Gidon Kremer / Giedre Dirvanauskaite / Daniil Trifonov PREGHIERA

The things Fritz Kreisler wrote for violin and piano are musical trifles. These little pieces, based on works by other composers, were usually intended for use as encore numbers in his own recitals. They reveal an unmistak- able fondness for Slavic melodies, as attested by his many arrangements of Dvořák. But Rachmaninov also figured high on the list of this violinist, whose tone, to quote Yehudi Menuhin, was “the sweetest of all times”. The melody of his Preghiera, a collaboration between Kreisler and Rachmaninov, was taken from the slow movement of the latter’s Second Piano Concerto. Here it functions as an introduction and curtain-raiser to the sonic universe of Rachmaninov’s two Trios élégiaques.

Gidon Kremer is celebrating his 70th birthday with a special chamber music programme together with pianist Daniil Trifonov and cellist Giedrė Dirvanauskaitė, both of whom he personally chose for this recording. It is an album full of correlations and a clear underlying conception. Neither he nor his musical confederates care about brilliant effects; their concern is always to unveil the truths and messages hidden in the music. “To me”, Kremer explains, “being an artist has always been a calling”. But, he emphasizes, “I don’t want this by any means to sound emotive, because I don’t consider myself important. The music is a source from which I draw energy. I try to convey this energy – with notes, with my repertoire, with my choice of musicians. I also try to go my own way and to find companions – interlocutors – who can help me, and with whom I can converse in the language of music”. (Bjørn Woll)