George Tsontakis: Violin Concerto No. 2; Clair de Lune; The Past, The Passion
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CD Details
Composer: George TsontakisConductor: Douglas Boyd
Orchestra: Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Performer: Steven Copes
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2007-10-23
Music Label: Koch Int'l Classics
Soundtracks:
- Violin Concerto No. 2: come play with me
- Violin Concerto No. 2: Surges among stars
- Violin Concerto No. 2: Just go
- Clair de Lune: Moonlit
- Clair de Lune: Jeux
- The Past, the Passion: The Past
- The Past, the Passion: The Passion
Music reviews of George Tsontakis: Violin Concerto No. 2; Clair de Lune; The Past, The Passion
Music Review: How welcome to hear a composer unafraid to go the expressive distance, from romantic to spiky
Rating: 5 Stars
How welcome to hear a composer unafraid to go the expressive distance, from romantic to spiky
The works by George Tsontakis on this beguiling disc reveal a composer devoted to Gallic traditions who also claims a delicate and potent voice of his own. New York-born Tsontakis revels in diaphanous textures and fanciful gestures, sometimes playful, otherwise urgent, in which lyricism and rhythmic animation are close allies.
It is no wonder that his Second Violin Concerto garnered the 2005 Grawemeyer Award. The four-movement piece takes the soloist and chamber orchestra through a panoply of enchanting soundscapes, most of them tonal, with splashes of pungency deftly applied. Tsontakis weaves soloist and orchestra together in seamless conversation, exulting in ever-changing relationships and colours. How welcome to hear a composer unafraid to go the expressive distance, from romantic effulgence to spiky brilliance.
The other two works here are products of distant decades -- Clair de lune from 2007 and The Past, The Passion from 1987 -- that show Tsontakis's consistency as an illuminator of translucent materials. The more recent score pays homage to Debussy even as it sheds new light on other-worldly atmospheres and instrumental interplay. The Past, The Passion may be something of a Tsontakis calling-card, with wispy auras, quicksilver thematic elements and nods to Bach that coalesce in a series of shimmering narratives.
The concerto and Clair de lune were commissioned by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, which sounds deeply in Tsontakis's groove in the crisp, detailed performances led by Douglas Boyd. Under the British conductor's alert baton, the orchestra gives superb voice to the massed and intimated aspects of each work. The soloist in the concerto is the ensemble's concertmaster, Steven Copes, whose burnished timbre and richly nuanced playing communicate the essence of the piece to exceptional effect. More Tsontakis performances from these forces would be most welcome. - Donald Rosenberg, Gramophone
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