Credits:

Lim / Schafleitner / Asbury

Description:

Kremer's soulful new recording of Weinberg's ultra-mysterious "24 Preludes"! Kremer has made a long-awaited new solo recording. The fact that it is unaccompanied is a sign of his confidence and enthusiasm. The piece is Weinberg, which Kremer has been very passionate about for several years. The entire piece is not an original for violin, but Kremer's own arrangement for violin of the "24 Preludes" for unaccompanied cello. When Kremer performed Weinberg's Violin Concerto with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in September 2017, he played two of these pieces as encores, and in February 2018, he performed the complete work at Suntory Hall, which attracted much attention. Weinberg's 24 Preludes was written in 1968 and dedicated to the great cellist Rostropovich. It is an intriguing collection of works in 24 major and minor keys, but of different character. The piece is full of quotations that are no less mystical than those of Shostakovich or Schnittke, and it seems that this also attracted Kremer's attention and motivated him to arrange the piece, not wanting to leave it as a treasure for cellists only.For example, No. 5 is a shockingly bold quotation from Schumann's Cello Concerto, and No. 21 is a blatant and bold quotation (or rather, an exact copy) from Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1. The latter is, of course, dedicated to Rostropovich, but the former was also re-orchestrated by Shostakovich for Rostropovich in 1963, which makes some kind of sense. The fact that Kremer seems to have understood the meaning and performed it is as interesting as a mystery novel. Kremer's performance is also sharp and full of tension, shedding various lights on this enigmatic work. The accompanying atmospheric and modern photographs by Lithuanian photographer Antanas Stokus (1939- ) also broaden the imagination. King International