Gara Garayev was the leading Azerbaijani composer of the twentieth century. His music fuses the western traditions exemplified by his teacher Shostakovich an the classical and folk heritage of his homeland. The two works recorded here illustrate Garayev’s stylistic range: his Violin Sonata (1960) is Neoclssical in manner, whereas the 24 Preludes (1951-63) combine influences from the Russian piano school (not least Prokofiev) with elements from Azeri modes and the rhythms of Arabic-Persian lyric poetry. This recording introduces the stellar violinist Vadim Repin to the Toccata Classics label. The presentation includes a bonus video of the film Sonates d’automne, shot during the recording of this album.
Brouwer: Concierto de Benicassim - Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez - Martin: Guitare
Naxos
CD · 1 disc
$19.99Apr 08, 2016
This recording brings together two undisputed 20th century masterpieces and one from the 21st, all of which share surprising stories of neglect. With its sublime Adagio, Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez has become a true phenomenon in the history of Western music, but like the original version of Frank Martin’s extraordinarily powerful Guitare it suffered disapproval from its dedicatee Andrés Segovia. Echoes of Rodrigo can be heard in the cinematic romanticism of Leo Brouwer’s Concierto de Benicàssim, described by the composer as “a panorama of my own ideas” and revived here by Miguel Trápaga a decade after its première.
