Composer: Valentyn Silvestrov
Performer: Daniel Rowland, Borys Fedorov, Maja Bogdanović
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Challenge
Catalogue: CC72939
Release: 2022
Size: 309 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. The Messenger
Post Scriptum, Sonata for Violin and Piano
02. I. Largo – Allegro – Andante
03. II. Andantino
04. III. Allegro vivace – Allegretto
Three Pieces
05. I. Lullaby
06. II. Barcarole
07. III. Lullaby
08. Piano Sonata 2
Hommage à J.S.B, for Violin and Piano (quasi echo)
09. I. Andantino
10. II. Andantino
11. III. Andante – Andantino
12. Epitaphium: Largo
Five Pieces
13. I. Elegy
14. II. Serenade
15. III. Intermezzo
16. IV. Barcarole
17. V. Nocturne
Alfred Schnittke and Arvo Pärt have both called the Ukrainian Valentyn Silvestrov “one of the greatest composers of our time”. He is also one of its true originals; though a leading figure in the former Soviet Union’s avant-garde in the 1960s, he subsequently came to realise that “the most important lesson of the avant-garde was to be free of all preconceived ideas – particularly those of the avant-garde. Over time, Silvestrov’s compositional practice evolved into what he would come to call his “metaphorical style” or “meta-music”. The composer wishes his works to be seen as “codas” to musical history: “I do not write new music. My music is a response to and an echo of what already exists”.
Valentyn Silvestrov says: “music is still song, even if one cannot literally sing it: it is not a philosophy, not a world-view. It is, above all, a chant, a song the world sings about itself, it is the musical testimony to life. Daniel Rowland explains: “I do not know of another composer who writes with this degree of intimacy – his timeless melodies, often barely a whisper, are consoling, haunting, full of nostalgia and mystery”.
Such unique possibilities are opened up in music by Valentyn Silvestrov, a great artist and a great humanist! Playing his music requires a special filigree and jewel-like precision, as well as spirituality and freedom…