Salonen: Helix; Piano Concerto; Dichotomie
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Brand: BRONFMAN,YEFIMConductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen
Orchestra: Los Angeles Philharmonic
Performer: Yefim Bronfman
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2009-04-07
Music Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Soundtracks:
- Helix (2005) for orchestra
- Movement I
- Movement II
- Movement III
- I Mécanisme
- II Organisme
Music reviews of Salonen: Helix; Piano Concerto; Dichotomie
Music Review: One of the best piano concertos I've heard in a while
Rating: 5 Stars
We got this Deutsche Grammophon disc in Europe last year, but the label appears to have delayed its US release until the occasion of Esa-Pekka Salonen's retirement from the L.A. Philharmonic. In any event, you're in for a treat with these three works written by Salonen, where he conducts his own home ensemble, with his favourite pianist Yefim Bronfman as soloist. I had known of Salonen the composer for a long time, but I never heard any of his music. I assumed he was, like so many contemporary composer-conductors, a generic modernist figure without any original angle. I found how foolish I was upon hearing a radio broadcast of the premiere of his Piano Concerto in February 2007.
The Piano Concerto is a major contribution to the genre, and we're fortunate in having a commercial recording. In writing his piano part, Salonen wanted to embrace the acoustic properties of the piano that had been neglected under serialism and early post-serialism, and the result is immensely colourful. The piano part is also one of the most virtuosic solo parts I can think of. Salonen spends much of the first movement exploring duets between the piano and isolated parts of the orchestra, such as violas in one portion, woodwinds and harp in another, and so forth. But sometimes the piano pauses while portions of the orchestra contend with each other, and the piece can seem as much Concerto for Orchestra as Piano Concerto. Salonen throws in some references to Debussy and Romanticism, and his music can be called neotonal, but I've never really heard any kind of music like this. Salonen believes that all musical expression flows from bodily expression, and this is reflected in the sheer range of rhythmic displays. I've been enjoying this piece for over two years now, and I think it's no flash in the pan.
While the Piano Concerto is multifaceted and exhuberant, "Helix" for orchestra (2005) is single-mindedly dedicated to the unfolding of its process. Relentless and sometimes brutal, the piece reminds me a lot of "Kinetics" by Salonen's old classmate Magnus Lindberg, who sadly doesn't write this kind of music anymore. This is a live recording and the CD track ends with audience applause, which the piece well deserved. "Dichotomie" (2000) is a two-movement work for solo piano that contrasts "mechanical" material with "organic" material, a concern that Salonen has had through his entire career. It's charming in parts, and its virtuosity is admirable, but I think it goes on a bit longer than necessary. While Bronfman performs here, "Dichotomie" was written for Gloria Cheng and her performance can be heard on a Telarc disc. Parts of "Dichotomie" found their way into Salonen's orchestral work "Foreign Bodies" (available on his last DG disc).
I think the Piano Concerto especially will appeal to a wide range of modern-classical listeners. It may even well deserve to be repertoire and reach a mass audience, but in a world where Bartok's first two piano concertos are still considered audience-unfriendly, that's unlikely. But whatever your musical persuasions, check this disc out.
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Description of Salonen: Helix; Piano Concerto; Dichotomie
All-new recordings of works composed and conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen to celebrate his final performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Over 20 years after his first performance with the LA Phil (1984), Salonen bids farewell as principal conductor in a series of concerts. Virtuoso Yefim Bronfman premiered the piano concerto and now commits to disc what is certainly the definitive recording along with two pieces for solo piano.Classical CDs
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