Rochberg: Violin Sonata, Caprice Variations / Peter Sheppard Skærved, Aaron Shorr

$27.99
Label
Metier
Release Date
March 28, 2011
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      ROCHBERG, GEORGE
    • PERFORMER
      Shorr, Skaerved
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      March 28, 2011
    • UPC
      809730852121
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      MSV28521
    • LABEL
      Metier
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      2
    • GENRE
      Instrumental
    Works ⌄

    1. I. Sarabande: Molto adagio con tenerezza

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved, Aaron Shorr

    2. II. Scherzo capriccioso, con spirito

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved, Aaron Shorr

    3. III. Ardentemente -

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved, Aaron Shorr

    4. III. Adagio

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved, Aaron Shorr

    5. No. 1. Allegro energico

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    6. No. 2. Presto

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    7. No. 3. Allegro molto e con fucco

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    8. No. 4. Poco allegro ma quasi recitando

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    9. No. 5. Poco agitato ma con molto rubato

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    10. No. 6. Poco allegretto ma con molto rubato

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    11. No. 7. Presto (after Beethoven Op. 74 Scherzo)

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    12. No. 8. Languido (after Schubert Waltz Op. 9, No. 22)

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    13. No. 9. Non troppo presto (after Brahms Op. 35, Book 1, No. 2)

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    14. No. 10. Vivace (after Brahms Op. 35, Book 1, No. 3)

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    15. No. 11. Andante (after Brahms Op. 35, Book 1, No. 11)

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    16. No. 12. Andante com moto (after Brahms Op. 35, Book 1, No. 12)

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    17. No. 13. Feroce, energico (after Brahms Op. 35, Book 2, No.10)

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    18. No. 14. Alla guitarra; allegretto con molto rubato

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    19. No. 15. Con grazia; un poco agitato

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    20. No. 16. Andante amoroso

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    21. No. 17. Poco adagio

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    22. No. 18. Allegro fantastico

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    23. No. 19. Vivace

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    24. No. 20. Quasi cadenza: Andante con molto espressivo

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    25. No. 21. Allegro con brio (after Beethoven Symphony No. 7, Finale)

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    26. No. 22. Molto espressivo e cantando

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    27. No. 23. Andante graziso e tranquillo

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    28. No. 24. Allegretto

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    29. No. 25. Scherzo

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    30. No. 26. Con brio

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    31. No. 27. Aria

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    32. No. 28. Molto agitato

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    33. No. 29. Lento ma non troppo

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    34. No. 30. Poco allegretto e leggiero

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    35. No. 31. Molto adagio

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    36. No. 32. Allegro assai, burlesco

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    37. No. 33. Moderato - Con amore

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    38. No. 34. Molto adagio

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    39. No. 35. Allegro molto - Fantastico

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    40. No. 36. Largo - Sereno

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    41. No. 37. Barcarolle

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    42. No. 38. Can-Can Tempo - Presto

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    43. No. 39. Elegiac; fantastico

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    44. No. 40. Robust, do not rush

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    45. No. 41. Allegro molto (after Webern Passacaglia Op. 1)

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    46. No. 42. Nocturnal: slow

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    47. No. 43. Andantino

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    48. No. 44. Scherzo (after Mahler Symphony No. 5: Scherzo)

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    49. No. 45. Presto

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    50. No. 46. Bravura, sempre recitando, in the "grand manner"

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    51. No. 47. Arabesque, fantastico

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    52. No. 48. Moderately fast, fantastico

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    53. No. 49. Feroce

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    54. No. 50. Fantasy

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved

    55. No. 51. Quasi Presto, robusto (Paganini's Theme: Caprice 24, Book 2)

      Composer: George Rochberg

      Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved


Metier continues its faithful dedication to contemporary music by adding this remarkable release to its already abundant collection. The double-disc release is devoted to the American composer George Rochberg’s (1918-2005) two violin works – the Violin Sonata for violin and piano, and the Caprice Variations for solo violin, previously issued under the same label in 2003.

Rochberg is a composer who embraces a broad spectrum of compositional styles and genres throughout his long span of musical career. Plunged into Schoenbergian serialism in his early years, Rochberg, after the death of his son in 1964, discarded the technique and turned to a musical language that mixed abstract chromaticism with tonal idioms. The Violin Sonata, written in 1988, is a telling exemplification of his late style. The profound emotional expression in all four movements is characterized by the constant employment of atonality and tonal variety.

The Caprice Variations, in which Rochberg masterfully blends Modernist and Classical elements, is a beguiling, if not bemusing, composition. The one-and-a-half-hour long solo violin work begins with a theme that incorporates traditional tonal harmony in the manner of Bach’s solo violin partita – diatonic sequences, balanced phrases, and perfect cadences. Musical humor continues by the composer echoing the styles of our great predecessors such as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, and Mahler – some more tacitly, some more overtly. Apart from appreciating Rochberg’s musical humor and wisdom, one may well wish to treat the variations as an entertaining test of musicianship while listening.

The marvelous recording quality captures both the music’s refined details and the sense of ample space. The informative booklet, written mainly by the violinist himself, devotes its central focus to the portrait of the composer’s personality and aesthetic philosophy. Being a long-term musical collaborator and an intimate comrade of the composer, Skærved would be the ideal one to take up the job. Not only is the general description of the performer’s rehearsing and recording procedures included, the booklet also encompasses some interesting and thought-provoking conversations between the musicians that enable the readers to have a better understanding on both the composer’s compositional process and the performer’s reception towards the music. I would have welcomed some more detailed information on the composer’s general compositional style(s) and the analytical commentary of the two works in this album so that less experienced listeners could also be benefited.

After all, an outstanding recording that provides wonderful listening experiences.

-- Danny Kim-Nam Hui, ConcertoNet.com