Testament to the versatility and musical command that Teodor Currentzis and his unique orchestra and choir possess, this new album brings together two diverse masterworks from two titans of Russian music. Although they have been acquainted for a long time prior, this recording represents the first musical collaboration between Teodor Currentzis and the exceptional violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja. The instant artistic rapport (an “artistic wedding” of sorts) between these two maverick musicians can be heard in this dynamic new recording of Tchaikovsky’s Violin concerto - one of the most popular works in the violin repertory. Currentzis’ authentic approach to the folk influences in Stravinsky’s music (as revealed in Le Sacre du Printemps) is again very present in his interpretation of Les Noces. This work for percussion, pianists, chorus, and vocal soloists - originally composed as ballet music - is probably one of Stravinsky’s most rarely recorded works. The work is based on a Russian peasant wedding, which the cover artwork references. Exceptional to this new recording is that the MusicAeterna choir members are all native-Russian speakers who bring another level of understanding and authenticity to the work. After her prominent participation in the “Rameau – The Sound of Light” recording, Nadine Koutcher – freshly crowned “2015 Cardiff Singer of the Year” - returns to sing the leading soprano solo part in Les Noces.

The two violin concertos coupled on this recording display as many affinities as they do divergences. Both stem from creators in conflict with their native Russia – one choosing to return there, the other settling permanently in exile; both belong to the aesthetic of the ‘return to order’ observed from 1920 onwards and characterised by the reappropriation of models from the past. If Prokofiev preserves the traditional bases of the concerto, he combines them with a search for a new lyricism. As for Stravinsky, he reworks tried and trusted models while offering a deliberately neutral, distanced expressivity.

终于可以说一说这一个大器晚成的钢琴家，乌戈尔斯基的一生太具有传奇色彩，让他的气质不同于任何一个钢琴家。
他50岁之后才开始成名，之前甚至连一架三脚架钢琴都买不起；他当年因为酷爱西方现代音乐而成为唯一一个被苏联禁演的钢琴家；他逃往德国，阴差阳错的录制了一遍迪亚贝利而令所有人震惊，迅速被DG签约，他的唱片寥寥无几，却全是精品，他可以把破琴弹出令人叹为观止的音色。而他只是一个烟鬼酒鬼，一个对什么都好奇的大男孩，而他已经是大师了，他自己都反应不过这一点。
他的录音很多，我最想拿到就是这一张图画展览会和皮特鲁斯卡，他的贝多芬早就被公认为神品，我需要的正是这一张需要音色控制力的专辑去证明一点，乌氏是不是有欧阳江河所说“扶正了大多数人的耳朵”。
事实上是，很完美。
在图画展览会中，乌戈尔斯基对音色的控制力令人惊叹，而且这种控制并没有什么雕琢的痕迹，这本天成的才华与“控制”似乎没有什么关系，因为乌戈尔斯基根本没有刻意去控制，一切便水到渠成，乌氏小时候喜欢的是声乐，可惜坏了嗓子，这恰好反应了歌唱性这一个特点。在皮特鲁斯卡中，他的技巧又如此完美，即使与仅存的大神Sokolov比也不落下风。
而这一位大师，却如此低调和平易近人，来到上海的演出，一下飞机便是指导学生。
下一个目标是收他的迪亚贝利，那一张开启了他大师生涯的唱片。

Three works inspired by Spring – Stravinsky’s iconic and revolutionary 1913 ballet The Rite of Spring depicts Russian pagan tribes celebrating the emergence of Spring with frenzied dances and ritual sacrifice. The music has a rhythmic complexity and violence that caused a riot to break out at its premier in Paris. Rachmaninov’s Spring Cantata tells the story of a husband who has struggled through the harsh Russian winter knowing his wife has been having an affair with a younger man. He swears he will kill them, but on seeing the wonder of spring all around him, relents and forgives them both. Debussy’s early ‘Printemps’ of 1885 was said to have been inspired by Botticelli’s ‘Primavera’. Debussy was staying at the Villa Medici in Rome when he wrote this colourful and joyous work.

English Version

Shortly before its notorious Paris ballet premiere in 1913, this was essentially how The Rite of Spring first saw the light of day: Leif Ove Andsnes and Marc-André Hamelin recapture the heady, visceral thrill which must have been in the air when Stravinsky sat down at the piano with Debussy to create this landmark of modernism.
Leif Ove Andsnes appears courtesy of Sony Classical International.

本专辑曲目为斯特拉文斯基史诗般的《春之祭》与佩特·埃特沃斯的 《阿尔罕布拉 》协奏曲的世界首演录音相搭配。
“第一部分《大地的崇拜》中轻柔的片段值得你注意......埃特沃斯的曲子也非常值得沉浸其中。”——《留声机》

捷克交响乐团，柏林交响乐团