About the album
Classical music lovers all over the world will know her name: violinist Isabelle van Keulen is a soloist who, for many years now, has built a strong career worldwide. She plays with all the important orchestra's, performs in the famous concert halls and keeps on recording extraordinary CD's of a very high level. Take for instance her latest release of December 2012 with music of Prokofiev together with her duo partner Ronald Brautigam. But now she dares to do something totally different! She wanted to do this for many years and now her dream can come true to play and record the music of Astor Piazzolla. This music she has loved since she was a child of six years old. With her new ensemble she also plays in concert halls and she recorded this beloved tango music on SACD and on film (on DVD and Bluray) in January 2013 in mechelen (Belgium). In a bonus documentary that goes with the BluRay, Isabelle and her colleagues Ulrike Payer, Christian Gerber and Rudiger Ludwig tell about this music, about the tango technique and about their instruments. This not only gives us insight in Piazzolla himself but also tells more about the typical tango sound and how this is produced and why, according to the musicians, this music is so moving and goes straight to the heart!
Van Keulen met een nieuw repertoire
Liefhebbers van klassieke muziek over de hele wereld zullen de naam van Isabelle van Keulen kennen. Van Keulen is een violiste met een uitgebreide internationale carrière, waarin ze gespeeld heeft met meerdere orkesten van wereldkaliber in de beroemdste concertzalen. Ze heeft een groot aantal albums opgenomen van een uitzonderlijk hoog niveau, zoals haar goed ontvangen Prokofiev-album uit 2012 met Ronald Brautigam, met wie zij een duo vormt. Op dit album slaat ze een gedurfde nieuwe weg in door niet het bekende klassieke repertoire, maar muziek uit de Argentijnse tango te presenteren.
Al sinds Van Keulen een kind van zes jaar oud was, is ze dol op de tangomuziek. Haar droom om de muziek van de grote Astor Piazzolla te spelen komt nu eindelijk uit. Met dit nieuwe repertoire ging ze met een nieuw ensemble op tournee en nam ze de muziek op op film in januari 2013 in Mechelen (België). Daarnaast bevat dit album een bonusdocumentaire waarin Van Keulen en haar collega’s Ulrike Payer (piano), Christian Gerber (bandoneon) en Rudiger Ludwig (contrabas) vertellen over de muziek, de tangotechniek en hun instrumenten voor deze opnames. Dit geeft niet alleen een inzicht in de muziek van Piazzolla zelf, maar ook in het typische tangogeluid, hoe dit gecreëerd wordt en waarom, volgens de musici, deze muziek zo roerend en opzwepend is.
De film is een muziekproject van regisseur Hans Pannecoucke en zijn filmcrew.
Piazzollas Tangos in einer emotionalen Aufnahme mit Isabelle van Keulen und ihrem Ensemble.
Der Film auf Blue Ray zeigt das Ensemble während der Aufnahmen, mit der sich vor allem die Geigerin einen lang ersehnten Traum erfüllt. Als Bonus zu dieser BluRay sprechen die Musiker über Piazzollas Musik und ihre Erfahrungen.
Isabelle van Keulen è violinista di altissimo livello, di forte personalità e di straordinaria vitalità musicale, senza alcun dubbio fra le più richieste intepreti d’oggi.
Dall’età di sei anni, quando ricevette in regalo un LP di Astor Piazzolla, la violinista olandese è un’appassionata del tango. Da tempo desiderava suonare questa musica con un ensemble ed ora il suo sogno diventa realtà con un SACD (CC 72610) ma anche con un video disponibile in formato DVD (CC72609) e BluRay (CC72602 – con bonus CD). La versione video comprende il programma vero e proprio (Tango!), eseguito in studio e ripreso splendidamente, con primi piani sulle espressioni dei musicisti, che rendono il film un’intensa esperienza musicale. In appendice un documentario (Music from the Heart) girato dal regista Hans Pannecoucke, con interviste ai membri dell’ensemble e il dietro le quinte delle sessioni di registrazione.
La formazione comprende – oltre a Isabelle – il bandoneonista Christian Gerber, il pianista Ulrike Payer e il contrabbassista Rudiger Ludwig.
Press
Niet een al te positieve recensie
Leeuwarder Courant, 01-11-2013
the dutch violinist plays the music of Ástor Piazolla with a passion. Her Ensemble supports her with highest intensity and extremely imaginative. A great achievement!
pizzicato, 01-11-2013
No quote, not possitive
Luister, 16-10-2013
Tango passion
concerti, 01-10-2013
"For lovers, and there are undoubtedly many, there is nothing else but to buy both formats, but than you have the crème de la crème of Piazzolla's performances at home"
www.opusklassiek.nl, 22-9-2013
They take Astor Piazolla's music by heart and this is how they play themselves into the hearts of everyone loving music - and especially tango.
Kultur online, 18-9-2013
better than any other classical music record ever made
HDVD Arts, 09-9-2013
Grade: A+
"Every bar demands your complete attention. But there's little cheerful or elating about it. The overwhelming emotion of most of the numbers is sadness, especially when the mournful bandoneón is doing anything other than rhythm"
www.hdvdarts.com, 09-9-2013
Hans Pannecoucke's Regie is cautious and considered: The camera floates slowly without deviating from the actual object, while the cuts are used in a contained way.
klassik.com, 17-8-2013
A music, the quartet was completely absorbed in that evening.
Der Inselbote, 17-8-2013
delightful variety
Wiesbadener Tagblatt, 13-8-2013
"For the violinist it is a special experience to be a guest at the kamermuziekfestival in Delft, this is her own brainchild which she led with passion with for so long."
Telegraaf, 05-8-2013
"The CD contains many classics, like Oblivion and Libertango, but also the drawn Contrabaijisimo and the beautiful melanchol song Tanti anni prima, from Piazzolla's soundtrack from the film Enrico IV Bellochio."
NRC Handelsblad, 05-8-2013
Isabelle van Keulen and her ensemble are not re-inventing Tango. But they play the popular compositions by Piazolla with such an intensity as they are discovering it for the first time - and they create an ispiring experience for the audience.
hr2 Kultur, 09-7-2013
This recording of Piazolla's compositions is convincing with a seldom heard intensity
Norddeutscher Rundfunk, 03-6-2013
With her ensemble with cast violin, bandoneon, double bass and piano van Keulen underlines the passion and the avantgardistic snap in Piazzollas art-tangos and makes you feel a amorous rusteling, the finesse and the nearly physical delight of playing these compositions.
concerti