Fritze: Spanish Meditations and Dances
Catalogue No: DDA 25239
EAN/UPC: 809730523922
Artists: Peter Sheppard Skærved, Roderick Chadwick
Composers: Gregory Fritze
Release Date: April 2023
Genres: Chamber Music, Violin or Viola
Periods: Contemporary
Discs: 1
Total Playing Time: 71:59
Listen on Streaming Platforms
“Spanish Meditations and Dances” is a set of 17 pieces for violin and piano composed and arranged by American composer Gregory Fritze, specially for violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved. The set includes both expressive meditations and exciting technical dances, inspired by the towns and regions of Spain. Gregory Fritze is a prize-winning composer and Fulbright Scholar, with a long history of successful performances and composition awards.
The performance of “Spanish Meditations and Dances” features Peter Sheppard Skærved on violin and Roderick Chadwick on piano. Both musicians are critically acclaimed and have extensive concert and recording careers. The compositions showcase the violinist in both expressive and exciting technical playing and titles of the movements are from the many towns and regions of Spain that have been a great inspiration in the composer’s music over the years.
Each movement is a stand-out piece, showcasing the exceptional talent of both the composer, Gregory Fritze, and the performers, Peter Sheppard Skærved and Roderick Chadwick. The emotive and technically masterful violin playing paired with the dynamic piano accompaniment make for a truly captivating listening experience. The album is destined to be an airplay classic.
Track Listing
- I. Valencia (6:36)
- II. Tenerife (3:16)
- III. Tenerife Dance (4:59)
- IV. Buñol (4:17)
- V. Madrid - Variations on a Theme by Luigi Boccherini (6:10)
- VI. Tavernes de la Valldigna (3:44)
- VII. Rioja - Pastoral (5:01)
- VIII. Bilbao - At the Guggenheim (5:07)
- IX. Cullera (4:48)
- X. Lliria (3:04)
- XI. Lliria Dance (4:03)
- XII. L'Alcúdia (3:30)
- XIII. Magallon (4:53)
- XIV. Barcelona - Gaudi Dance (2:18)
- XV. Alzira (3:49)
- XVI. Carcaixent (2:29)
- XVII. Carcaixent Dance (3:56)
Gregory Fritze:
Spanish Meditations and Dances
Reviews
“This is an impressive cycle of Spanish-inspired works, performed with fervent devotion by Sheppard Skærved and Chadwick. Gregory Fritze writes in an unabashedly tonal idiom, but somehow it appears fresh as a daisy.
” —Colin Clarke
“These are pieces that one simply sits back and luxuriates in. I’ve been singing [Fritze’s] praises as a gifted composer mentally to myself and out loud to a handful of other people individually. I’m very happy to now be able to do so in print to a much wider audience. Peter Sheppard Skærved and pianist Roderick Chadwick make an exceptional team in bringing these works to light. Between the superb music and the equally superb music-making, this CD is catapulted to the “must own” category of recordings.
” —David DeBoor Canfield
“So easy on the ear and relaxed, it at times just slips by. This is nevertheless an entertaining album, with top class playing on the piano and violin.
” —Jeremy Condliffe