Corigliano: Conjurer & Vocalise

“I simply can’t remember when I’ve heard percussion arrays captured with such realism...Climaxes are thrilling and fatigue-free, and the soundstage is wide and wondrous. Goodness, what mellifluous and haunting sounds composer and soloist conjure up...Fresh, vital, vigorous; contemporary music of quality, winningly played.” --MusicWeb International, 12th February 2014

"The performances are first-rate. Glennie is her expected phenomenal self, partnered with pinpoint accuracy by the Albany strings under David Alan Miller, a conductor very much at home in contemporary American repertoire. Plitmann negotiates the difficult arioso line of the Vocalise with deceptive ease." --Fanfare, May 2014

"The range of sonorities [in Conjurer] is vast and the drama that Corigliano achieves both in the cadenzas and the movements themselves keeps the ear entranced. Glennie draws magical sounds from the artillery at her hands and feet, and the Albany Symphony are superb collaborators.

The trajectory of Vocalise…from acoustic to electronic worlds is but one aspect of its glowing personality. Corigliano keeps the soloist—here the radiant and fearless soprano Hila Plitmann—soaring on phrases of mesmerising shape and character. The voice rides above and within an orchestral soundscape of shimmering hues until electronics (by Mark Baechle) take the soloist into other-worldly terrain suffused with echoes." --Gramophone, January 2014

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The Red Violin: Concertos by Corigliano & Kuusisto

"Two splendidly enjoyable modern concertos superbly performed and in the finest sound... Another magnificent recording from BIS and the Lahti orchestra, this time of very recent music." --MusicWeb International, October 2013
 
“Kuusisto's own Concerto (2011) is a colourful and dramatic score...The finale's rhythmic drive and alternating lyricism are immensely appealing...Excellent performances and sound.” --Gramophone Magazine, October 2013

John Corigliano's violin concerto 'The Red Violin' originated as the score to a film about a violin by one of the Old Italian master-builders, and its journeys around the world throughout three centuries. While working on the film score, Corigliano also produced a one-movement concert version of it, which he later expanded into a full-scale concerto in four movements. The son of a violinist, Corigliano’s aim was to write a concerto in a style his father would have wanted to play, and he has managed to do so without sacrificing any of the music's communicative qualities, or its wealth of colours, emotions and atmospheres.

The work is coupled here with a concerto of a similar broad appeal, composed by Jaakko Kuusisto, who is a highly respected violinist in his own right, as well as conductor. In his liner notes, Kuusisto recounts how he had toyed with the idea of writing a violin concerto for several years, but that the project only came into fruition after a commission from his colleague Elina Vähälä, and the liberating prospect of composing a work for another performer than himself. Appearing for the first time on BIS, the acclaimed violinist Elina Vähäla has a wide-ranging career, both geographically and in terms of repertoire. She made her début at the age of twelve, performing as a soloist with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, which lends her spirited support on the present disc, and also performs the orchestral piece Leika. Using the Icelandic word for ‘play’ as its title, Kuusisto’s composition displays a playfulness and wealth of colours that makes it a perfect curtain raiser for this appealing disc.

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