Release Date: 06 November 2015
Label: Challenge Classics
Packaging Type: Super Jewel Case (SACD)
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 608917268324
Genres: Classical
Description
'Dance!' features the seldom heard combination of violin and accordion. Not much repertoire has been composed for this pairing of instruments, so all of the varied music here - including well-known pieces by Brahms, Bartók, Dvorák and others - has been expertly arranged.
It's performed by two top Dutch musicians: violin virtuoso Cécile Huijnen is first concert master of The Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra, a position she has held since 2000, and Marieke Grotenhuis is one of the foremost accordionists in the Netherlands.
The music ranges from the popular - Bartók's Romanian Folk Dances, one of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances and his Humoresque, and three Hungarian Dances by Brahms - to the rarely heard. The latter include Kodály's Three Hungarian Dances, the inspiration for which was found early in his youth, from gipsy concerts in his birthplace Galantá, and a 1905 adagio originally written for a sonata for viola and piano.
'Abodah' was written by the Jewish-Swiss-American composer Ernst Bloch in 1929 for the then 12-year-old violinist Yehudi Menuhin. In his four-part 'Histoire du Tango' (two of the pieces are performed here), originally written for flute and guitar, Astor Piazzolla painted the musical history of the tango. The disc ends with 'Souvenir' by Slovakian-German composer Ladislav Kupkovic (b.1936), "a frivolous piece, with lots of fun and puns about violin techniques" in Cécile Huijnen's description. Violinist Gidon Kremer has proven himself to be a real ambassador for the work, regularly performing it in concerts.
Personnel: Cécile Huijnen (violin), Marieke Grotenhuis (accordion)
Tracklisting
Narratio Quartet
Piano Duo Scholtes & Janssens
Matteo Cicchitti, Musica Elegentia
Cappella Pratensis, Stratton Bull, Sollazzo Ensemble
La Sfera Armoniosa, Oscar Verhaar, Mike Fentross
Simona Marchesi, Bartolomeo Dandolo Marchesi
Ben Kim, Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Jan Willem de Vriend
Karina Gauvin; Quatuor Molinari; Pentaedre
Stephane Tetreault; Olivier Hebert-Bouchard
Uusinta Ensemble, Eija Kankaanranta, Maria Puusaari, Olga Heikkila, Kamus Quartet
Elizabeth Knatt, David Clements, Rachel Barnes, Scott Taylor
Klaus Haidl
Robert M. Helmschrott
Robert M. Helmschrott
Kevin Juillerat (electronics), Cedric Pecia (prepared piano)
