Corigliano: Red Violin Caprices (The) / Violin Sonata / Thom

Review A spectacular and brilliantly programmed disc by a spectacular 34-year-old violinist most recently renowned for being one of the platoon of string virtuosos to leave his Stradivarius in the back of a taxi. Corigliano's music ¯ the fiendishly difficult and extravagant neo- Paganini solo caprices from his Oscar-winning soundtrack music for "The Red Violin" and the 1963 violin-piano sonata ¯ couldn't be more different from Virgil Thomson's. Corigliano is the sort of living neo-Romantic one would expect a violinist in his mid-30s to be passionate about. Altogether different is the aphoristic, witty, suave, nostalgic and charming violin music of Virgil Thomson, who always said that he had to go to Paris to write music about Kansas City. What here unites the two disparate ¯ but enormously appealing composers¯ is the tremendous young violinist taking up the music's cause. To put it mildly, modern and especially living composers (Corigliano is 70 and very much with us) can seldom count on performances as remarkable as this. -- Buffalo News, Jeff Simon, June 2008 Two American composers on opposite sides of the fence are in this interesting and brilliantly played collection of works for violin, both solo and with piano. Corigliano's early Violin Sonata sounds as if his time assisting Leonard Bernstein in 1963 rubbed off well. It's a terrific piece in Lennie's razzmatazz style, with spiky neo-classic accents and plenty of honest lyrical wonder. Corigliano revisits his score to the film The Red Violin with a set of solo violin caprices that owe much to Paganini's famous models. Virgil Thomson wrote musical portraits for friends throughout his life. The 16 miniatures here seem to cry out more for melodic distinction than keeping heart off sleeve as Thomson liked to do, with a protracted reticence that you never felt in his ornery and always compelling critical prose. Quint is a master of all and partner Wolfram is right with him. -- What's on Winnipeg, James Manishen, November 2008 Violinist Philippe Quint and pianist William Wolfram deliver stunning performances track after track. Quint's "take-no-prisoners" approach to the violin is refreshing and energizing. The Red Violin Caprices, which are filled with astoundingly difficult demands, are tossed off with incredible accuracy and ferocity. Quint is equally capable of warmth and suppleness, making him a delightfully well-rounded performer. Although Wolfram's role on this particular album is somewhat minimal, his accompaniments are considerate and well balanced, yielding satisfying chamber music performances throughout. -- AllMusic.com, Mike D. Brownell, June 2008 Product Description John Corigliano has revisited his score for the 1997 film the Red Violin several times. In the Red Violin Caprices, content is allied to a technique making strenuous demands on the performer. From the Artist "I just heard Philippe Quint's new recording of my Red Violin Caprices and he was absolutely amazing." - John Corigliano About the Artist John Corigliano is one of the finest and most widely recognized American composers. Among the dozens of citations, doctorates, and other honors he has received are included all of the most important music awards -- several Grammys, a Pulitzer Prize for his Second Symphony, a Grawemeyer, and an Academy Award for his score to François Girard's 1997 film The Red Violin. One of the few living composers to have a string quartet named after him, Corigliano's work has been performed by some of the most visible orchestras, soloists and chamber musicians in the world. Born in New York City on 16 February 1938, the son of a violinist, John Corigliano studied at Columbia University, before embarking on a varied musical career. He was music programmer for several radio stations, assistant to Leonard Bernstein on his Young People's Concerts, record producer for CBS and teacher at various institutions including the Juilliard School. He was the first Composer-in-Residence of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1991. His earlier works develop further the musical language of composers such as Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland and their contemporaries, followed by a period of wider experiment in the use of more varied musical materials. His opera The Ghosts of Versailles was staged at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1992, when it was chosen for the Composition of the Year award of the International Music Awards. His film scores include the very popular The Red Violin of 1997. Corigliano serves on the faculty at the Juilliard School of Music, and holds the position of Distinguished Professor of Music at Lehman College, City University of New York, which established a composition scholarship in his name.
ASIN: B001716IW0
VSKU: DBV.B001716IW0.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Quint|Wolfram|Corigliano|Thomson
Binding: Audio cd
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