Notes and Editorial Reviews
The remarkable disc, emanating from the 1999 Danish Wave music festival in New York City (which also took in the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition), contains some spectacular music making. Yes, the repertoire selection is a bit of a mish-mash, but the performances are, one and all, stupendous. The disc begins with five of Nielsen's most beguiling songs, classic examples of "artful simplicity" sung with an easy naturalness by baritone Lars Thodberg. Langgaard's Third Quartet couldn't be more different. Although the notes mention a similarity to Bartók (whom the composer certainly did not know), Scriabin comes even more readily to mind. There's the same quixotic mixture of
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tonal and intensely chromatic elements, the same thematic compression (the entire three-movement work lasts a bit more than 13 minutes), and a nervous urgency that carries the listener along with feverish intensity. What's more, the Miró String Quartet plays with positively scorching ferocity, and the close-up recording gives the music a palpable, physical impact. Wow!
That last exclamation also describes this stunning performance of Nielsen's still too little known Violin Concerto. The reason for the work's neglect is simple: the first movement contains all the fireworks, and while the finale's relaxed, pastoral charm may represent the perfect emotional resolution of the purely musical contest between solo and orchestra, it simply isn't geared to bring the house down. Still, the piece can work in performance if the soloist attacks that last movement with an uplifting rhythmic lilt and a certain rustic vigor, without undue haste. That's exactly what Saeka Matsuyama (the Nielsen competition's silver medallist and special prize winner) does. She also offers perfect intonation and fearlessly conquers the first movement's virtuoso passages. Given a perfectly idiomatic accompaniment from Jan Wagner and the Odense Symphony Orchestra, the result is as fine a version of this work as any. The live recording has great presence and immediacy, with excellent balances despite the close miking. In sum, Bridge has given us a great souvenir of what must have been a terrific music festival.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Quartet for Strings no 3, BVN 183 by Rued Langgaard
Performer:
Daniel Ching (Violin),
Joshua Gindele (Cello),
Sandy Yamamoto (Violin),
John Largess (Viola)
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Miró String Quartet
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1924; Denmark
Date of Recording: 10/04/1999
Venue: Merkin Hall, Abraham Goodman House, NYC
Length: 14 Minutes 42 Secs.
2.
Songs (5), FS 12/Op. 4 by Carl Nielsen
Performer:
Lars Thodberg Bertelsen (Baritone),
Frode Stengaard (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1891; Denmark
Date of Recording: 10/04/1999
Venue: Live Merkin Hall, Abraham Goodman House, NYC
Length: 12 Minutes 20 Secs.
Language: Danish
3.
Concerto for Violin, Op. 33 by Carl Nielsen
Performer:
Saeka Matsuyama (Violin)
Conductor:
Jan Wagner
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Odense Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1911; Denmark
Date of Recording: 10/30/1999
Venue: Live Manhattan School of Music, New York City
Length: 34 Minutes 28 Secs.
Sound Samples
Five Songs: I. Sang bag Ploven
Five Songs: II. Dengang Doden var i vente
Five Songs: IV. Irmelin Rose
Five Songs: V. Min Pige er saa lys som Rav
String Quartet No. 3: I. Poco allegro rapinoso
String Quartet No. 3: II. Presto scherzo artifizioso
String Quartet No. 3: III. Tranquillo
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 33: I. Praeludium, Largo; Allegro cavalleresco
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 33: II. Poco adagio; Rondo; Allegretto scherzando
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