‘Gypsic’ is the very first recording of violinist Sarah Nemtanu who brings a subtle touch of Balkanese extravagance to classical masterpieces from Ravel and Enesco.

Sarah Nemtanu is one of today’s leading violinists and her career to date commands respect, including being first violin solo with the Orchestre National de France and having performed with many of the most renowned orchestras in the world. For this ambitious recording, Romanian-born Sarah Nemtanu chose to perform pieces from the classical repertoire in arrangements bringing out their Balkan fibre. On this challenging recording Sarah Nemtanu teams up with the influential virtuoso pianist, electro megalomaniac and all-round entertainer Chilly Gonzales who brings his experience in piano improvisations and familiarity with electronic music to arrange classical masterpieces from Ravel and Enesco among others.

This is a very ‘gypsic’ recording in between music and rhythmic, a surprising mixture, impressive in its respect and precision, and delightful in its insubordination to form and genre. The biggest challenge on this album was undoubtedly to rework the Blues from Maurice Ravel’s Violin Sonata, inspired here by rhythmic ethio-jazz, a blend of jazz and the traditional music of Ethiopian azmari minstrels.

Artists

Sarah Nemtanu (violin), Chilly Gonzales (piano, organ farfisa, drum, percussion), Romain Descharmes (piano), Lyodoh Kaneko (solo), Guillaume Barli, Pierre Fouchenneret, Tiphaine Gaigne (first violins), Virginie Buscail, Young-Eun Koo, Alexandra Jouannie, Nathalie Crambes (second violins), Lise Berthaud, Delphine Tissot (violas), Christophe Morin, Jérôme Lefranc (cellos), Maria Chirokoliyska (double bass), Armand Amar (triangle) & Lurie Morar (cimbalom)

Aurélien Azan Zielinski