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Browse by Label: BIS (SWEDEN)
Artist:
GLENNIE, EVELYN
Title:
Oriental Landscapes
Label:
BIS (SWEDEN)
Format:
CD
Price:
$19.00
Catalog #:
BIS 1222CD
2002 release. Featured works: "Percussion Concerto" by Chen Yi; "Journey Through a Japanese Landscape" (Concerto for Solo Marimba and Wind Orchestra) by Thea Musgrave; "Out of Tang Court" for Tang Ensemble and Orchestra by Zhou Long and "Fantasy On Japanese Wood Prints" by Alan Hovhaness. Performed by Evelyn Glennie (percussion) and Singapore Symphony Orchestra (Lan Shui, conductor). "As many reading this know, Evelyn Glennie is much more than 'just' a percussionist. She has developed a fantastic career as a soloist and become the world's first full-time solo percussionist. She tours the world, often performing works she herself has commissioned. This is her first recording on BIS and the label is proud to release it onto the market. As the title suggests these works have an Oriental -- or rather Asian -- theme. Two of the pieces are inspired by Japan and the other two by China. Ms. Glennie shows her musicianship and mastery on the xylophone and the marimba as well as one on more unusual instruments, such as the lithophone (with bars made of stone instead of wood or metal), various chimes, dagu drum (Chinese) and uchiwa daiko (Japanese)."
Artist:
AHO, KALEVI
Title:
Piano Concerto No. 2/Symphony No. 13
Label:
BIS (SWEDEN)
Format:
CD
Price:
$19.00
Catalog #:
BIS 1316CD
"With fifteen symphonies in his work list to date, as well as numerous other orchestral pieces, Kalevi Aho is one of today's most important composers of orchestral music. Twelve of the symphonies have already been released on BIS, in recordings that have earned an ever-growing interest. Back in 1999, the release of
Symphony No.7
('Insect Symphony') caused the reviewer in the
American Record Guide
to call the work 'one of our century's great orchestral scores.' More recent discs have met with similar acclaim, for instance in the
International Record Review
where
Symphony No.12
('Luosto') was described as 'music of such graphic impact and visually arresting imagery that it feels as though you could reach out and touch it.' On the German website klassik.com, the reviewer similarly praised
Symphony No.14
('Rituals') for demonstrating 'the vitality of a genre believed to be extinct, with its seemingly boundless wealth of ideas and perfect craftsmanship.'
Symphony No.13
was written for the fifth anniversary of the Sibelius Hall in Lahti in 2003, and exploits the acoustic capabilities of the hall to the fullest. Subtitled 'Symphonic Characterizations,' the work portrays a spectrum of human character types in two long movements divided into a number of shorter sections. One year before the symphony, Kalevi Aho completed his
Second Piano Concerto
, for piano and string orchestra. It was written with the Finnish pianist Antti Siirala in mind, and in the composer's own words 'the demanding piano writing is primarily a consequence of Siirala's remarkable command of the 'Beethovenian-Lisztian-Brahmsian' pianistic tradition.' Siirala is the soloist on the present recording, supported by Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Osmo Vanska, the eminent team which also gave the first performances of these two works."
Artist:
TAKANO, MARI
Title:
LigAlien
Label:
BIS (SWEDEN)
Format:
CD
Price:
$19.00
Catalog #:
BIS 1453CD
"Born in 1960, the Japanese composer Mari Takano studied in Japan and then Germany, where Gyorgy Ligeti became a mentor to her, providing liberating impulses. Ligeti is also a near-constant presence throughout this program of works composed between 2003 and 2009. The four duos and trios that share the title
LigAlien
are all in various ways the results of an idea which occurred to Takano in 2002 -- what would it be like to implant 'alien' DNA (i.e. her own) into one of Ligeti's works? Explaining the process in her own liner notes, Takano started in
LigAlien
I with elements from the second movement of Ligeti's Horn Trio, 'letting them evolve in all kinds of directions. In the course of the work, the interruptions become bolder and more prominent, until nothing is left of Ligeti's idea. Instead an alien being has come into life, a being which seems to like jazz quite a lot.' Interspersing the four 'LigaAliens' are two solo pieces, Jungibility for piano and Full Moon for violin and electronics, which also embrace a wealth of ideas both musical and otherwise ? when discussing the works, Takano herself refers to Duke Ellington, Omar Sosa and Stockhausen (Jungibility) and Bjork, Pina Bausch and Miles David (Full Moon). Dedicated to the memory of Ligeti, the closing Flute Concerto is the largest work on the disc, both in terms of duration and the forces involved."
Artist:
FITKIN, GRAHAM
Title:
Circuit
Label:
BIS (SWEDEN)
Format:
CD/SACD
Price:
$19.00
Catalog #:
BIS 1517CD
Featured works:
Circuit
for two pianos and orchestra;
T1
for two pianos;
Relent
for solo piano;
Carnal
for solo piano;
From Yellow to Yellow
for solo piano;
White
for two pianos;
Furniture
for solo piano;
T2
for two pianos. Performed by Noriko Ogawa & Kathryn Stott, pianos. Tokyo Symphony Orchestra/Naoto Otomo. "While his music is sometimes described as 'post-minimalist', Graham Fitkin himself mentions sources of inspiration as diverse as Stravinsky, Miles Davis, Webern, Steve Reich, Frank Sinatra and Pet Shop Boys. A talented pianist, he has written a number of works centered on the piano, in singular and in plural: his work list includes pieces for one to up to as many as six pianos. Partly it is the 'black-and-white' nature of the instrument that attracts Fitkin -- the fact that it forces the composer to articulate musical structures without hiding behind coloristic resources. Important among his tools as a composer are repetition, and manipulation of repetitive procedures. The result is music that is often energetic and highly rhythmically driven -- aspects which are certainly present in
Circuit
, for two pianos and orchestra. The work was composed for Kathryn Stott and Noriko Ogawa, and, at its first performance (in 2003), it was described by one reviewer as 'exhilarating in the extreme' with 'its juxtapositions of motoric hyperactivity and sweet serenity, and a final, rip-roaring climax'. The serenity is otherwise mainly to be found in certain pieces for solo piano, such as the gentle miniature
From Yellow to Yellow
from 1985, the composer's earliest acknowledged work. Kathryn Stott has worked with Graham Fitkin over a number of years, and the solo piece
Relent
, which she performs on the present recording, was written specifically for her. She and Noriko Ogawa, her regular duo-partner, have recorded a number of discs for BIS, both on their own and as a team. The two now present a selection of Fitkin's numerous works for one and two pianos, as well as
Circuit
, in which they receive fine support from the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Naoto Otomo." Stereo/multichannel hybrid SACD that can be played on any CD player.
Artist:
AHO, KALEVI
Title:
Contrabassoon/Tuba Concertos
Label:
BIS (SWEDEN)
Format:
CD
Price:
$18.00
Catalog #:
BIS 1574CD
"Two unusual solo instruments are the focus of this all-Aho disc. Indeed, in the case of the contrabassoon (or double bassoon), Kalevi Aho's work is one of the very few concertos that exists. It is also by far the most demanding and extensive. In fact, the solo part became playable only after recent developments of the instrument itself, extending its compass upwards. While composers have treated the tuba slightly more generously, there was certainly room for another concerto in the repertoire when Aho composed it in 2001. Both instruments are sometimes treated as the buffoons of the symphony orchestra, and are often called in by composers for comic effect. But Kalevi Aho underlines the great capacity of the two for cantabile singing, a quality that he has endeavored to bring out in their respective concertos. A recent release of Aho works was described in Gramophone as 'a superb coupling of two strongly communicative contemporary works.'"
Artist:
STUCKY, STEVEN
Title:
Pinturas De Tamayo
Label:
BIS (SWEDEN)
Format:
CD
Price:
$19.00
Catalog #:
BIS 1622CD
Performed by Evelyn Glennie, percussion; Singapore Symphony Orchestra/Lan Shui. "
Pinturas de Tamayo
is the result of American composer Steven Stucky's encounter with the art of the Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo. Initially struck by the painting
The Great Galaxy
-- reproduced on the cover of this CD -- he chose this and four other paintings as his points of departure for a five-movement suite, which although it is far from pictorial certainly offers as much color and poetry as the paintings themselves. In
Spirit Voices for percussion and orchestra
, Stucky has instead explored mythical beings from around the world, including Coyote, the trickster god of the Navajo Indians, mountain goblins of Japanese folk culture, and the Scottish bean nighe, a female wraith portending death. Written for the performers on this disc, the score consists of seven movements in which the percussionist sometimes plays a soloistic role, and in others is integrated into the orchestra. Closing the disc is Stucky's
Second Concerto for Orchestra
for which he received the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Music. It was written for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, a team that Stucky worked closely with over a long period of time. While the Concerto is not based on any extra-musical images, it is very much a result of this collaboration, which Stucky signals both with musical references and in the title of the first movement: 'Overture (with Friends)'. The present recording is the first of all of these works, and was made in the presence of the composer."
Artist:
BERIO/IANNIS XENAKIS/MARK-ANTHONY TURNAGE, LUCIANO
Title:
Dedicated to Christian Lindberg
Label:
BIS (SWEDEN)
Format:
CD
Price:
$18.00
Catalog #:
BIS 1638CD
"Starting with the disc
The Virtuoso Trombone
recorded in 1983, Christian Lindberg has been the main protagonist of some 35 discs on the BIS label. But the present disc is surely destined to count as one of the most important. It brings together three of more than 80 concertos that have been dedicated to Christian Lindberg during his unparalleled career. One of the first of these was actually 'Troorkh' (the title derived from trombone + orkhestra) by Xenakis, the result of an encounter in 1985 between the budding trombone soloist and the firmly established and highly regarded composer. Lindberg asked Xenakis for a concerto and got an emphatic 'No' for an answer -- only to receive the score 6 years later. (In order to perform the demanding work, Lindberg then had to undertake a rigorous stamina-building program lasting two years!). Berio's 'Solo' was the result of a collaboration between the composer and Lindberg which included a role especially written for Lindberg in the opera 'Cronaca del Luogo.' 'Solo' and 'Troorkh' are two of the works that Christian Lindberg has performed most frequently all over the world, but this is the first time he commits his interpretations of them to disc. The last piece on the program is 'Yet Another Set To' by Mark-Anthony Turnage, a work that fully exploits Lindberg's unique talents, requiring both virtuoso precision, the freedom of jazz delivery and a range of sounds from extrovert projection to intimate lyricism. Written in Turnage's highly personal and yet accessible idiom it is a work which Lindberg himself describes as 'one of the most electrifying works I have played'. Lindberg is partnered by the Oslo Philharmonic in fine shape, conducted by Peter Rundel, who collaborated with Lindberg in the first performance of the revised version of Turnage's concerto performed here." Hybrid SACD/CD release.
Artist:
LIGETI, GYORGY
Title:
The Complete Piano Music
Label:
BIS (SWEDEN)
Format:
2CD
Price:
$38.00
Catalog #:
BIS 1683/4CD
"This release coincides with the passing away of György Ligeti. It consists of his complete music for piano and includes previously unrecorded works, making it the only comprehensive survey so far of a genre in which this great figure of 20th century music was active until the very last years of his life. On it Fredrik Ullén, who in
Gramophone
has been described as 'a pianist as stylish as he is scintillating,' combines newly recorded material with two discs (from 1996 and 1998) which at the time of their release received a number of distinctions as well as the highest possible praise by the reviewers. 'To hear Ullén fly through Die Zauberlehrling is to understand the meaning of a great over competent performance. Small wonder Ligeti trusts the man!' and 'a superb reference recording!' was the verdict for BIS-CD-783 in
Fanfare
and in
Fono Forum
. The follow-up was greeted no less enthusiastically: 'Ullén continues his series as he began it: imbued with the finest touch and rhythmic exactitude' (Diapason) and 'This is a very fine disc' (
Repertoire
). To this material has been added the two Études of book three composed after the release of the previous discs, as well as the world premiere recordings 'L'arrache-Coeur' (composed in 1994 and originally intended as 'Étude no. 14') and 'Four Early Piano Pieces,' from 1941 and thus among the earliest preserved Ligeti pieces."
Artist:
GUBAIDULINA, SOFIA
Title:
Glorious Percussion/In Tempus Praesens
Label:
BIS (SWEDEN)
Format:
CD
Price:
$19.00
Catalog #:
BIS 1752CD
"Coinciding with her 80th birthday, this substantial addition to Sofia Gubaidulina's discography on BIS presents two recent works by the grande dame of contemporary music. As always with this composer, the music is intimately connected to her religious and philosophical beliefs. In the violin concerto
In tempus praesens
the numbers 1 and 3 -- derived from the Holy Trinity -- play an important role, as well as the concept of 'Sophia', implying divine wisdom and the creative power of God. The work was premiered by Anne-Sophie Mutter at the 2007 Lucerne Festival, and belongs to the most frequently performed instrumental concertos by a living composer." Performed by: Vadim Gluzman, violin; Glorious Percussion (Anders Loguin, Anders Haag, Mika Takehara, Eirik Raude, Robyn Schulkowsky); Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Jonathan Nott, conductor.
Artist:
GRIPPE, RAGNAR
Title:
Ten Temperaments/Situation I/Ur Undrens Tid
Label:
BIS (SWEDEN)
Format:
CD
Price:
$19.00
Catalog #:
BIS 241CD
1994 release. Performed by Ragnar Grippe, electronics. "
Ten Temperaments
was commissioned by the music section of the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation for performance in the Swedish Spinrg Music programme for 1982.
Ten Temperaments
is above all a work that has been consciously projected between different forms of expression, borrowing characteristics from modern serious music only to alter the listening experience at the next moment with the idioms from popular music; these leaps between styles have given the works its title... The work is constructed orchestrally, but it was not my intention to imitate the instruments of the orchestra with electronic sounds; my purpose was rather to provide a symphonic experience with several changes in mood and a richness of sound. May I offer here my only personal comment on the second section of the prelude and four sections on side one. The radio entering with its 'choir from another world' is a feature I have also used in the ballet
Vanthallen
, commissioned by the Stockholm Opera in 1975, with choreography by Oscar Araiz. Often on journeys abroad during childhood, radio programmes from other countries were more frightening than the country's strange culture, language and people. But the memory also contains an experience, as from another world, which in its musical context gives the sensation of something incomprehensible but beautiful." -- Ragnar Grippe
Artist:
XENAKIS, IANNIS
Title:
Pléiades
Label:
BIS (SWEDEN)
Format:
CD
Price:
$19.00
Catalog #:
BIS 482CD
1991 release. Featured works: "Pléiades" and Psappha." Performed by Kroumata Percussion Ensemble; Gert Mortensen, percussion. "Xenakis has been very interested in percussion music -- ever since his orchestral piece 'Terretektorh (1966) in which the instrumental forces are spread throughout the hall, by way of 'Psappha' (1975) for a lone percussion virtuoso all the way to 'Pléiades' (1979) for six percussionists -- perhaps the largest composition in the entire percussion repertoire, and the most daring challenge. The title is intentionally ambiguous: the word itself means 'many' and alludes both to the six performers and to the four movements. The title also refers to a myth of antiquity, as so often from this educated Greek... The greatest part of the inspiration behind the piece probably comes from astronomy. The steady rhythmic pulse is varied by means of small alterations, injections of life, and is subsequently built up into such complicated patterns that one could speak of 'galaxies of sound.' In this dizzying experience there is still the joy of recognition, however, and at the end one comes back after an upheaving excursion."
Artist:
TAKAHASHI/ ICHIYANAGI/ MIYOSHI/ YASHIRO/ TAKEMITSU/ KAKO
Title:
Poésie: Yukie Nagai Plays Japanese Piano Music
Label:
BIS (SWEDEN)
Format:
CD
Price:
$19.00
Catalog #:
BIS 766CD
1996 release. Featured works: Yuji Takahashi: "Kwanju, May 1980"; Toshi Ichiyanagi: "Cloud Atlas"; Akira Miyoshi: "Four Piano Pieces"; Akio Yashiro: "Sonata"; Toru Takemitsu: "Rain Tree Sketch"; "For Away"; Takashi Kako: "Poesie"/"Greensleeves." Performed by Yukie Nagai, piano.
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