Artyomov: A Sonata of Meditations, etc.

Name: Artyomov: A Sonata of Meditations, etc.
SKU: 809730517426
Availability: InStock

Price range: £8.99 through £12.50

Format

CDMP3 320KbpsFLAC 16-bit/44K

Label: Divine Art
Catalogue No: DDA 25174
EAN/UPC: 809730517426
Artists: Mark Pekarsky Percussion Ensemble, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Virko Baley
Composers: Vyacheslav Artyomov
Release Date: January 2019
Genres: Chamber Music, Orchestral
Periods: Contemporary
Discs: 1
Total Playing Time: 69:44

Vyacheslav Artyomov is considered by many to be Russia’s greatest living composer. Since the fall of the Soviet regime his music has travelled the world to great acclaim. It is deep, ultimately spiritual and brilliantly crafted, with influences from the Russian symphonic tradition colored by Mahler, Scriabin, Honegger and Messiaen to name a few – but melded into a unique voice.

The Divine Art Artyomov Retrospective is a mix of new recordings and former Melodiya releases. It continues with the seventh album containing two works for percussion ensemble and one orchestral – all typifying Artymov’s true genius as a truly individual composer who can make thoroughly modern music listenable and demanding further regular hearings. The three works on this album are all typical of Artyomov’s individual and impressive genius

Mark Pekarsky leads the first percussion ensemble established in Russia and still the foremost group in that country. They perform A Sonata of Meditations and Totem while Russian-American conductor Virko Baley directs the superb Moscow Philharmonic in A Garland of Recitations.

Track Listing

Vyacheslav Artyomov (b. 1940):

A Sonata of Meditations - I. Morning Meditation (7:59)
A Sonata of Meditations - II. Afternoon Meditation (5:15)
A Sonata of Meditations - III. Evening Meditation (9:50)
A Sonata of Meditations - IV. Midnight Meditation (5:00)
A Garland of Recitations (29:29)
Totem (11:58)

Reviews

WTJU University of Virginia

“
Artyomov pushes the wind instruments to their limits — and it pays off. The stark contrast between the energy and intensity of the soloists with the self-effacing string sound creates works of exceptional beauty. Highly recommended.
” —Ralph Graves

Fanfare

“
Both performances by the Mark Pekarsky Percussion Ensemble sound good to me, and the engineering is fine. For me, the standout work on the disc is the 29-minute A Garland of Recitations. This work definitely held my attention, and the soloists, in particular, give the music their all.
” —Raymond Tuttle

MusicWeb International

“
Artyomov is an interesting, indeed impressive composer. Well worth exploring.
” —Stephen Barber

American Record Guide

“
The listener is allowed the mental space to embark on a personal meditation as the music weaves in and out of different sound worlds. Fans of Adams and Gubaidulina will find much to enjoy here.
” —Stephanie Boyd

“
This is music with a welcoming yet far from facile surface. A Sonata of Meditations is thirty, largely quiet, minutes of polished silvery tintinnabulation and percussive hyperactivity. A Garland of Recitations is an orchestral work in a single movement … against poised, introspectively prayerful strings, which seem to speak of the night-sky, individual solo instruments sing out. As for Totem this is a more kinetic, virtuosic, dramatic and humorous piece. The music is recorded with stark fidelity… one can imagine that a full-score could be prepared from what we hear; such is the candour of the sound.
”