Maxim Rysanov reviews
Pēteris Vasks: Viola Concerto; Symphony No. 1
Maxim Rysanov (viola); Sinfonietta Riga (BIS)
In Schubert’s Company: Maxim Rysanov with the Riga Sinfonietta
This recording began life when the estimable Maxim Rysanov launched a 200th anniversary competition, won by Sergey Akhunov’s In Schubert’s Company, a reflective tone poem that drifts and soars, and which then spawned a jazzily hectic take on Der Erlkönig, again for viola and strings.
Hymns and Prayers
In their very different ways both these releases (see Nonesuch PRO400123) typify Gidon Kremer’s extraordinarily eclectic outlook, which delights in juxtaposing works that appear at first glance to have little connection with each other.