Rococo by Pieter Wispelwey

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Igor Stravinsky, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

Pieter Wispelwey

Rococo

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Evil Penguin
UPC: 0608917720327
Catnr: EPRC 0017
Release date: 05 December 2014
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Label
Evil Penguin

UPC
0608917720327

Catalogue number
EPRC 0017

Release date
05 December 2014

""Wispelwey profiles himself again as a charismatic musician who knows how to transfer the fun of music to the listeners." "

Luister, 01-3-2015

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

In its narrowest sense, the label “Rococo” pertains to the exaggeration and the mannerisms of the post-baroque era, but on this recording it can refer to any period or style in which old rules no longer apply, and new rules are not ready yet. From the crevices of music history, EPR Classic digs up three masterpieces, which take on fresh relevance in the hands of a virtuoso who delights in the foiling of conventions, and the conducting of formalities with a nod and a wink, while using new masks, colors, registers and gestures.

Nothing is what it seems on this recording. The only piece which is strictly Rococo – CPE Bach’s Cello Concerto in A – sounds romantic on account of its spicy charm and almost improper energy. Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations (1877) firmly belong to the Romantic catalogue, but borrow gestures from bygone ages to express how homeless their composer felt in his own times. Strawinsky’s Suite Italienne (1932) – performed here in the version for cello and orchestra – also recycles baroque inspiration, but not for any nostalgic purpose: for Strawinsky, the Suite heralds the new order of neo-classicism which was to determine his work ever after.

Teaming up with the Winterthur Chamber Orchestra, cello icon Pieter Wispelwey tackles these works with fitting playfulness and the unrestrained refinement and sensuality which have become his trademarks.

This will be a welcome addition to the catalogue.

Rokoko kann jede Zeit beschreiben, in der die alten Regeln nicht mehr gültig und die neuen noch nicht geschrieben sind – und was könnte hier passender sein, denn auf dieser Aufnahme ist nichts, wie es scheint. Das einzige Stück, das wirklich dem Rokoko angehört – C.P.E. Bachs Cellokonzert – klingt romantisch, und obwohl Tschaikowskis Rokoko-Variationen eindeutig der Romantik angehören, so entlehnen sie doch Gesten vergangener Zeiten, und auch Strawinsky nutzt die Möglichkeit der musikalischen Wiederverwertung in seiner Suite Italienne, deren Fassung für Cello und Orchester hier eine Welterstaufnahme erfährt.

Diese drei Meisterwerke gewinnen in den Händen des Virtuosen Pieter Wispelwey neue Relevanz. Er wendet sich gegen die Konventionen, nimmt Formalitäten mit einem Augenzwinkern und interpretiert die so unterschiedlichen Werke verspielt und doch mit der unverhohlenen Raffinesse und Sinnlichkeit, die sein Markenzeichen geworden sind.

In senso stretto, l’etichettà ‘Rococò’ riguarderebbe l’esagerazione e i manierismi dell’epoca post-barocca, ma in questa registrazione può essere riferito a qualsiasi periodo o stile in cui le vecchie regole non si applicano più, ma quelle nuove non sono ancora codificate. Tra le pieghe della storia della musica, EPR Classic scova tre capolavori, che assumono nuova rilevanza nelle mani di un virtuoso che si diverte a superare le convenzioni e a gestire le formalità con un cenno d’intesa, utilizzando al contempo nuovi mascheramenti, colori, registri e gesti.
Nulla è ciò che appare in questa registrazione. L’unico brano strettamente Rococò – il Concerto per violoncello in La di C.P.E. Bach – suona romantico, in virtù del suo fascino pungente e della sua energia quasi inappropriata. Le Variazioni rococò di Čajkovskij (1877) appartengono decisamente al catalogo romantico, ma prendono in prestito gesti di epoche passate per esprimere quanto il loro compositore si sentisse emarginato nel suo tempo. Anche la Suite Italienne di Stravinskij (1932) – qui eseguita nella versione per violoncello e orchestra – ricicla stilemi barocchi, ma per nessuno scopo nostalgico: per Stravinskij, la Suite annuncia la nuova era del Neoclassicismo che caratterizzerà d’ora in avanti la sua produzione. Accompagnato dall’Orchestra da Camera di Winterthur, il violoncellista Pieter Wispelwey affronta queste opere con quell’appropriata vivacità e quella raffinatezza e sensibilità che sono diventate il suo marchio di fabbrica.

Artist(s)

Pieter Wispelwey

Pieter Wispelwey is equally at ease on the modern or period cello. His acute stylistic awareness, combined with a truly original interpretation and a phenomenal technical mastery, has won the hearts of critics and public alike in repertoire ranging from JS Bach to Schnittke, Elliott Carter and works composed for him.
Pieter Wispelwey enjoys chamber music collaborations and regular duo partners include pianists Cédric Tiberghien and Alasdair Beatson and he appears as a guest artist with a number of string quartets including the Australian String Quartet.
Wispelwey’s career spans five continents and he has appeared as soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Boston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, London Philharmonic, Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig, Danish National Radio Symphony and Camerata Salzburg. Conductor collaborations include Ivan Fischer, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Herbert Blomstedt, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jeffrey Tate, Kent Nagano, Sir Neville Marriner, Philippe Herreweghe, Ton Koopman and Sir Roger Norrington.
With regular recital appearances in London (Wigmore Hall), Paris (Châtelet, Louvre), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw, Muziekgebouw), Brussels (Bozar), Berlin (Konzerthaus), Milan (Societta del Quartetto), Buenos Aires (Teatro Colon), Sydney (The Utzon Room), Los Angeles (Walt Disney Hall) and New York (Lincoln Center), Wispelwey has established a reputation as one of the most charismatic recitalists on the circuit.
In 2012 Wispelwey celebrated his 50th birthday by embarking on a project showcasing the Bach Cello Suites. He recorded the complete Suites for the third time. A major strand of his recital performances is his performances of the complete suites during the course of one evening, an accomplishment that has attracted major critical acclaim throughout Europe and the US. Pieter Wispelwey plays on a 1760 Giovanni Battista Guadagnini cello and a 1710 Rombouts baroque cello.

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Musikkollegium Winterthur

Jonathan Morton

Composer(s)

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

It can't be easy to have been a son of the great Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach was undoubtedly very strict, and if you'd have any composition ambitions, you would have to find a way to step out of the shadow of your father. Luckily, his sons had everything going for them considering their music. Whereas the traditional Baroque music of their father slowly went out of fashion, most of Bach's sons managed to follow the new trends of the early Classicism. In other words: relatively simple, melodic music which is not too heavy on the listener, yet still very passionate. Carl Philipp Emanuel, Bach's fifth son, became the most outstanding among his siblings. Like each of Bach's sons, he received a...

Carl Philipp Emanuel, Bach's fifth son, became the most outstanding among his siblings. Like each of Bach's sons, he received a solid education from his father, en Carl Philipp developed into a remarkably talented keyboardist. Moreover, he became a prolific composer and of all Bach's sons, he was able to came closest to the quality of his father's work, albeit in a completely different style.

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Igor Stravinsky

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century.
Stravinsky's compositional career was notable for its stylistic diversity. He first achieved international fame with three ballets commissioned by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev and first performed in Paris by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913). The last of these transformed the way in which subsequent composers thought about rhythmic structure and was largely responsible for Stravinsky's enduring reputation as a musical revolutionary who pushed the boundaries of musical design. His "Russian phase" which continued with works such as Renard, The Soldier's Tale and Les Noces, was followed in the 1920s by a period in which he turned to neoclassical music. The works from this period tended to make use of traditional musical forms (concerto grosso, fugue and symphony), drawing on earlier styles, especially from the 18th century. This style was often referred to as Neoclassicism. In the 1950s, Stravinsky adopted serial procedures. His compositions of this period shared traits with examples of his earlier output: rhythmic energy, the construction of extended melodic ideas out of a few two- or three-note cells and clarity of form, and of instrumentation.

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky is considered as one of the most talented Russian composers of the 19th century. Unlike many other Russian composers of his time, he studied at a conservatory and made the western music theory his own. So, he was not as distrustful of western music as the group of nationalistic composers surrounding Balakirev. Yet, Tchaikovsky sought to express the typical Russian mentality just as much and used many Russian folk songs in his music. He had a good relationship with Balakirev, who helped him with constructive feedback on his first masterpiece, the overture of Romeo and Juliet. At times, Tchaikovsky was emotionally unstable, which has often been attributed to struggles with his homosexuality. His decision to marry proved to be disastrous and plunged him into a deep crisis. Yet, the passionate letters of his fiance, even though they barely knew each other, did inspire him to compose his succesful opera Evgenij Onegin. Tchaikovsky had the wonderful gift of composing the most beautiful, lyric melodies. He had a feeling for creating a certain atmosphere in his music and mastered the art of orchestration. Moreover, he excelled in dance music, which made him the ideal composer for ballet. With his ballets The Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker he brought the genre to a higher level. During his life, he was already a celebrity. He often did tours to conduct his music and in the USA he was welcomed as a star. He died unexpectedly, nine days after the premiere of his incredibly gloomy Sixth Symphony, probably of cholera. Some other highlights of his body of works are his First Piano Concerto, his Violin Concerto and the Rococo-variations.

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Press

"Wispelwey profiles himself again as a charismatic musician who knows how to transfer the fun of music to the listeners."
Luister, 01-3-2015

The dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey takes us into a game with style and epochs.
Crescendo, 13-2-2015

Plaatpaal Radio 4
Plaatpaal Radio 4, 12-1-2015

This cellist controles the light-hearted dance as well as the sensitive, sensual expressions. I don't doubt that experts and lover of good classical music will like, even love this recording.
kultur-online.de, 07-1-2015

A CD with unconventional composed repertoire. A CD that awakes pleasure of listening. A CD that is great as a gift in the season after christmas. And a CD that one do not like to slip away.
NDR Kultur, 02-1-2015