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)

Gidon Kremer / Kremerata Baltica GLASS - PÄRT - KANCHELI - UMEBAYASHI New Seasons

Gidon Kremer returns to the Yellow label after more than a decade with the brand new reference recording of Philip Glass’ Second Violin Concerto – “The American Seasons”, his first solo concerto album in many years.The first Glass Violin Concerto, performed by Kremer and released by DG in 1993, has achieved cult status and shipped close to 90k units (in Germany alone over 25k copies) – and has become a staple of DG’s contemporary music catalogue.

Now, this extraordinary follow-up Concerto is at the heart of the repertoire of the Kremerata Baltica. Performed for the first time in San José, Costa Rica with Gidon Kremer as soloist in August 2013, it will be toured later in the year - info to follow shortly.

The album is completed by works of Arvo Pärt and Giya Kancheli – two composers both closely associated with Gidon Kremer, and who are both set to celebrate milestone 80th birthdays this year. Gidon has also added the short piece by the well-known Japanese film composer Shigeru Umebayashi as a tribute to his Japanese friends.

Four highly regarded visual artists and film maker have created four different films for each of the American Seasons that are projected to screens during concert performances. (Presto Classical)