Composer: Konstantin Vassiliev
Performer: Yuri Liberzon, Patrick O’Connell
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Catalogue: 8574315
Release: 2022
Size: 1.1 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Hommage à Tom Jobim
01. I. Carioca
02. II. Contemplation
03. III. Jam Beat
04. Cavatina
05. Rose in the Snow
06. Fatum
07. Wanderer in Time
08. The Jazz Story
Canto e danza
09. I. Canto
10. II. Danza
11. El faro mágico
12. Obrío
13. Synestha (After Scriabin’s Op. 20)
Danza fortaleza
14. No. 7, Cinderella
Russian Pieces
15. No. 1, Vision
16. No. 2, Dance of the Skomorokhs
Konstantin Vassiliev’s music synthesises several different styles including jazz, Russian folk music and contemporary Western traditions. This album contains music written over a 22-year period, with three works composed specifically for guitar soloist Yuri Liberzon. The Hommage à Tom Jobim was inspired by one of the creators of the bossa nova style, while the melancholic and lyrical contrasts of Rose in the Snow reveal Vassiliev’s gift for storytelling. Arias, romantic miniatures, variations and multi-character episodes further reveal Vassiliev to be a vibrant and exciting composer of wide-ranging gifts.
Yuri Liberzon has transcribed music of Domenico Scarlatti and Johann Sebastian Bach for guitar. His transcriptions have been published in SoundBoard magazine and are distributed in Europe by Bergmann Edition.
Classical Guitar Magazine wrote of him, ‘If there were anyone in the classical guitar world that could manage to combine musical elegance with architectural logic, it would be Yuri Liberzon.’
‘He played virtually without flaws but not without taking risks. He played with warmth and musicality and a care for the notes, like a great chef preparing a marvellous musical banquet’, also wrote Marlow Guitar Series.
His guitar partner from the group Duo Equilibrium, Patrick O’Connell, joins him for two pieces – Obrío and the Two Russian Pieces.