Kristjan Jarvi

Fusions of the music of J.S. Bach with contemporary popular and vernacular-based traditions comes in many flavors; even bluegrass mandolinist Chris Thile is reportedly set to release a Bach album. This one, by Estonian conductor Kristjan Järvi and his Absolute Ensemble, is both more fearless and better than most. The Absolute Ensemble is a young group whose members are encouraged to explore classical music with improvisatory freedom, with classical musicians exploring jazz and vice versa. "To be, this would be a dream come true. It's as if the Palestinians and the Israelis would agree to a lasting peace," Järvi says.

The music of Steve Reich has been heard in various venues, including electronic music dance clubs, but the full symphony orchestra treatment has been rare. That is changing, however, with the tenure of Kristjan Järvi as chief conductor of the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the result in that musically conservative, German city is this major-label double album of Reich's music, in many respects a first. Järvi's enthusiasm for the project is palpable here, most obviously in the live performance of the early Reich standard Clapping Music, which he and the composer perform together to the approval of the crowd.

The pop-minimalist music of Max Richter has been gaining followers beyond his native Germany and his residence of Britain thanks to some highly successful soundtracks and energetic promotion by the Deutsche Grammophon label, which recorded Exiles in 2019 and released it in 2021. Here, he is interpreted by the Baltic Sea Philharmonic and its conductor, Kristjan Järvi. Richter selected the group himself, and it was a good choice. The Baltic musicians have plenty of experience with the glassy, precise textures of minimalism, and they deliver accomplished readings. Exiles comprises 18 short sections with a simple pulse, slightly modifying – in classic minimalist fashion – a pattern laid out at the beginning.

This breath-taking new album features exceptional works by two of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century: The Violin Concerto No.1 by American minimalist composer Philip Glass and Igor Stravinsky's neoclassical Violin Concerto in D major.

An interesting coupling of two chamber symphonies (one from the old world and one from the new) yet, Adams himself admits his work is only a superficial resemblance to its predecessor. His chamber symphony served as a mere starting point for a new and challenging compositional format.