[bart]

Originally Posted by eljr

Gidon Kremer / Kremerata Baltica
New Seasons

My first 5 star rating of the year.

Violin Concerto No. 2 "The American Four Seasons" by Philip Glass is simply amazing.

Tremendous power, clarity and simplicity.

Funny part is, All Music gave both

Ex contrario, for violin, cello, strings, keyboard (sampler), bass guitar and performance CD
Giya Kancheli

and

Yumeji's Theme (from the movie In the Mood for Love)
Shigeru Umebayashi

(presentations 3 and 4 on the CD) a highly recommended excellent track note.

So really, it's impossible to not find this a wonderful recording for all collections.

Originally Posted by bart

Glass - Pärt - Kancheli - Umebayashi - New Seasons
Kremerata Baltica, Gidon Kremer
Qobuz 24/192




Special mix of works.
The Glass and Pärt pieces were well known to me.
The Kancheli and Umebayashi are discoveries.
This was a second listen.

The album got: '5 De Diapason' & 'Exceptional Sound Recording'

The New Seasons referred to in the title here are the so-called American Four Seasons, the Violin Concerto No. 2 of Philip Glass, which has even less of a connection to Vivaldi's model than do Astor Piazzolla's Buenos Aires Four Seasons and other works that take Vivaldi as a point of reference. The work is in eight sections, but which ones are supposed to represent which season is left up to the listener. It's really a typical but unusually effective example of late-period Glass, with the composer's usual textures intact but lots of harmonic motion. Part of the interest here lies in hearing Latvian violinist and conductor Gidon Kremer and his Kremerata Baltica, long champions of minimalism's Baltic branch, tackle a work by one of the leaders of Western minimalism. The American Four Seasons get a treatment that's a bit rougher than usual, but then Kremer turns around (after a Pärt girls' choir interlude) and delivers pristinely smooth, glassy textures in Giya Kancheli's Ex contrario. The program closes with a fascinating little melody by Japanese rock musician and film composer Shigeru Umebayashi, a daring and effective choice. This may not be to the taste of all Glass lovers, but it's an unusual minimalist selection, performed to the Kremerata Baltica's usual sterling standards.

© TiVo

Listening again.
Thanks to Ed, I got to know Glass better than I did before.
I'm thankful!

This is simply a marvellous album.