Gramophone Magazine
January 2021
Editor's Choice

Camerata Bern (chamber ensemble), Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin), Thomas Kaufmann, Marko Milenkovic, Sonja Starke, Suyeon Kang, Patricia Kopatchinskaj, Sol Gabetta (cello), Käthi Steuri

Veress: Musica Concertante
Kurtág: Signs, Games and Messages: Jelek VI
Ginastera: Concerto for Strings, Op.33
Bartók: Duo Pizzicato
Ligeti: Ballad and Dance
Coll, F: Les Plaisirs illuminés
Coll, F: LalulaLied
Camerata Bern: Camerata's Birds (Improvisation)

This recording presents the double concerto for violin, cello and orchestra of the Spanish composer Francisco Coll, born in 1985. Les Plaisirs Illuminés, a title inspired by Dalí's painting of the same name, is rooted in Spanish traditions, including flamenco, yet is resolutely modern: Its music is very lively rhythmically, it dances and sings but at the same time it is very abrupt, always in search of extremes , says Patricia Kopatchinskaja. For this world premiere conducted by the composer, she is reunited with a longstanding partner who pursues an equally brilliant international career, the cellist Sol Gabetta. The programme also features the Musica concertante for twelve strings by the Hungarian-born Swiss composer Sándor Veress, premiered by the Camerata in Bern in 1966. A year earlier, the Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera wrote his fascinating Concerto for Strings. A kaleidoscope of colours and sounds from all over the world…

"Soitto on huipputaiturillista, rajua ja herkkää. Ohjelmisto karttaa poljettuja latuja." - Jukka Isopuro, HS 12.1.2021.