Giya Kancheli: Themes From The Songbook

• Audio Samples
• Album Summary
• Notes & Reviews
• Also Purchased
• Works Details

Audio Samples

Album Summary

Performers

• Gidon Kremer (Violin)
• Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone)
• Djansug Kakhidze (Voice)

Conductor

• Kakhidze, Djansug

Ensemble

• 

Composer

• Giya Kancheli (1935 - )

Notes & Reviews:

An unexpected cast featuring Argentine bandoneonist Dino Saluzzi, Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer and Ukrainian vibraphonist Andrei Pushkarev combine to create a Giya Kancheli album like no other! It was recorded "in secret" as a surprise 75th birthday present for the great Georgian composer - ECM invited Dino Saluzzi to play the themes in his personal and highly creative way, and simultaneously Gidon Kremer, an old friend and champion of Kancheli's music, had also expressed an interest in doing something special for Giya's birthday. With Kremer and Saluzzi involved, and the skilled vibraphonist Andrey Pushkarev, the project took on new dimensions. The resulting music features duo and trio interpretations of themes from Kancheli's early music for screen and stage, and is an extremely beautiful recording of gently exhaling melody, certain to appeal to listenership broader than the typical public for "new composition".

BBC Music Magazine
A sincere gesture from all concerned...Late at night, with the lights turned down low, over a glass of something, would be the best ambience

Classic FM Magazine
Performance-wise, there needs to be a certain amount of edge and discipline to stop things sagging. It's been achieved, and not at the expense of their beguiling whimsy and gentleness...This sweetly-performed disc is one for those who fancy something different but non-threatening, and warm to quirky, folk-induced nostalgia.

Notes & Reviews:

Recording information: Latvijas Radio, Riga (05/2010); Rainbow Studio, Oslo (05/2010).

Over the course of his career Giya Kancheli has written scores for over 100 films and plays, and in 2009 he gathered some of the music into a songbook, Simple Music for Piano: 33 Miniatures from Music for Stage and Screen. As a surprise for the composer's 75th birthday, his son and producer Manfred Eicher initiated a project with violinist Gidon Kremer, bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi, and vibraphonist Andrei Pushkarev to arrange and record an album of selections from the songbook. The original music was written over a span of almost 40 years, between 1965 and 2002, but there is a remarkable consistency in style and tone. The vast majority of the pieces recorded here have a mellow, semi-improvisatory, Latinate mood that is frequently reminiscent of Piazzolla at his freest. The prevailing sentiment of gentle melancholy makes for an album with a consistent tone. (It works beautifully as an album listening experience, but it's a little odd that the music is so unvaried for plays and films as diverse as The Crucible, As You Like It, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, King Lear, and Don Quixote, but that may have to do with the fact that it is re-scored for this chamber ensemble.) Each of the soloists is a star, but they put their egos at the service of the music and play with admirable sensitivity to each other, and the result is an exceptionally well-integrated ensemble. ECM's sound is impeccable. The album should interest anyone who wants to hear the composer's work in a lighter, more pop-influenced vein, and also fans of music in the mood of a very mellow Piazzolla. ~ Stephen Eddins

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Also Purchased

Works Details

Kancheli, Giya : Earth, This Is Your Son, film score for orchestra

• Performers: Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon); Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone)
• Running Time: 9 min. sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Form: Film Score
• Written: 1980

Kancheli, Giya : Bear's Kiss :: Theme

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 3 min. 26 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Form: Film Score
• Written: 2002

Kancheli, Giya : The Crucible :: Main theme

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 3 min. 22 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary

Kancheli, Giya : As You Like It :: Theme

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 5 min. 51 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Written: 1980

Kancheli, Giya : Don Quixote :: Theme, Var. 1

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 2 min. 31 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Form: Film Score
• Written: 1989

Kancheli, Giya : Hamlet :: Theme, Var. 1

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 1 min. 20 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Written: 1992

Kancheli, Giya : King Lear :: Theme

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 1 min. 56 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Written: 1987

Kancheli, Giya : Don Quixote :: Theme, Var. 2

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 1 min. 54 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Form: Film Score
• Written: 1989

Kancheli, Giya : Kin-Dza-Dza :: Main theme

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 2 min. 39 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Written: 1986

Kancheli, Giya : The Role for a Beginner :: Main theme

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 2 min. 29 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Written: 1979

Kancheli, Giya : Twelfth Night :: Theme

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 1 min. 56 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Written: 2001

Kancheli, Giya : Cinema :: Main theme

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 1 min. 38 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Form: Film Score
• Written: 1977

Kancheli, Giya : Hamlet :: Theme, Var. 2

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 1 min. 35 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Written: 1992

Kancheli, Giya : Richard III :: Waltz

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 2 min. 10 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Written: 1979

Kancheli, Giya : Mimino :: Theme

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 2 min. 52 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Form: Film Score
• Written: 1977

Kancheli, Giya : Don Quixote :: Theme, Var. 3

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 1 min. 45 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Form: Film Score
• Written: 1989

Kancheli, Giya : When Almonds Blossomed :: Main theme

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 5 min. 51 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Form: Film Score
• Written: 1972

Kancheli, Giya : The Eccentrics :: Waltz

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 3 min. 10 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Form: Film Score
• Written: 1973

Kancheli, Giya : Hamlet :: Theme, Var. 3

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Running Time: 4 min. 15 sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Written: 1992

Kancheli, Giya : Earth, This Is Your Son, film score for orchestra

• Performers: Andrei Pushkarev (Vibraphone); Djansug Kakhidze (Voice); Gidon Kremer (Violin); Dino Saluzzi (Bandoneon)
• Conductor: Djansug Kakhidze
• Running Time: 9 min. sec.
• Period Time: Contemporary
• Form: Film Score
• Written: 1980