Pina Napolitano & Liepaja Symphony Orchestra, Atvars Lakstīgala, dir. - ELEGY

1. 01 – Arnold Schoenberg – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 42 – I. Andante – 1
   
2. 01 – Arnold Schoenberg – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 42 – I. Andante – 2
   
3. 02 – Arnold Schoenberg – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 42 – II. Molto allegro
   
4. 03 – Arnold Schoenberg – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 42 – III. Adagio – 1
   
5. 03 – Arnold Schoenberg – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 42 – III. Adagio – 2 cadenza
   
6. 03 – Arnold Schoenberg – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 42 – III. Adagio – 3
   
7. 04 – Arnold Schoenberg – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 42 – IV. Giocoso
   
8. 05 – Arnold Schoenberg – Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene, Op 34 – 1
   
9. 05 – Arnold Schoenberg – Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene, Op 34 – 2
   
10. 05 – Arnold Schoenberg – Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene, Op 34 – 3
    
11. 05 – Arnold Schoenberg – Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene, Op 34 – 4
    
12. 05 – Arnold Schoenberg – Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene, Op 34 – 5
    
13. 06 – Ernst Krenek – Symphonic Elegy for string orchestra, Op. 105 – 1
    
14. 06 – Ernst Krenek – Symphonic Elegy for string orchestra, Op. 105 – 2
    
15. 06 – Ernst Krenek – Symphonic Elegy for string orchestra, Op. 105 – 3
    
16. 06 – Ernst Krenek – Symphonic Elegy for string orchestra, Op. 105 – 4
    
17. 07 – Bela Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3 – I. Allegretto – 1
    
18. 07 – Bela Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3 – I. Allegretto – 2
    
19. 07 – Bela Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3 – I. Allegretto – 3
    
20. 08 – Bela Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3 – II. Adagio religioso – 1
    
21. 08 – Bela Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3 – II. Adagio religioso – 2
    
22. 08 – Bela Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3 – II. Adagio religioso – 3
    
23. 08 – Bela Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3 – II. Adagio religioso – 4
    
24. 08 – Bela Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3 – II. Adagio religioso – 5
    
25. 09 – Bela Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3 – III. Allegro vivace – 1
    
26. 09 – Bela Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3 – III. Allegro vivace – 2
    
27. 09 – Bela Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3 – III. Allegro vivace – 3
    
28. 09 – Bela Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3 – III. Allegro vivace – 4
    

PINA NAPOLITANO & LIEPAJA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, ATVARS LAKSTĪGALA, dir.

ELEGY – Schoenberg, Bartók, Krenek

Having received widespread acclaim for her disc of Schoenberg’s complete solo piano works, Pina Napolitano now brings her unique combination of fierce intellect and emotional insight to Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto, in her second disc for Odradek, entitled ELEGY, with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra conducted by Atvars Lakstīgala. Programmed alongside Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto, Pina finds a common thread unitingthe two concerti in their shared sense of nostalgia and in this nostalgia’s redemption through dance. With characteristic perceptiveness, she explores their blend of the wistful and the joyous.

Reinforcing the album’s elegiac character, the Liepaja Symphony Orchestra performs Schoenberg’s Accompaniment to a Film-Scene, harkening “danger, fear, catastrophe”, followed by Krenek’s Symphonic Elegy. Three composers exiled by war, expressing sorrow for the world they left behind, tempered by their new experiences of America. It is a CD that explores pathos and loss, whilst managing to find joy amid the tears.

Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto uses his 12-tone method, yet there are many precedents referenced in the work, including Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, and Brahms, as well as the expressionistic voice of his own past, from the Vienna he left behind. The Film Music belongs to this expressionistic period, and foreshadows the turmoil his land would see within a decade.

Schoenberg’s close contemporary Webern is poignantly commemorated in Krenek’s Symphonic Elegy. Webern was accidentally shot by an American soldier in 1945, and the Elegy unfolds as one continuous lamentation, at times Mahlerian in its emotional expressivity.

Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto was written during a time of turmoil for the composer: his career was languishingand his death was immanent. In the Third Concerto we find his rigorous writing softened with lyricism, particularly in the central Andante religioso, which alludes to Beethoven’s ‘holy thanksgiving’ from his Op.132. The dances which culminate in the final movement reference multiple styles and seem to summarize the history of music and the story of Bartók’s life, up until the final ascendant bars, which were completed by a student.

Praise for Pina Napolitano – Schoenberg piano works:
“rare penetration, understanding, grace and elegance.” BBC Music Magazine
“Napolitano has a tensile strength to her playing that is distinctly hers” International Piano Magazine
“consistently brilliant” Arts Desk
“Schoenberg himself would probably have approved” The Examiner
“in her hands the music sounds eminently approachable even when at its most iconoclastic” Music Web International

Praise for LiepājaSymphony Orchestra/Atvars Lakstīgala – Kurland Sounds:
“sonorities in dazzling combinations with an operatic intensity that will leave you breathless” BBC Music Magazine
“admirably secure and understanding advocacy” Gramophone
“a very fine release indeed… The recording is rich and detailed, the performances impeccable” MusicWeb International

…

Booklet in English, German, and French.
Program notes by Hugh Collins Rice.

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Reviews

“Pina Napolitano is touring a reduced version of Arnold Schoenberg’s piano concerto for 14 players. It’s well within the tradition of Schoenberg shrinking other composers’ works for private performance.”
Slipped Disc - Norman Lebrecht / 17 December 2016

“Pina Napolitano’s performance is exceptionally lucid, aided by transparent orchestral playing… There’s sensitive orchestral playing from Atvars Lakstígala’s Liepaja Symphony Orchestra… proof that dodecaphonic music can be both melodic and moving.”
The Arts Desk - Graham Rickson / 14 January 2017