Piano Concerto in D Flat Major (Berezovsky)

(1936, Warner Classics) Armenie.

Aram Khachaturian - Piano Concerto

I won’t go back in details in his biography, but Aram Khachaturian didn’t compose a lot of concertos.

Anyway I loved that one and it inspired me a lot on my own Duokaitettarakontaphobia Concerto.

That record I bought is performed by Boris Berezeovsky, a famous russian pianist.

What I like in that Piano Concerto, is a good mix of technical parts, melancolia and many different melodies.

The best part in my opinion is at 9:42 until the end of the first movement, terrific !

You have to listen to it.

You may notice that on that record there is too the first piano concerto by Tchaikovsky. Ok Pyotr got a cool russian name and knows how to play the piano but his first concerto sucks.

That’s it.

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COUP DE COEUR : MY TOP 5

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	1. I. Allegro Maestoso
	2. III. Allegro Brillante
	3. II. Andante Con Anima

 You can listen to the concerto here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YVPdqUH1q8

Orient Occident

(1999, ECM Records) Estonia

Cover de Arvo Pärt - Orient Occident

“Times and Winds”, a Turkish movie released in 2008, really impressed me when I lived in Lille. This movie was shot in amazing landscapes, and has a slow and sad rhythm. I distinctly remember the sequence when the son tries to kill his father, who has the flu, by emptying his father’s medicine into the sink. Afterward I realized that the strange ambiance of this scene can be attributed to the music by Arvo Pärt, who is an Estonian composer. The soundtrack to “Times and Winds” consists of tracks from “Te Deum” and “Orient Occident”, the first two albums of Arvo Pärt’s that I bought. It’s pretty hard to describe this music, but it’s slow, powerful and intense.
Then I discovered his other albums, like “Fratres”, which has a very technical cello intro, “In Principio” and “Alina”. The power of Pärt’s music comes from Tintinabula : pure sounds resonating.
I then learned more about him on the internet and from a documentary in which Thom Yorke and Bjork are interviewed… this helped me to understand Arvo Pärt’s concept and who he is.
I choose two songs : Orient & Occident, which is a string (and brass ?) song, incredibly well recorded. What a powerful bass sound from the strings and high fidelity for the violins tremolo. This song consists of one repeated theme throughout which he plays on the harmonies. I also love the fourth movement of Como Cierva Sedienta – IV which features a very high pitched, sad and powerful female choir.
Arvo Pärt’s oeuvre was a major discovery for me in music.

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COUP DE COEUR : MY TOP 5

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	1. Orient & Occident
	2. Como cierva sedienta – IV

http://www.myspace.com/composerarvopart