traditional kora, a lute-harp from Mali, and Vincent Segal, the French cellist who plays for the trip-hop band Bumcello. It is also, quite simply, one of the most elegant and beautiful recordings of world music in recent years. At a time when cross-cultural music has tended toward highly-caffeinated electric pop and dance music, Sissoke and Segal remind us that there is room and maybe even a need for a quieter, more refined world music. Both musicians have displayed an aptitude for defying expectations the list of trip-hop cellists is pretty short, after all. And Ballake Sissoko has become a familiar name on the world music scene through his work with American blues legend Taj Mahal and Italian minimalist Ludovico Einaudi, among others.

Alexander Borodin - Chamber Music Vol. III
Kinsky Trio Prague / Prazak Quartet
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,19 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 933 MB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Praga Digitals # PRD/DSD 250 288 | Country/Year: Czech Rep. 2011 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

…This disc offers music that is appealing if not top-drawer, and I recommend it, especially to those wishing to complete their collection of Borodin’s chamber music or explore his early efforts as a composer.