Search - Aaron Jay Kernis, David Zinman, Hugh Wolff :: Aaron Jay Kernis: Air; Double Concerto; Lament & Prayer

I love this CD

09/28/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow. Kudos, as always, to Mr. Bell for his superb and heartrending recording of "Air" for violin and orchestra. Those eleven minutes of heaven alone are worth the price of the CD. It's hard to breathe after listening to such great music played by such a great violinist. Isbin and Lin are great together in their jazzy, finger-snapping double concerto. I was a little wary of it when I read the description of tracks 2-4, but it's a fun piece. Kudos also to Pamela Frank for a soulful and searing rendition of Lamentation and Prayer. Beautiful to hear the orchestra and soloist mourn and meditate in unison. This CD is a keeper."

Deeply Moving "Lament and Prayer" for WWII Victims

Shuji Ogino | Boston, MA USA | 03/25/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I like "Lament and Prayer" best in this CD. It is a very serious, beautiful piece, which is dedicated "in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII and Holocaust". Pamela Frank, whom this piece was commissioned for, is playing as if praying. The Minnesota Orchestra, especially strings, lead by David Zinman responded very well. In the final minutes, her violin and the orchestra finish in a calm, timeless melody. I was so moved when I actually listened to this piece, played by Pamela Frank, in a concert hall. Air for Violin is also beautiful and serene, but it is a simpler piece. Double Concerto for Violin and Guitar is an interesting piece. The jazz-like first and third movements contrast with the second movement, partly dissonant but richly melodious. Violin and guitar is a very intriguing combination. This Pulitzer prize-winning CD contains masterpieces by Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960)."

Takes us a few steps further than the Barber Violin Concerto

Tom Brody | Berkeley, CA | 10/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Kernis Double Concerto is an original. The style is not at all like that in Mr.Kernis' Colored Field (a concerto for English horn). Colored Field, at times, has a cartoonish quality reminiscent of the music of Carl Stalling, and at other times, has a crag-like, dignified quality of some of the music of Aaron Copland.



The Kernis Double Concerto has a busy, frantic quality. The Double Concerto appears grounded in tonality, but seems to have a bit of Alban Berg sprinkled in it, which adds sonic spice. Moreover, the Double Concerto has an continual alleatory quality to it, thick meandering sounds in the background, somewhat reminiscent of Ives. What is especially surprising in the Double Concerto are the occasional springy, spongey episodes sounding like a college marching band (or 1940s swing band). I had always liked the third movement of the Barber Violin Concerto, with its frantic, busy energy. The Kernis Double Concerto is somewhat similar to Barber Violin Concerto in that both pieces are fast and "happy," but Kernis takes it a few steps further, by adding the Alban Bergesque aleatory quality, and by adding the amusing springy college marching band episodes.



FIVE STARS to the Kernis Double Concerto. Also, FIVE STARS to Kernis' Colored Field with English horn, as recorded by the San Francisco Symphony."