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Recomposed, Vivaldi's Four Seasons
Max Richter

Daniel Rowland

Recomposed, Vivaldi's Four Seasons

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917297829
Catnr: CC 72978
Release date: 22 March 2024
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917297829
Catalogue number
CC 72978
Release date
22 March 2024

"It’s well played for sure; someone said once that the measure of a piece is whether musicians like to play it. (Maybe Reich again?) Judging from what I hear on this release, people enjoy playing it very much."

American Record Guide, 01-9-2024
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Artist(s)
Composer(s)
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About the album

Daniel Rowland is a charismatic and adventurous violinist, director and chamber musician. With irrepressible energy, he musically intoxicates the musicians he plays with and those who listen to his performances and recordings. The members of his Stift Festival Orchestra mirror that energy and make this brilliant piece of Max Richter sound as cool, passionate, rough and intimate as it can be.

In a statement about 'Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons', Daniel declares that “it has been a huge pleasure to record these brilliantly imaginative, totally captivating and addictively energising seasons by Max Richter. I love the way the music morphs in and out of Vivaldi, using Vivaldi’s brilliantly colourful and endlessly evocative music as a springboard and inspiration for a new masterwork, brimming with electric energy and shimmering soundscapes very much of our time.”

Vivaldi's Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons) could easily be the most famous piece of classical music ever composed, one of the first examples of ‘program music’. It is in many ways a groundbreaking, radical piece - one that by its fame has, as Max Richter says, “become part of the musical landscape and a part of my daily life”. Max Richter (*1966) is London-based composer who deftly blurs the lines between the classical and electronic worlds. His ‘post-classical idiom’ draws inspiration from diverse influences. Despite discarding 75 percent of Vivaldi’s original material in his ‘Recomposed, The Four Seasons’, Max Richter considers the Italian composer’s musical DNA omni-present in his reworking of the material. Richter’s remodelled version retains the basic shape, and much of the spirit, of the master's original four violin concertos, each season about ten minutes long in total and in three movements, sequenced fast-slow-fast. Artfully, but faithfully, Richter rearranges the notes on the page, revealing anew the radiant melodies and lush timbres of the music, and transforming a piece dulled by over-familiarity into something luminously relevant to the present day.

Vivaldi’s Vier jaargetijden, maar dan anders. Op dit album spelen Daniel Rowland en de leden van zijn Stift Festival Orchestra dit door Max Richter opnieuw gecomponeerde meesterwerk van Vivaldi. Daniel Rowland is een charismatische en avontuurlijke violist, regisseur en kamermusicus. Met onstuitbare energie weet hij zijn musici tot grote hoogte te brengen en zijn publiek te betoveren. Rowland en zijn orkest laten ‘The Recomposed Four Seasons’ het iconische en briljante stuk van Max Richter, zo koel, gepassioneerd, ruig en intiem klinken als maar mogelijk is.

Componist Max Richter gooide ongeveer driekwart van Vivaldi's origineel weg om te vervangen door zijn eigen muziek. Deze nieuwe versie klinkt een beetje hipper, op sommige plaatsen lichtvoetiger, soms donker en filmisch. Kunstig, maar getrouw, herschikt Richter de oorspronkelijke noten waardoor de stralende melodieën en weelderige timbres van de muziek opnieuw worden blootgelegd. In deze opname komen duidelijk de flamboyante fantasie en de technische bekwaamheid van Daniel Rowland als soloviolist naar voren.

De 'Vier jaargetijden' van Vivaldi zou wel eens het beroemdste klassieke muziekstuk kunnen zijn dat ooit gecomponeerd werd. Een van de eerste voorbeelden van 'programmamuziek'. Het is in veel opzichten een baanbrekend, radicaal stuk. Een stuk dat, zoals Max Richter zegt, door zijn bekendheid een deel van het muzikale landschap en een deel van zijn dagelijks leven is geworden. De in Londen wonende componist Max Richter (*1966) vervaagt behendig de grenzen tussen de klassieke en elektronische wereld. Zijn postklassiek idioom haalt hij uit verschillende invloeden. Hoewel hij in zijn ‘Recomposed Four Seasons’ een groot deel van Vivaldi’s oorspronkelijke compositie liet vervallen, beschouwt Richter het muzikale DNA van de Italiaanse componist als alomtegenwoordig in zijn vernieuwde versie. Hij heeft de basisvorm behouden en ook veel van de geest van de oorspronkelijke vier vioolconcerten van de meester. Waarbij elk jaargetijde ongeveer tien minuten duurt en uit drie delen bestaat, opeenvolgend snel-langzaam-snel. Max Richter heeft zo een al jarenlang overbekend werk omgevormd tot een stuk dat naadloos past in de huidige tijd.
Vivaldis Le Quattro Stagioni (Die vier Jahreszeiten) könnte ohne weiteres das berühmteste Stück klassischer Musik sein, das je komponiert wurde, eines der ersten Beispiele für "Programmmusik". Es ist in vielerlei Hinsicht ein bahnbrechendes, radikales Stück - eines, das durch seinen Ruhm, wie Max Richter sagt, "Teil der musikalischen Landschaft und ein Teil meines täglichen Lebens geworden ist". Max Richter (*1966) ist ein in London lebender Komponist, der die Grenzen zwischen der klassischen und der elektronischen Welt geschickt verwischt. Sein "postklassisches Idiom" schöpft seine Inspiration aus verschiedenen Einflüssen. Obwohl er 75 Prozent des Originalmaterials von Vivaldi in seiner "Recomposed, The Four Seasons" verworfen hat, ist die musikalische DNA des italienischen Komponisten in seiner Neubearbeitung des Materials allgegenwärtig. Richters umgestaltete Version behält die Grundform und einen Großteil des Geistes der ursprünglichen vier Violinkonzerte des Meisters bei, wobei jede Jahreszeit insgesamt etwa zehn Minuten lang ist und aus drei Sätzen besteht, die in der Reihenfolge schnell-langsam-schnell aufgeführt werden. Kunstvoll, aber originalgetreu ordnet Richter die Noten auf dem Blatt neu an, wodurch die strahlenden Melodien und üppigen Klangfarben der Musik wieder zum Vorschein kommen und ein durch zu viel Vertrautheit abgestumpftes Stück in etwas leuchtend Aktuelles verwandelt wird.

Artist(s)

Daniel Rowland (violin)

Dutch/English violinist Daniel Rowland’s playing has been acclaimed as ‘wonderful, ravishing in its finesse’ by The Guardian and as ‘both naked and highly virtuosic’ by NRC Handelsblad, while The Herald praised his ‘astonishing sound and uniquely single-minded intensity’.  Daniel has established himself on the international scene as a highly versatile, communicative, charismatic and adventurous performer, with a broad repertoire from Vivaldi to Van der Aa. In recent seasons Daniel has performed with concertos ranging from Beethoven to Brahms, Elgar, Berg, Korngold, Weinberg and Prokofiev, with conductors such as Heinz Holliger, Jaap van Zweden, François-Xavier Roth, Lawrence Foster, Antony Hermus and Rossen Milanov. He is a passionate advocate of contemporary concertos such as Vasks, Lindberg, Glass, Saariaho, Nisinman and Van der Aa....
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Dutch/English violinist Daniel Rowland’s playing has been acclaimed as ‘wonderful, ravishing in its finesse’ by The Guardian and as ‘both naked and highly virtuosic’ by NRC Handelsblad, while The Herald praised his ‘astonishing sound and uniquely single-minded intensity’.

Daniel has established himself on the international scene as a highly versatile, communicative, charismatic and adventurous performer, with a broad repertoire from Vivaldi to Van der Aa. In recent seasons Daniel has performed with concertos ranging from Beethoven to Brahms, Elgar, Berg, Korngold, Weinberg and Prokofiev, with conductors such as Heinz Holliger, Jaap van Zweden, François-Xavier Roth, Lawrence Foster, Antony Hermus and Rossen Milanov. He is a passionate advocate of contemporary concertos such as Vasks, Lindberg, Glass, Saariaho, Nisinman and Van der Aa. Recently he premiered Isidora Zebeljan‘s Violin Concerto ‘Three Curious Loves’ and this autumn sees the premiere of Roxanna Panufnik‘s ‘Songs of Love and Friendship’ with the Dutch Radio Choir at the Concertgebouw. September 2020 sees the release of ‘Distant Light’, with violin concertos by Peteris Vasks (Challenge Records).

A passionate chamber musician, Daniel has performed with artists as diverse as Ivry Gitlis, Heinz Holliger, Martha Argerich, Michael Collins, Lars Vogt, Giovanni Sollima, Marcelo Nisinman, Willard White and Elvis Costello. Daniel is one half of acclaimed duo partnerships with pianist Natacha Kudritskaya with whom he earlier recorded for Champs Hill Records a disc dedicated to the Enescu Sonatas (‘a perfect partnership’ – BBC Music Magazine), and with cellist Maja Bogdanovic, whose recent duo CD ‘Pas de deux’ (Challenge Records) was described as ‘a magical meeting between violin and cello’ by Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad. In 2005 Daniel founded the Stift International Music Festival in the bucolic region of Twente in the eastern Netherlands, where he grew up, with the 15th century Stiftkerk as the main venue. The festival has garnered acclaim as one of great intimacy, adventure and atmosphere. Daniel was for twelve years the leader of the Brodsky Quartet, performing all over the world, and making numerous recordings, including the celebrated Shostakowitch Cycle.

Daniel was born in London, and started his violin lessons in Enschede after his parents moved to Twente in the eastern Netherlands. He studied with Jan Repko, Davina van Wely, Herman Krebbers, Viktor Liberman, Igor Oistrakh and Ivry Gitlis. His violin is by Lorenzo Storioni (Cremona 1796), and his bow is a Maline, kindly loaned by the Dutch Instrument Foundation. He teaches at the Royal College of Music in London. He lives in Amsterdam with his partner, cellist Maja Bogdanovic´.


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Composer(s)

Max Richter

The British composer Max Richter was born in Hamelin in West-Germany and grew up in Bedford, England. After finishing his studies, he played for ten years in the ensemble Piano Circus, with which he performed works of minimalist composers such as Arvo Pärt, Philip Glass and Steve Reich. Richter is known for his works in which contemporary classical and alternative popular styles meet. His oeuvre includes concert music, operas, ballets and film scores. Besides, he has recorded a series of acclaimed solo albums.  
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The British composer Max Richter was born in Hamelin in West-Germany and grew up in Bedford, England. After finishing his studies, he played for ten years in the ensemble Piano Circus, with which he performed works of minimalist composers such as Arvo Pärt, Philip Glass and Steve Reich.
Richter is known for his works in which contemporary classical and alternative popular styles meet. His oeuvre includes concert music, operas, ballets and film scores. Besides, he has recorded a series of acclaimed solo albums.

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Press

It’s well played for sure; someone said once that the measure of a piece is whether musicians like to play it. (Maybe Reich again?) Judging from what I hear on this release, people enjoy playing it very much.
American Record Guide, 01-9-2024

I have to admit to a huge weakness for these Seasons—I never get tired of them! I think that with these Seasons, Max has struck gold, and I find them simply brilliant, colorful, exciting, and extremely effective, a total delight to both perform and listen to. And my three-year-old daughter wants to hear this CD all day! - Daniel Rowland
STRINGS Magazine, 07-5-2024

...Rowland and his orchestra transform the music into something deeply human and affecting.
The Strad, 01-5-2024

Violinist Daniel Rowland does not shy away from a challenge and plays the newly composed 'Seasons' together with the Stift Festival Orchestra. (...) The themes from the original work are recognizable. But, you could also consider this version as a completely new and standalone work. In any case, it's fascinating to listen to.
Music Emotion, 16-4-2024

Daniel Rowland is a magnetic advocate in a bold interpretation that emphasises the flighty, bird-like quality of Richter's looped phrases with a headlong quality of abandon.
BBC Music Magazine, 16-4-2024

Rowland's love for this music is undeniable: the pleasure of performing shines through on this CD! -Avrotros
AVROTROS, 10-4-2024

Recreating Vivaldi's the Four Seasons has been a challenge for many authors. Max Richter emerges successfully from the challenge, with an impressive Spring and Summer, with less artifice than expected. The best of the German.
Ritmo, 01-4-2024

Daniel Rowland is a huge fan of the piece and plays it here with Stift Festival Orchestra. It is certainly virtuosic and Rowland is an excellent advocate.
Trouw, 05-3-2024

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