Camerata Nordica, Terje Tønnesen - Visions fugitives & Other Music for Strings (2014)

Tracklist

01. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: I. Lentamente
02. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: II. Andante
03. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: IV. Animato
04. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: III. Allegretto
05. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: V. Molto giocoso
06. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: VIII. Commodo
07. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: VI. Con eleganza
08. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: IX. Allegretto tranquillo
09. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: XI. Con vivacità -
10. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: X. Ridicolosamente
11. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: XII. Assai moderato
12. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: XIV. Feroce
13. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: XIII. Allegretto -
14. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: XV. Inquieto
15. Visions fugitives, Op. 22: XVI. Dolente
16. Schulwerk, Fünf Stücke für Streichorchester, Op. 44 No. 4: I. Langsam
17. Schulwerk, Fünf Stücke für Streichorchester, Op. 44 No. 4: II. Langsam - Schnell
18. Schulwerk, Fünf Stücke für Streichorchester, Op. 44 No. 4: III. Lebhaft
19. Schulwerk, Fünf Stücke für Streichorchester, Op. 44 No. 4: IV. Sehr langsam
20. Schulwerk, Stücke für Streichorchester, Op. 44 No. 4: V. Lebhaft
21. 5 Movements, Op. 5: I. Heftig bewegt
22. 5 Movements, Op. 5: II. Sehr langsam
23. 5 Movements, Op. 5: III. Sehr lebhaft
24. 5 Movements, Op. 5: IV. Sehr langsam
25. 5 Movements, Op. 5: V. In zarter Bewegung
26. Divertimento, Sz. 113: I. Allegro non troppo (Live)
27. Divertimento, Sz. 113: II. Molto adagio (Live)
28. Divertimento, Sz. 113: III. Allegro assai (Live)

On this 2014 BIS release, Terje Tønnesen and the Camerata Nordica present four works for string orchestra that represent the early modernist period, which is increasingly being explored by ensembles trying to break out of the limitations of programming Romantic repertoire. A comparatively new addition is Rudolf Barshai's 1945-1955 arrangement of selections from Sergey Prokofiev's brooding and mysterious Visions fugitives, a collection originally written for piano, though some of the pieces work surprisingly well in this medium. Paul Hindemith's utilitarian Five Pieces for string orchestra was a work intended for students, as part of his Schulwerk series for instrumentalists, and it is cast as five studies in the neo-Baroque style he favored in the 1920s. Anton Webern's highly concentrated and expressionistic Five Pieces were originally composed in 1909 for string quartet, though the composer expanded the ensemble for this 1929 arrangement. The Divertimento of Béla Bartók was composed in 1939 in his late neo-Classical phase, and its vigorous rhythms and virtuosic passages for the strings make it the most accessible selection on the program. The super audio format gives remarkable depth and clarity, both of which are necessary to avoid the grayish homogeneity that other recordings of string orchestras sometimes offer.

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