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PENTATONE

Troika / Haimovitz, O'Riley

$32.99 Only 2 left

Details

Composer
LENNON PROKOFIEV TSOI
Artist
Haimovitz, O'Riley
Format
SACD
Label
PENTATONE
Released
Oct 20, 2017
Catalog #
PTC5186608
UPC
827949060861

About

Acclaimed for their adventurous and wide-ranging recording projects – from Beethoven Sonatas on period instruments to genre-bending arrangements of Radiohead and Arcade Fire – the endlessly inventive duo of cellist Matt Haimovitz and pianist Christopher O’Riley returns to explore music of the Slavic soul. Anchored by the cello sonatas of the iconic triumvirate of Russian composers –Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich – and inspired by the subversive irony of Shostakovich’s Sonata, TROIKA also delves into more recently-written, unexpected, and popular works. Whether subtle or blatantly rebellious, each work potently reveals the strength of the artistic voice in the face of political repression in mother Russia.

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REVIEW:

Haimovitz and O’Riley really go to town—specifically, Moscow. The ‘Troika’ of their stylishly presented double-disc set comprises the three cello sonatas by Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, and Prokofiev, as well as a dizzying transcription of the eponymous lollipop from Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kijé—one of a series of spectacular virtuoso transcriptions that range from Shostakovich’s now ubiquitous Waltz No 2 to explosive versions of songs by Pussy Riot and The Beatles (‘Back in the USSR’, naturally).

Apparently there’s a political thesis behind these choices, but what really speaks is Haimovitz and O’Riley’s playing in the three sonatas. These are emotionally charged readings on the grandest scale. Haimovitz in particular plays with an articulate, vibrato-rich tone that he can refine down to an almost viola-like mellowness in, say, the Andante of the Rachmaninov, or send soaring and swooping (no shortage of portamento here) round O’Riley’s mountains of piano sound.

– Gramophone

Tracklist 17 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 Suite for Variety Stage Orchestra: Waltz No. 2 (arr. M. Haimovitz and C. O'Riley for cello and piano) 03:53
    Track
    1
    Title
    Suite for Variety Stage Orchestra: Waltz No. 2 (arr. M. Haimovitz and C. O'Riley for cello and piano)
    Duration
    03:53
    Composer
    Dmitri Shostakovich
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  3. 2 I. Allegro non troppo 12:52
    Track
    2
    Title
    I. Allegro non troppo
    Duration
    12:52
    Composer
    Dmitri Shostakovich
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  4. 3 II. Allegro 03:19
    Track
    3
    Title
    II. Allegro
    Duration
    03:19
    Composer
    Dmitri Shostakovich
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  5. 4 III. Largo 08:40
    Track
    4
    Title
    III. Largo
    Duration
    08:40
    Composer
    Dmitri Shostakovich
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  6. 5 IV. Allegro 04:07
    Track
    5
    Title
    IV. Allegro
    Duration
    04:07
    Composer
    Dmitri Shostakovich
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  7. 6 Lieutenant Kijé Suite, Op. 60: IV. Troika (arr. M. Haimovitz and C. O'Riley for cello and piano) 03:03
    Track
    6
    Title
    Lieutenant Kijé Suite, Op. 60: IV. Troika (arr. M. Haimovitz and C. O'Riley for cello and piano)
    Duration
    03:03
    Composer
    Sergei Prokofiev
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  8. 7 I. Andante grave 10:46
    Track
    7
    Title
    I. Andante grave
    Duration
    10:46
    Composer
    Sergei Prokofiev
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  9. 8 II. Moderato 04:48
    Track
    8
    Title
    II. Moderato
    Duration
    04:48
    Composer
    Sergei Prokofiev
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  10. 9 III. Allegro ma non troppo 07:43
    Track
    9
    Title
    III. Allegro ma non troppo
    Duration
    07:43
    Composer
    Sergei Prokofiev
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  11. Disc 2
  12. 1 I. Lento - Allegro moderato 13:31
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Lento - Allegro moderato
    Duration
    13:31
    Composer
    Sergei Rachmaninoff
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  13. 2 II. Allegro scherzando 06:46
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Allegro scherzando
    Duration
    06:46
    Composer
    Sergei Rachmaninoff
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  14. 3 III. Andante 05:41
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Andante
    Duration
    05:41
    Composer
    Sergei Rachmaninoff
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  15. 4 IV. Allegro mosso 10:17
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Allegro mosso
    Duration
    10:17
    Composer
    Sergei Rachmaninoff
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  16. 5 14 Songs, Op. 34: No. 14. Vocalise (arr. for cello and piano) 06:12
    Track
    5
    Title
    14 Songs, Op. 34: No. 14. Vocalise (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    06:12
    Composer
    Sergei Rachmaninoff
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  17. 6 Kukushka (arr. M. Haimovitz and C. O'Riley for cello and piano) 04:42
    Track
    6
    Title
    Kukushka (arr. M. Haimovitz and C. O'Riley for cello and piano)
    Duration
    04:42
    Composer
    Viktor Tsoi
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  18. 7 Punk Prayer, "Virgin Mary, Put Putin Away" (arr. M. Haimovitz and C. O'Riley for cello and piano) 02:51
    Track
    7
    Title
    Punk Prayer, "Virgin Mary, Put Putin Away" (arr. M. Haimovitz and C. O'Riley for cello and piano)
    Duration
    02:51
    Composer
    Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley
  19. 8 Back in the U.S.S.R. (arr. M. Haimovitz and C. O'Riley for cello and piano) 03:08
    Track
    8
    Title
    Back in the U.S.S.R. (arr. M. Haimovitz and C. O'Riley for cello and piano)
    Duration
    03:08
    Composer
    John Lennon, Paul McCartney
    Performer
    Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley