CD ECM Records Valentin Silvestrov: Bagatellen Und Serenaden

2007

Valentin Silvestrov - pian
Alexei Lubimov - pian
Münchener Kammerorchester, Christoph Poppen

Valentin Silvestrov:
- Bagatellen
- Elegie (für Streichorchester)
- Stille Musik (für Streichorchester)
- Abschiedsserenade (für Streichorchester)
- Der Bote (für Streicher und Klavier)
- Zwei Dialoge mit Nachwort (für Streichorchester und Klavier)

Documentation of orchestral music by Valentin Silvestrov in Munich gained an unexpected extra dimension with the spontaneous decision to record the Ukrainian composer playing the piano before and after the ‘official’ session. The results, captured in the early morning and late afternoon, are fascinating, offering an intimate glimpse into Silvestrov’s reflective musical language. The first half of this disc features Silvestrov alone. In the second half, Christoph Poppen directs the Munich Chamber Orchestra and Alexei Lubimov again reveals his deep affinity for Silvestrov’s oeuvre. In all, a true ‘composer portrait’, in time for Valentin Silvestrov’s 70th birthday.

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After the tonal luminosity of the ‘Bagatelles’, the piercing dissonances at the opening of the ‘Elegy’ exert a particularly poignant impact, as does ‘The Messenger’ where the interaction between the resonances of piano and strings is extremely haunting.
Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine

ECM’s lush sound seems totally in the spirit of this music. Poppen, Lubimov, and the Munich Chamber Orchestra maintain the perfect blend of poise, refinement, and knowing naiveté. Overall, this is a disc I can come back to again and again.
Robert Carl, Fanfare