Roaring Twenties by Calefax / Cora Burggraaf

Various composers

Calefax / Cora Burggraaf

Roaring Twenties

Price: € 19.95
Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917265729
Catnr: CC 72657
Release date: 26 September 2014
Buy

Hi-res download at Spirit of Turtle

1 SACD ✓ in stock	€ 19.95	Buy
		Hi-res download at Spirit of Turtle

Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917265729

Catalogue number
CC 72657

Release date
26 September 2014

""At The Times they get five stars. Mezzosopraan Cora Burggraaf and the Calefax Reed Quintet work again together for years, and their vision on the Roaring Twnties also finds eagerly resonance in the United Kingdom.""

Luister, 01-6-2015

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

Calefax and Cora Burggraaf have worked together for many years. Their joint project The Roaring Twenties was so successful that they decided it should be recorded on CD. The disc opens with the dance that epitomized the twenties: the Charleston. Breezin’ along with the breeze is a carefree ode to freedom and nature, and thanks its popularity to the singer/actress Josephine Baker. The poet W.H. Auden and Benjamin Britten had a tempestuous love affair that resulted in numerous artistic collaborations, including the Cabaret Songs. The texts are the fruits of Auden’s wild time in Berlin in the early thirties. If there is but one piece of music that symbolizes interbellum Berlin, then it is Die Dreigroschenoper by Bertold Brecht and Kurt Weill. This is ‘dancing on the edge’ at its best. The opera – or, rather, the musical – is an ode to down-andouts, thieves, thugs, con men and whores. George Gershwin’s trip to Europe and sojourn in Paris had a significant impact on his career. He met Kurt Weill in Berlin and countless Parisian artists. More importantly, however, was his growing awareness of his unique, American and jazz-influenced style. In An American in Paris Gershwin seems to be looking for a meaningful synthesis of his own style and his newfound knowledge of classical form and composition. It is more complex and ‘classical’ than his earlier works; the autobiographical work sketches the awe-struck impressions of an American ambling through the chaotic Paris of the 1920s.

Een muzikale reis door The Roaring Twenties
Calefax en Cora Burggraaf werken al jaren samen. Hun samenwerkingsproject The Roaring Twenties was zo succesvol dat ze besloten er een album van te maken. Het album begint gelijk met de muziek die de jaren '20 veroverde: de charleston. Dit is de start van een reis door de populaire muziek van 1920. Deze muzikale reis langs componisten als Kurt Weill, George Gershwin en Benjamin Britten, die allen op innovatieve wijze klassieke en populaire muziek met elkaar verbonden. Het zijn gewaagde en prachtige arrangementen voor zang en rietkwintet door Calefax, een van de meest originele en uitdagende Europese jonge ensembles.

Mit dem Sinnbild derZeit, dem Charleston, entführen Calefax und Cora Burggraf unmittelbar in die Welt der Wasserwellen, Federboas und die der kultivierten und doch populären Musik der 1920er. Die ausgewählten Werke von jungen Wilden wie Weill, Gershwin und Britten zeigen eini der erfinderischsten Versuche, klassische und populäre Musik zu verbingen. Die kecken wie geschickten Arrangements für Bläserquintett unterstreichen einmal mehr den Ruf von Calefax als originelles junges Ensemble, das keine Herausforderung scheut.

Artist(s)

Cora Burggraaf

The Dutch mezzo soprano Cora Burggraaf graduated with distiction at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague in 2002. She pursued her vocal studies in London at the Royal College of Music and the National Opera Studio. She also studies with Margreet Honig.
She has been the recipient of many prizes including the 2009/2010 ECHO Rising Star Award, the 2006 Elizabeth Everts Prize, the second prize in the International Vocalist Competition Den Bosch 2004, the 2003 Maggie Teyte Prize and the Miriam Licette Scholarship. Her studies in London were funded by the Dutch Fonds voor de Podiumkunsten and the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds.
In opera, Burggraaf has appeared at the Salzburg Festival, the Royal Opera House in London (for which she was awarded ‘Most Promising Newcomer of the Year’ by The Observer), San Francisco Opera, Welsh National Opera, The Netherlands Opera, Garsington Opera, Opéra de Bordeaux and at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, BBC Proms and the Gergiev Festival. Further engagements include her debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich and return to the Salzburg Festival and The Netherlands Opera.
She recently made her acting debut when she appeared with Theatre Artemis, and in the solo performance Ophelia with OT Theater Rotterdam. In this show she combined songs of Strauss and Chausson with spoken words by the eminent Dutch writer Bernlef.
She has worked with celebrated conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Emmanuelle Haïm, Marc Minkowski, Seiji Osawa, Jaap van Zweden, HK Gruber, Steuart Bedford, Phillippe Herreweghe, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Frans Brüggen, Neeme Järvi and Peter Eötvös.
Cora Burggraaf is a noted recitalist and appeared in major concert halls such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall London, and the Frick Collection New York. On her ECHO Rising Star tour she has performed at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie in Cologne, Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, in Brussels, Salzburg, Stockholm and Athens.

less

Calefax

Calefax, established over 25 years ago, are now in great demand worldwide, not least because of their unique instrumentation. The quintet performs standing up and always introduces itself and the programme me to the audience. Most importantly, the five musicians arrange, recompose and interpret music from eight centuries to suit their unique constellation: from early music to classical and jazz to world premières; in the hands of Calefax it all sounds fresh and new.
The Amsterdam based ensemble has won a number of prestigious prizes and can be heard frequently throughout Europe and further afield in Russia, China, India, Turkey, Japan and the USA.
The Times: “Calefax - five extremely gifted Dutch gents who almost made the reed quintet seem the best musical format on the planet”.
As in previous seasons Calefax has a considerable number of interesting programmes and concert tours scheduled. The ensemble can be heard in the USA, China, Dubai and Sweden and will undertake several tours to the UK (eg 4 concerts London’s Wigmore Hall).
2012-13 season highlights The new season began in August, when Calefax performed with mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn at the Prinsengracht concert in the Netherlands, broadcast live on television and radio by AVRO.
Some highlights of the season in the Netherlands include: - On the Spot: Calefax explores the line between written and improvised music in a new multiannual project. The first guest to accompany Calefax on this adventure is the Dutch trumpeter Eric Vloeimans.
- Quatuor Danel: Calefax joins forces with this renowned quartet from Brussels. Included in this program is a new work by Belgian composer Jean-Luc Fafchamps.
- Roaring Twenties: Calefax and mezzo-soprano Cora Burggraaf explore this turbulent decade. Roaring Twenties can be heard as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
- Liszt's Totentanz: Calefax performed Totentanz on November 1st, 2nd and 3rd with the Northern Dutch Orchestra, in an arrangement by Jelte Althuis Calefax has released 17 CDs on the renowned German label MDG as well as for their own label RIOJA Records, all of which have been acclaimed by the international press: "A sublime sense of timing [...]. In short: here are five souls playing as one. These are … masters!" In March 2012 Calefax released a long-awaited CD and DVD of Bach’s Goldberg Variations.
Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant wrote of the Goldberg Variations: "The way the five reed players of Calefax produce music in new guises, but without a trace of friction, continues to leave audiences speechless..." (Frits van der Waa, CD Review) Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf on the Goldberg Variations: "Unbelievable [...] Almost everything Calefax touches turns to gold." (Thiemo Wind, CD Review) Calefax consists of: Oliver Boekhoorn - oboe Ivar Berix - clarinet Raaf Hekkema - saxophone Jelte Althuis - bass clarinet Alban Wesly - bassoon

less

Composer(s)

Benjamin Britten

Benjamin Britten is one most important British composers from the second half of the twentieth century. Remarkably, he focused on opera, a dying genre, at least in its current form. Britten's contributions however, among which Peter Grimes, The Rape of Lucretia, Gloriana, The Turn of the Screw, and Death in Venice, managed to remain core repertoire for opera companies to this day. Many of these productions included a role for his artistic partner and life companion Peter Pears. Britten also wrote a number of lieder for this tenor, among which his Serenade for tenor, horn and string orchestra. Yet, Britten excelled in many more genres. He wasn't even 20 years old when he composed his brilliant Phantasy for hobo quartet and his friendship with...

Benjamin Britten is one most important British composers from the second half of the twentieth century. Remarkably, he focused on opera, a dying genre, at least in its current form. Britten's contributions however, among which Peter Grimes, The Rape of Lucretia, Gloriana, The Turn of the Screw, and Death in Venice, managed to remain core repertoire for opera companies to this day. Many of these productions included a role for his artistic partner and life companion Peter Pears. Britten also wrote a number of lieder for this tenor, among which his Serenade for tenor, horn and string orchestra. Yet, Britten excelled in many more genres. He wasn't even 20 years old when he composed his brilliant Phantasy for hobo quartet and his friendship with the legendary cellist Rostropovich led to a Cello sonata, three Suites for cello solo and a Symphony for Cello and orchestra in the 1960s.

Britten never became Master of the Queen's Music, yet he surely had feeling for public sentiments. For example, as a pacifist, he taught his people about world peace through his War Requiem from 1962. Britten was an excellent interpreter of his own work, just like Bartók and Stravinsky. Many of his recordings have been matched, but never exceeded.

less

Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland was an American composer, pianist, conductor and music pedagogue, who is regarded as the most important representative of the American modern composers, who are known for their preference for theatre music. Critics and peers referred to him as ‘the Dean of American Composers’.
During the 1920s Copland studied three years with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Her total grasp of classical music became his most important influence, and led him to compose music in various genres and numerous settings, including opera, ballet, music for film, theatre, orchestra, piano and small ensemble. During his studies in Paris Copland encountered the music of Ravel, Satie, and the members of Les Six, which impressed him. However, his greatest hero and favorite 20th-century composer was not French: it was the Russian Igor Stravinsky. Copland admired him for his typically Russian music, and wanted to express the music of his native country in his compositions just like him. For that purpose he drew inspiration from jazz, which rhythms and harmonies can be found in his early compositions.
During the 1930s and 1940s, when Copland had returned to America, the jazz gave way to (Latin) American folk tunes, which he arranged in a number of accessible compositions , which made him well-known to a wide audience: the ballets Billy the Kid, Rodeo and Appalachian Spring, the Third Symphony, El Salón México and the Fanfare for the Common Man. These are Copland’s best known works, which are still regularly performed and recorded.
During the 1950s Copland distanced himself from the popular tendencies in his compositions, and began to use serialist and twelve-tone techniques in his music in an attempt to join the modern composers.
From the 1960s onwards Copland began to focus on conducting, since he did not have any new ideas for compositions. He became a frequent guest conductor of orchestras in the United States and made a series of recordings of his music.

less

George Gershwin

George Gershwin was an American composer, who is mostly known due to his combinations of classical and popular music genres. George Gershwin grew up in a poor neighbourhood in New York. His parents were Russian immigrants who had trouble making ends meet. They did, however, decide to purchase an old piano so Ira Gershwin could study to become a musician. Yet, it turned out not Ira, but his younger brother George showed remarkable talent. Ira applied himself to writing song lyrics and together the Gershwin brothers became absolute greats in the world of 20th century musicals. Nowadays, George's compositions are still relevant, as is evidenced by the many performances of his Rhapsody in Blue from 1924. But the best example is the ageless Summtertime,...

George Gershwin was an American composer, who is mostly known due to his combinations of classical and popular music genres.

George Gershwin grew up in a poor neighbourhood in New York. His parents were Russian immigrants who had trouble making ends meet. They did, however, decide to purchase an old piano so Ira Gershwin could study to become a musician. Yet, it turned out not Ira, but his younger brother George showed remarkable talent. Ira applied himself to writing song lyrics and together the Gershwin brothers became absolute greats in the world of 20th century musicals. Nowadays, George's compositions are still relevant, as is evidenced by the many performances of his Rhapsody in Blue from 1924. But the best example is the ageless Summtertime, which has been covered a countless number of times by a countless number of artists.

less

Kurt Weill

Kurt Weill was a German composer, active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht. With Brecht, he developed productions such as his best-known work The Threepenny Opera, which included the ballad 'Mack the Knife'. Weill held the ideal of writing music that served a socially useful purpose. He also wrote several works for the concert hall. He became a United States citizen on August 27, 1943.

Kurt Weill was a German composer, active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht. With Brecht, he developed productions such as his best-known work The Threepenny Opera, which included the ballad "Mack the Knife".
Weill held the ideal of writing music that served a socially useful purpose. He also wrote several works for the concert hall. He became a United States citizen on August 27, 1943.

less

Haven Gillespie

Seymour Simons

Richard Whiting

Vincento Scotto

Press

"At The Times they get five stars. Mezzosopraan Cora Burggraaf and the Calefax Reed Quintet work again together for years, and their vision on the Roaring Twnties also finds eagerly resonance in the United Kingdom."
Luister, 01-6-2015

(...) incredible nuanced solistical music-making, that makes the music come to life and makes it appear more atmospherically narrated as one is used to.
Fono Forum, 23-3-2015

"Solid unity."
Luister, 01-2-2015

"They are delightful to listen to and it is appropriate for this time of the year"
Opera Nederland, 01-11-2014