Miklos Perenyi – Britten, Bach, Ligeti (2012) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44.1kHz]

Miklos Perenyi – Britten, Bach, Ligeti (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/44.1 kHz | Time – 00:57:55 minutes | 575 MB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: Qobuz | @ ECM Records GmbH
Recorded: November 2009, Auditorio Radiotelevisione svizzera, Lugano

Miklós Perényi plays Benjamin Britten’s Third Suite op. 87 and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Suite VI D-Dur BWV 1012, making plain an historical interconnection. Britten wrote his cello suites for Rostropovich, inspired by hearing him playing the Bach suites. Rostropovich hailed all of Britten’s cello suites as masterpieces but singled out the third (written 1971) for special praise: “sheer genius”, in his words. Into the fabric of the thematic material Britten wove fragments of melodies from Russian folk songs, only allowing them to emerge fully in the final movement. On this disc, Bach’s last cello suite follows Britten’s, and Perényi’s Bach dances with elegance and energy. The album concludes with a return to Hungary, and Ligeti’s cello sonata of 1948-1953. Ligeti released the piece for publication only in 1979, so it figures in the chronology (as Paul Griffiths points out in the notes) both before and after the Britten. This disc is Perényi’s first ECM solo recital, and follows his brilliant performance, alongside András Schiff, in the 2001/2 recordings of the Complete Music for Piano and Violoncello by Beethoven.

As more cellists record albums of solo works, there appears to be a growing demand for an expanded repertoire, beyond the handful of pieces that are usually performed. For this 2012 release on ECM New Series, Miklós Perényi has chosen three works of varying degrees of familiarity that show an awareness of the need to move into unexplored areas. While the Suite No. 6 in D major of J.S. Bach is one of the most frequently played of all cello masterpieces, its inclusion here at least grounds the program so the cross-over audience ECM cultivates can find some moorings. Somewhat less widely known is Benjamin Britten’s Third Suite, Op. 87, which is emotionally involving, entertaining for its sly allusions to Bach, and tonally accessible, but it is not played so often that it has become an obvious choice. The freshest sounding work is the Sonate by György Ligeti, which blends traditional cello gestures and virtuoso passagework with some extended modernist techniques to create a quirky mix of old and new. While Ligeti’s music seems to transcend conventional tonality, it is far from atonal, and most listeners will be able to appreciate its energy, color, and charm. Perény is clearly a master in all aspects of this recital, and he plays all three works with commitment and vitality. –AllMusic Review by Blair Sanderson

Tracklist:
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Third Suite for Cello, Op.87
1. Introduzione: Lento 02:15
2. Marcia: Allegro 01:34
3. Canto: Con moto 01:08
4. Barcarola: Lento 01:12
5. Dialogo: Allegretto 01:09
6. Fuga: Andante espressivo 02:32
7. Recitativo: Fantastico 01:09
8. Moto perpetuo: Presto 00:51
9. Passacaglia: Lento solenne 08:43
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Suite for Cello Solo No.6 in D, BWV 1012
10. Prélude 05:31
11. Allemande 06:34
12. Courante 03:50
13. Sarabande 05:42
14. Gavotte I – II 04:32
15. Gigue 03:56
György Ligeti (1923-2006)
Sonata for Solo Cello
16. Dialogo: Adagio, rubato, cantabile 03:59
17. Capriccio: Presto con slancio 03:35