Arvo P¿¿rt: Cello Concerto "Pro et Contra"; Perpetuum Mobile; Symphonies Nos. 1-3

by Neeme Jaervi, Arvo Paert

Overview

"Challenging" is putting it mildly when one takes on the fragmented soundscapes laid out by Arvo Paert, collected from a period in his life where he was contemplating (even struggling with) his own sense of compositional identity. Here, the musical aesthetics of yester-century seem tossed about in tumultuous waves of the avant-garde. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing, "Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (Pro Et Contra)" is an unexpected bouquet of splinters, rusted springs, and dangling tangents, sandwiched between momentary Bach-inspired proclamations. Where applicable, Frans Helmerson darts about with appropriate reverence on the cello. "Perpetuum Mobile, Op. 10" follows next, a tense crescendo of orchestra pulsing and swelling toward a seemingly definitive climax, yet offers no real resolution as it passes ominously overhead and away toward the horizon. The two passages of "Symphony #1" are likewise unhinged, elusive, brilliant, and scattered. Brass clusters and plucked strings shiver through some daunting passages which may have difficulty finding more than scholarly appreciation. "Symphony No. 2" continues the flustered dialogue in much the same way, teetering over the sharp cliffs of Shostakovich and Ligeti, sometimes so brashly as to embrace the apocalypse. The third movement is powerful, menacing, and deliberate at the outset; singed by the flames as it progresses; then blossoming into a lullaby that has a couple of seizures on its way to close. "Symphony #3" opens stoically and sweetly; an epic strategy in romanticism that conquers the listener with less-dissonant attacks and more triumphant ultimatums. Dedicated to Neeme Jaervi (the featured conductor of the album), the tone of this symphony is every bit as ominous as what precedes it without being as structurally jagged around the edges. Paert's unrest is everywhere on this release, and through the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra he reveals an awkwardness that the uninitiated may have a harder time digesting. It has the feel of a lost treasure, but the sound of a lost soul. ~ Glenn Swan

Product Details

Release Date:	09/05/1992
Label:	BIS
UPC:	7318590004340

Tracks

1. Pro et contra, concerto for cello & orchestra~1. Maestoso
2. Pro et contra, concerto for cello & orchestra~2. Largo
3. Pro et contra, concerto for cello & orchestra~3. Allegro
4. Perpetuum mobile, for orchestra, Op. 10
5. Symphony No. 1 ("Polyphonic"), Op. 9~1. Canons
6. Symphony No. 1 ("Polyphonic"), Op. 9~2. Prelude and Fugue
7. Symphony No. 2~First Movement
8. Symphony No. 2~Second Movement
9. Symphony No. 2~Third Movement
10. Symphony No. 3~First Movement
11. Symphony No. 3~Second Movement
12. Symphony No. 3~Third Movement

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Neeme Jaervi   Primary Artist,Conductor
Arvo Paert   Primary Artist
Walter Forchert   Violin
Frans Helmerson   Cello
Bamberger Symphoniker   Orchestra

Technical Credits

Arlette Lemieux-Chene   Liner Note Translation
Tommie Lindstroem   Photography
Katharina Liepelt   Liner Note Translation
Merike Vaitmaa   Liner Notes
Andrew Barnett   Liner Note Translation,Layout Design,Typesetting
Robert von Bahr   Cover Photo,Producer
Siegbert Ernst   Digital Editing