Beethoven Reimagined

by Gabriel Prokofiev, Yaniv Segal, BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Overview

Beethoven Reimagined was recorded in 2018, in a three-day set of sessions at Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff, the headquarters of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, but it contains works of different kinds under its general rubric. All are novel treatments of Beethoven's music. The first two are new Beethoven orchestral compositions, created through free renderings of existing works, made by the present conductor Yaniv Segal (with Garrett Schumann in the first of the two): the Sonata for Orchestra is an orchestration of Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30, No. 2, while the Fidelio Symphony assembles small chunks of the opera Fidelio, Op. 72, into a three-movement work that represents the "arc of the opera." Neither of these concepts would have been entirely foreign to a 19th century audience, but the Beethoven9 Symphonic Remix of Gabriel Prokofiev (grandson of Sergei) is something else again: a new seven-movement work based on little cells from the finale of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. Prokofiev is known for combining traditional orchestral music with techniques derived from electronic dance music and hip-hop, and here, on hand in person, he samples an earlier performance of the symphony's choral finale and puts these choral passages together with newly written orchestral material. Even by the standards of pop remixes, it's a fairly thorough reworking, but Prokofiev does remain true to the variation structure of the original finale. All of these works are fresh, much more than simple transcriptions, and Segal deserves credit for a genuinely novel program. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	03/27/2020
Label:	Naxos
UPC:	0747313402076
Rank:	220288

Tracks

1. Sonata for Orchestra in C minor, Op. 30, No. 2b~Allegro con brio
2. Sonata for Orchestra in C minor, Op. 30, No. 2b~Adagio cantabile
3. Sonata for Orchestra in C minor, Op. 30, No. 2b~Scherzo: Allegro
4. Sonata for Orchestra in C minor, Op. 30, No. 2b~Finale: Allegro
5. A Fidelio Symphony~Einleitung
6. A Fidelio Symphony~Aktion
7. A Fidelio Symphony~Apotheose
8. Beethoven9 Symphonic Remix~Presto
9. Beethoven9 Symphonic Remix~Allegro assai
10. Beethoven9 Symphonic Remix~Freunde, haben wir ein neues Babel?: Presto
11. Beethoven9 Symphonic Remix~Freude Sch¿¿ner G¿¿tterFUNKen: Allegro assai
12. Beethoven9 Symphonic Remix~¿¿ber Sternen (Beyond Stars): Andante Maestoso a mezzo tempo
13. Beethoven9 Symphonic Remix~Alla marcia
14. Beethoven9 Symphonic Remix~Ode finale. Molto vivace ma tranquillo

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Gabriel Prokofiev   Primary Artist,Electronics
Yaniv Segal   Primary Artist,Conductor
BBC National Orchestra of Wales   Primary Artist,Orchestra

Technical Credits

Yaniv Segal   Liner Notes,Composer,Arranger
Friedrich Schiller   Text
Adi Segal   Cover Design
Malihe Norouzi   Photography
Garrett Schumann   Arranger
Brunon Fidrych   Photography
Gabriel Prokofiev   Composer
Phil Rowlands   Producer,Engineer,Editing
Darren Rumney   Cover Design
Ludwig van Beethoven   Original Material,Composer