Colin Matthews: Violin Concerto
Leila Josefowicz (violin), Anssi Karttunen (cello)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Oliver Knussen, Riccardo Chailly, Rumon Gamba
Awards:
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2016
[Leila Josefowicz has] unlocked a sensuous outpouring from Matthews, a concerto of lithe purpose and natural flow…the fearless Josefowicz brings her unique improvisatory energy, finding exuberant...
Colin Matthews: Violin Concerto
Leila Josefowicz (violin), Anssi Karttunen (cello)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Oliver Knussen, Riccardo Chailly, Rumon Gamba
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2016
[Leila Josefowicz has] unlocked a sensuous outpouring from Matthews, a concerto of lithe purpose and natural flow…the fearless Josefowicz brings her unique improvisatory energy, finding exuberant...
About
To celebrate Colin Matthews' 70th birthday we release this new album featuring a star-studded line-up of artists, including conductors Riccardo Chailly, Oliver Knussen, Rumon Gamba, and soloists Leila Josefowicz (violin) and Anssi Karttunen (cello).
Over four decades Colin's output of over 130 works has ranged from solo piano music through five string quartets and many ensemble and orchestral works. This album showcases three of his large-scale orchestral pieces; the dark, Mahlerian Cortège (1988) being the earliest work recorded here. Matthews’ Violin Concerto (2009) was composed for Leila Josefowicz and Colin says it “emerged naturally from her musical personality, style and technique”. Matthews’ Cello Concerto No.2 (1996) was composed for Mstislav Rostropovich, who gave its first performance with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis at the Barbican, London, on 17 September 1996.
Three great works, then, to celebrate the three score and ten of a remarkable musical polymath.
Contents and tracklist
- Leila Josefowicz
- BBC Symphony Orchestra
- Oliver Knussen
- Recorded: 19 December 1998
- Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
- Riccardo Chailly
- Recorded: 28 July 2010
- Recording Venue: Live Recording, BBC Radio 3, United Kingdom
- Anssi Karttunen
- BBC Symphony Orchestra
- Rumon Gamba
- Recorded: 17 October 2002
Spotlight on this release
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Awards and reviews
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Presto Recordings of the YearFinalist 2016
July 2016
[Leila Josefowicz has] unlocked a sensuous outpouring from Matthews, a concerto of lithe purpose and natural flow…the fearless Josefowicz brings her unique improvisatory energy, finding exuberant equals in Oliver Knussen and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
CD Review
Lyrically rewarding and memorably orchestrated with the textures constantly shifting.
the Violin Concerto (2009) and the Cello Concerto No.2 (1996) - inhabit a world half way between Berg and Britten, where nervy, restless detail in the background gives way to a core of expressive lyricism.
August 2016
Josefowicz is superb – radiant and pointed – in the concerto written for her. Cortège is colossal; and Karttunen dexterously finds his way through the Second Cello Concerto.
29th May 2016
[Cortège's] dark, drum-beating, funereal character has, paradoxically perhaps, a more direct appeal than the Violin Concerto (2009), given by the brilliant Leila Josefowicz...The large-scale Cello Concerto No 2 (1996), written for Rostropovich, finds a fine exponent in Anssi Karttunen
23rd June 2016
Josefowicz, for whom Matthews tailored [the Concerto], soars high above the orchestra as if on a thermal...[Cortège is] sombre but driven – monumental, yes, but one somehow feels inside the monument rather than gazing on it.
