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Whispers of Titans
Henryk Górecki

Goeyvaerts String Trio

Whispers of Titans

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917271324
Catnr: CC 72713
Release date: 12 February 2016
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917271324
Catalogue number
CC 72713
Release date
12 February 2016

"This first part from the Genesis cycle is meant for a string trio and bastaat from 22 short sections."

Music Emotion, 01-1-2017
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Artist(s)
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About the album

Górecki’s Elementi is music of extremes. The music is defined by a bold, physical aspect, with the sheer energy of the performance an integral part of the listening experience. Elementi dates from 1962, early in Górecki’s career, and demonstrates the increasing sophistication with which he was then handling Modernist techniques. Elementi dates from 1962, early in Górecki’s career, and demonstrates the increasing sophistication with which he was then handling Modernist techniques.By combining serial structuring with a sonoristic approach to sound colour, Górecki creates a musical language that balances the concerns of texture and progression. Unlike the contemporaneous sonorist scores of Krzysztof Penderecki and Tadeusz Baird, Górecki’s work here always has a sense of movement, of musical argument; his concern with texture never risks stasis. Although written for string trio, Elementi does not seem like chamber music. The scale of the music’s gestures belies its chamber forces. That scale is also apparent in the performance directions, which specify that the players should sit in a triangular formation, at least six metres apart. The present recording has been made with the musicians in this arrangement, and the aural perspectives it creates can be clearly heard, especially when listening in surround sound.

Medieval, Romantic, Minimalist, Avant-garde – all find a place in the music of Nikolai Korndorf. Yet his work rarely sounds eclectic, the ideas and techniques combining to form a focussed, and often uncompromising, musical language. Korndorf’s compositional career falls into two periods. His early work follows the Modernist trends of the time. But from the early 1980s, Korndorf adopted a new approach, more diverse, if no less austere. Tonality became an important element of his music, although more as a point of reference than an integral part of his harmonic language. The String Trio was completed in 1986, so dates from the early years of this second style. It was written in homage to Alfred Schnittke, a mentor figure for Korndorf and many other composers of his generation. “He was a teacher. His ideas, his oeuvre, his moral position, his attitude towards art were teachers as well….Influence, the effect of Schnittke on younger composers was much wider than the influence of style, it was an influence of world outlook.” The result is a work that draws on many aspects of Schnittke’s compositional technique, while only occasionally sounding like him. Korndorf’s own compositional outlook is just as significant to the work, especially his interest in Medieval Russian hymnody and American Minimalism.

Zelden uitgevoerde strijktrio’s
Het Goeyvaerts strijktrio is in 1997 opgericht en richt zich uitsluitend op 20e en 21e-eeuws repertoire. Het trio speelt echter niet alleen bestaand werk, maar is ook actief met opdrachten voor nieuwe strijktrio’s. Op dit album vertolkt het trio twee fascinerende strijktrio's: Henryk Górecki's Elementi en Nikolai Korndorfs String Trio. Beide werken worden maar zelden uitgevoerd.

Elementi van Henryk Górecki is een werk van extremen. Fysiek vergt het het uiterste van musici. Elementi is gecomponeerd in 1962, aan het begin van Górecki’s carrière, en toont de toenemende complexiteit in de modernistische technieken van die tijd.
De Russisch-Canadese componist Nikolai Korndorf heeft een zeer breed oeuvre: of het nou middeleeuws, minimalistisch of avant-garde is—alles komt erin voor. Zijn ideeën en compositietechnieken combineren tot een duidelijke muzikale taal. Zijn strijktrio voltooide hij in 1986 en droeg hij op als eerbetoon aan Alfred Schnittke.

Das Goeyvaerts String Trio hat mit seiner Aufnahme des 'Stabat Mater' von Arvo Pärt für Aufsehen gesorgt und weltweit Preise und Anerkennung gewonnen, u.a. Gramophone Editor's Choice sowie den niederländischen Edison. Nun legen sie mit einer Einspielung von Korndorfs Trio zu Ehren Alfred Schnittkes (1986) und Góreckis 'Elementi' (1962) nach.

Ob die Musik des Mittelalters, der Romantik, der Avantgarde oder des Minimalismus: alle sind im Oeuvre von Nikolai Korndorf untergebracht. Seine Musik klingt jedoch nur selten eklektisch – seine Ideen und Kompositionstechniken verbinden sich zu einer klaren, zielstrebigen und oft kompromisslosen musikalischen Sprache. Korndorf wurde 1947 in Moskau geboren und studierte am Moskauer Konservatorium, wo er 1973 promovierte. In den darauffolgenden Jahrzehnten verfolgte er eine dreifache Karriere als Pädagoge, Dirigent und Komponist. Wie viele seiner Zeitgenossen wanderte Korndorf nach dem Untergang der Sowjetunion in den Westen aus und ließ sich 1991 in Kanada nieder. Er starb 2001, im Alter von gerade einmal 54 Jahren. Korndorfs Karriere als Komponist teilt sich in zwei Abschnitte. In seinem Frühwerk orientierte er sich an den modernistischen Trends der Zeit; so knüpfte er etwa an den Serialismus und den Sonorismus an, während er jegliche Bezüge auf die Tonalität sorgsam vermied. Ab den frühen 1980er Jahren jedoch machte er sich einen neuen Ansatz zu eigen, der noch vielgestaltiger, allerdings nicht weniger genügsam war. Hierbei spielte die Tonalität nun eine wichtige Rolle, jedoch eher als Bezugspunkt denn als integraler Bestandteil seines harmonischen Ausdrucks. Das Streichtrio wurde 1986 fertiggestellt und stammt damit aus den frühen Jahren dieses zweiten Stils. Es entstand als Hommage an Alfred Schnittke, eine Mentorfigur für Korndorf und viele andere Komponisten seiner Generation. Korndorf bezieht sich in dem Werk auf Schnittkes Musik, doch stellt sich nie der Eindruck eines direkten Pastiche ein. Korndorf erklärte, dass sein Ziel, den Einfluss Schnittkes anzuerkennen, über die Frage des Stils hinausging. 'Er war ein Lehrer. Seine Ideen, sein Oeuvre, seine moralische Position, seine Einstellung gegenüber Kunst waren ebenfalls Lehrer. Der Einfluss, der Effekt, den Schnittke auf jüngere Komponisten ausübte, war sehr viel weitreichender als der Einfluss des Stils; es war der Einfluss einer Weltanschauung.'

'Elementi' von Górecki ist ein Werk der Extreme. Die Musik wird von einem kühnen, physischen Aspekt bestimmt und die schiere Energie der Aufführung stellt einen integralen Bestandteil des Hörerlebnisses dar. Elementi entstand 1962, zu Beginn von Góreckis Karriere, und demonstriert die zunehmende Differenziertheit, mit der er zu jener Zeit die modernistischen Techniken einsetzte.

Artist(s)

Goeyvaerts String Trio

The Goeyvaerts String Trio was founded by violinist Kristien Roels, violist Kris Matthynssens and cellist Pieter Stas in 1997 with the sole aim of performing twentieth- and twenty-first-century repertoire. The trio takes its name from the Belgian composer Karel Goeyvaerts, who played an important role in developments in European new music. Not only does the ensemble perform existing works, but it also actively commissions new compositions for string trio. After the trio released its CD recording of string trios by Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern and Alfred Schnittke on the renowned international label Challenge Records, the recording received the highest possible rating in multiple music magazines, as well as a Gold Label from Klassiek Centraal, a nomination for best CD production for...
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The Goeyvaerts String Trio was founded by violinist Kristien Roels, violist Kris Matthynssens and cellist Pieter Stas in 1997 with the sole aim of performing twentieth- and twenty-first-century repertoire. The trio takes its name from the Belgian composer Karel Goeyvaerts, who played an important role in developments in European new music. Not only does the ensemble perform existing works, but it also actively commissions new compositions for string trio.
After the trio released its CD recording of string trios by Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern and Alfred Schnittke on the renowned international label Challenge Records, the recording received the highest possible rating in multiple music magazines, as well as a Gold Label from Klassiek Centraal, a nomination for best CD production for the Belgian classical broadcasting network Klara and a recommendation in Gramophone. In 2012, the Goeyvaerts String Trio released a new CD entitled String Trios from the East featuring compositions by Sofia Gubaidulina, Alexander Knaifel, Oleg Paiberdin and Giya Kancheli. Of this recording, the Dutch music publication Luister wrote, ‘These three musicians’ performance here borders on the impossible in terms of concentration and precision.’ The trio’s album Stabat Mater, featuring Arvo Pärt’s Stabat Mater in just intonation and Ivan Moody’s Simeron, followed in 2014. With the support of over 500 international investors, the Goeyvaerts Trio raised £15,000. Of the trio, the Flanders Arts Institute wrote, ‘We already know they’re outstanding performers, but the fact that they managed to pull this off is proof that they’re also enthusiastic entrepreneurs.’ This CD was showered with the highest critical praise, heralded as Editor’s Choice in Gramophone and included in the list of the ten best Arvo Pärt recordings of all time. Dutch magazine Luister also ranked Goeyvaerts String Trio the highest ranking. The recording was most recently awarded an Edison, and the trio hailed by Klara as ensemble of the year. The Belgian city of Sint-Niklaas also honoured the trio with its 2014 Culture Prize.

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Composer(s)

Press

This first part from the Genesis cycle is meant for a string trio and bastaat from 22 short sections.
Music Emotion, 01-1-2017

"The second work, 'Chorale-Toccata-Aria', from the Russian Nikolai Korndorf is way more accessible, persumably for a lover off the harmony as me, but where the textbook - wonderful! - has an enormous input."
Music Emotion, 01-11-2016

Fonoforum / 01-09-2016
Fonoforum, 01-9-2016

"What, then, to make of 'Genesis I: elementi per tre archi,' Op 19 No 1, the opener on the Goeyvaerts String Trio’s new disc of 20th-century Polish works? Dating from 1962, this scrabbling and violent one-movement work is early Górecki, but it’s also typical Górecki – more so, at any rate, than that Third Symphony. He wrote it just after his return from Paris, where he had made contact with Boulez and other enfants terribles of musical modernism, and in it attempted to lay out a new type of composition. What emerged was music moulded not from notes but from noise and an artillery of extended playing techniques: no picnic, then, for either players or listeners, but original for its time. In this brave and uncompromising performance, the Goeyvaerts certainly make it snarl. Then, by way of a peace offering, they play In Honour of Alfred Schnittke written, in 1986, by the little-known composer Nikolai Korndorf. For lovers of the Tavener-Pärt aesthetic, it’s like stepping into a warm bath." 
Gramophone, 16-6-2016

Short playing time — 47 minutes — but intense music-making.
Irish Times, 15-6-2016

"[...] The excellent Goeyvaerts Trio takes a brave choice with this intens performed repertoire. [...]"
NRC Handelsblad, 14-6-2016

"[...] So bravo to Kristien Roels, Kris Matthynssens and Pieter Stas for bringing to new ears this vital but rarely performed work from a 28-year-old Górecki. [...]"
Polish Music, 08-6-2016

"[...] An interesting quality of this new recording is the way that the fast central movement feels like it is unfolding at the same slow pace as the outer ones. [...]"
Stringtrio, 07-6-2016

"it knows to translate Gorecki's partiture extremely responsive."
klassiekezaken, 01-6-2016

" [...] Also the mucisians have no trouble crossing the line of euphony [...] "
Luister, 06-5-2016

"[...] On the armoured harmony's, the players have put a fascinading stain. that makes the music move to noise. [...]"
de standaard, 27-4-2016

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Videos

Whispers of Titans

Often bought together with..

Six Piano Sonatas
Einav Yarden
Joseph Haydn, José Peris
The seven last words of Christ - version for string quartet and voice
Henschel Quartett / Susanne Kelling
Various composers
String Trios from the East
Goeyvaerts String Trio

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