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Juanjo Mena, BBC Philharmonic & Colin Currie - HK Gruber: Percussion Concertos (2021) [Hi-Res]

Juanjo Mena, BBC Philharmonic & Colin Currie - HK Gruber: Percussion Concertos (2021) [Hi-Res]
  • Title: HK Gruber: Percussion Concertos
  • Year Of Release: 2021
  • Label: Colin Currie Records
  • Genre: Classical
  • Quality: flac lossless / flac 24bits - 44.1kHz +Booklet
  • Total Time: 00:52:42
  • Total Size: 250 / 491 mb
  • WebSite:
Tracklist

01. Rough Music: I. Toberac
02. Rough Music: II. Shivaree
03. Rough Music: III. Charivari (pour Henri Sauguet, au tombeau de Monsieur le Pauvre)
04. into the open…

Juanjo Mena, BBC Philharmonic & Colin Currie - HK Gruber: Percussion Concertos (2021) [Hi-Res]


I admit it, I have a huge crush on percussion concertos. For a genre originating only from the latter half of the twentieth century, save a few exceptions, there has been a considerable amount of intriguing forays into the scheme by several prominent composers over the past coupe of decades, resulting in a delightfully diverse, ever expanding body of repertoire.

The initial impetus for many of those marvellous composers to enter the genre has often come from great performers. Over many years now, the fabulous Scottish percussionist Colin Currie has been the primus motor for a wealth of new percussion repertoire, from solo pieces and chamber music to full-scale orchestral concertos.

On his new album, fourth for his own label, Colin Currie Records, distributed by LSO Live, Currie performs the two percussion concertos by HK Gruber, of which the more recent one, into the open… (2010) was written for him. Coupled with Gruber’s 1982-83 take on the medium, Rough Music, the two concertos stand out in their compelling invention and invigorating musicality.

Worlds apart from one another, both works make a huge effect on the new album. Teaming with Currie, the BBC Philharmonic, conducted by Juanjo Mena and John Storgårds, provides committed performances of Gruber’s orchestral fabric in both cases, setting the stage for solo percussion to shine out in full splendor.

Premiered at the BBC Proms in July 2015, into the opening… is cast in continuous twenty-five minute symphonic arch. The score opens, in the composer’s words, with ”a slow, meditative processional, as if the soloist is walking through a ‘pitch landscape’”.

The soloist sets the music softly in motion with vibraphone, marimba, cencerros, howl gongs and plate bells, joined by harp, strings, and two piccolos. We enter a dimly-lit realm, a forest of sounds, with the leaves slowly vibrating in gentle, early-morning breeze. Long shadows lie over the dark-hued soundscape, gradually taking shape and hue.

As the multi-coloured percussion fabric gradually unfolds, instrumental groups are woven into the texture; sustained strings, flute ostinati and brass interjections appear, coloured by harp and timpani.

Eight minutes into the score, the opening procession paves way to the first orchestral burst, briefly setting the whole soundscape alight, before plunging into another forest trail, lead by drums and gongs, echoed by brass. Marimba and strings join, as the musical tensions grow ever more tactile. Dexterous rhythms ensue, engaging the soloist and the orchestra into swinging dance patterns.

As the vibraphone takes over, with drums, the orchestra adopts some gorgeous big band sonorities, before the score launches into full-scale symphonic climax, resolving into one final dialogue between the solo drummer and brass, interrupted by sustained strings, emerging again and again, seemingly out of nowhere and, finally, bringing the score to its enigmatic close.

Paying tribute to David Drew, the Director of Publications at Boosey and Hawkes who passed away in 2009, into the open… is served wonderfully by the superlative performance recorded here. Currie’s command over the solo part is ever admirably nuanced and tremendously committed. With his outstanding musicality and technique, the solo lines obtain terrific sense of fantasy, clad in vibrant detail.

With Storgårds, the BBC Philharmonic convey Gruber’s multi-faceted orchestral textures with sensitive conviction, ever in perfect accord with their soloist. From the delicate, quasi-impressionistic opening to the symphonic big-band sonorities, the BBC musicians provide a wonderful rendition of the orchestral part.

Having this ravishing take on into the open… added into the recorded catalogue of percussion concertos is a joyful affair. The live take from the Royal Albert Hall world premiere comes off well on disc, thanks to focused engineering and sensitive balancing...


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  • User offline
  • platico
  •  wrote in 21:54
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gracias...
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  • gibheid
  •  wrote in 05:29
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Thanks fantastik.