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Track Listings
| 1. I |
| 2. II |
| 3. III |
| 4. Aditus |
| 5. Exodus |
Product Description
Review
I'm open for both the Minimalist legacy and the Modernist legacy, only now the elements are not so much separated. Im trying to make a real synthesis out of it...now it's more melted together'.
Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür, interviewed in the notes for this new CD, and whatever it is he's doing, it's working. Minimalism? The intelligent sort, as practised by John Adams. Modernism? Shades of Ligeti, especially in the microtonal moments, but with some of the huge geological slabs of sound you might hear in a Magnus Lindberg score. Plus the rhythmic drive of a Steve Martland (Tüür used to be a rock musician), and also a kind of Pärt-like darkness and depth.
Just in case you can't tell already, I really liked this trio of first recordings, especially Tüür's Violin Concerto, which explodes from the speakers with a hyperactive burst of arpeggios from the soloist, which the orchestra picks up and turns back into sustained chords, before the fiddle player unpicks them again for us.
Tüür says he's never much liked the traditional idea of a virtuoso soloist with orchestral accompaniment, so he sets up a different dynamic: the soloist generating scales and harmonic sequences, which the orchestra picks up, transforms and then hands back for further comment or refinement. This leads to some truly startling and seriously enjoyable sounds, such as the turbulent bubbling of the pizzicato section in the first movement, or the slow ascent of the soloist out of the murky orchestral texture at the start of the second movement, before they climb skywards to join her.
Isabelle van Keulen is superb; she gave the first performance in Germany in 1999, and she played it at the Proms in August 2003. It's a tough role: short on extrovert display, long on inner drama and she's on right from the beginning, no holds barred.
Tüür's friend and fellow Estonian Paavo Järvi exerts absolute control over the CBSO, for whom one of the other works, Exodus, was commissioned. This is the team that gave the first performance four years ago, and they revel in its elemental savagery.
It's also a fine recording, ECM at its best, and the notes are helpful rather than being an idiosyncratic echo of the artwork. If you haven't heard his voice before, try Tüür as soon as you can. He's one of the most physically involving contemporary composers; perhaps not the first Estonian to spring to mind in classical music, but on the evidence of these three recent works a vital, involving voice nonetheless.
Like This? Try These:
Britten: Violin Concerto (Maxim Vengerov)
Messiaen: Des Canyons aux Étoiles (Radio France)
Terje Rypdal: Lux Aeterna --Andrew McGregor
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
CD Description
Third ECM recording by Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür. The Violin Concerto, written for Isabelle van Keulen, and the two orchestral works "Aditus" and "Exodus" are world premiere recordings. All are powerful experiences, reflecting the new physicality of Tüür's compositions. Major performances of all three works have taken place in 2003, including the Violin Concerto at the London Proms (a major success). Tüür's music continues to gain critical and popular acclaim, and this release is eagerly anticipated.
Personnel: Isabelle van Keulen (violin), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi (conductor)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maximum Effect,
By Mr. Warren M. Fisher (East Grinstead, West Sussex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Erkki-Sven Tuur: Exodus (Audio CD)
Tuur's (b.1959) most accessible disc to date, more minmalist than serialist. Somehow marrying the sacred minimalism of fellow countryman, Arvo Part, and the dissonant post-minimalism of his American contemporary, Julia Wolfe, Tuur delivers maximum effect with minimal material.
Dark, haunting and utterly compelling, this is the perfect intro to Tuur, one of the most unique talents at work today.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Too Much of a Good Thing?,
By Mr. A. R. Boyes "Alan Boyes" (Newcastle, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Erkki-Sven Tuur: Exodus (Audio CD)
The Violin Concerto is the towering piece on this disc: without doubt a major work. The description of it passing scales, arpeggios and other material to and fro with the orchestra is particularly true of the large first movement before the work gradually emerges from the depths of the slow second movement into the energetic finale. It is a compelling work in which you can hear clear echoes of other composers without losing its individuality; John Adams is blended with Alfred Schnittke and even Arvo Part (though, unlike Part, this music never sits still for long). So its musical language is very much of its time and is a great advert for contemporary music.
The other two works, however, don't quite measure up to this standard even though, or maybe because, they cover similar ground. The opening of Aditus sounds so like Schnittke you could be forgiven that it is one of his works from the mid 1980's. Exodus professes to express the inextingushable human spirit against all that is thrown against it. Exodus like the Violin Concerto relies much on physical momentum and it is tempting to see Tuur's background as a rock musician informing this process. Exodus is, however, a much slighter piece than the Violin Concerto. The compulsive forward propulsion finally eases off to let the work finish in a spirit of repose. If you want a major work to express the inextinguishable human spirit you'd be better off with Nielsen's fourth symphony of that name. You could not ask for better advocates of these works than those here with sensational violin work and an orchestra in top form. With excellent sonics this is a great place to start exploring Tuur's work, though after the Violin Concerto you might want a break before listening to the other two works. Overall though, strongly recommended.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a fantastic violin concerto & 2 energetic orchestral works,
By R. Hutchinson "autonomeus" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Erkki-Sven Tuur: Exodus (Audio CD)
Erkki-Sven Tuur is an Estonian composer whose ambitious project is to synthesize the post-serialist and post-minimalist tendencies in contemporary classical music. If that wasn't enough, he is also increasingly incorporating elements from his early 1980s background leading a progressive rock group -- his latest Symphony No. 5 includes electric guitar! Given my view that most minimalism ranges from harmlessly pretty to painfully boring to hideously ugly, I wasn't encouraged by Tuur's inclinations, and so I haven't finally heard his music until now.
It's one of those "on the one hand, on the other hand" stories -- on the one hand, there is plenty of ferocious intelligence in these works, performed magnificently by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, led by fellow Estonian Paavo Jarvi, and Isabelle van Keulen on violin. The concerto especially, the longest work in three movements totalling nearly 35 minutes, is outstanding, with strong virtuoso passages for violin and a series of diverse structures and moods. Unfortunately, in the title piece "Exodus," Glass-like arpeggios pour from the string section in the long main segment building up to a fortissimo roar. The overall conception is clearly not minimalist, but Tuur seems to have taken minimalism's linear repetitive drive on board these energetic works as part of their motor. The forward momentum of "Aditus" and "Exodus" is bracing, but I could do without the echoes of Glass. "Exodus" works up to a crescendo, punctuated by a drum kit, and then subsides, culminating in a quiet, mystical coda reminiscent of Arvo Part (of course, also Estonian). So Tuur seems to incorporate Eastern holy minimalism as well as Western (New York City) minimalist influences. Lest the wrong impression be created, let me repeat that these are NOT minimalist works. Overall they are complex, dynamic, and stimulating, not mind-numbing. I look forward to repeated listening, and to future compositions from Tuur. The composer he is the most similar to is Magnus Lindberg of Finland. Lindberg, in his mature style, creates complex, energetic orchestral works not so different from Tuur, though thankfully without any repetitive arpeggios -- see my reviews of THE MUSIC OF MAGNUS LINDBERG and AURA. 3 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Energy!,
By Corrado Beldi - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Erkki-Sven Tuur: Exodus (Audio CD)
Parole in semi-libertà (atto primo). Concerto for Violin and Orchestra: stridio di violino, risposta, tensione che sale, ebollizione, botta e risposta, incrocio progressivo, flusso magmatico che sale, esplosione. Aditus: tintinnio, repentina accelerazione, urla del coro, energia, calore sempre più insostenibile, suoni fortissimi, toni acuti, apoteosi, improvviso silenzio con soffio di vapore che si perde tra le nuvole. Exodus: gente che cammina, marcia militare, piedi che battono, intensità, mal di testa, ossa che scricchiolano, silenzio. Conclusione: versami un altro bicchiere, Fred.Artüür Cravän |
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