Description
Berg: Violin Concerto & Three Orchestral Pieces – Gidon Kremer / Sir Colin Davis (Newton Classics CD)
- UPC: 8718247710188
- MPN (Manufacturer Part Number): 8802018
- Brand Name: Newton Classics
- Product Type: Audio CD
- Genre: Classical / 20th-Century Orchestral
- Style: Modernism / Expressionism
- Recording Type: DDD Stereo
- Total Duration: 47′00″
Overview
This Newton Classics release brings together two of Alban Berg’s (1885–1935) most profound works — the Violin Concerto “To the Memory of an Angel” and the Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 6 — in deeply moving performances by Gidon Kremer, Sir Colin Davis, and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
Berg’s Violin Concerto stands as one of the 20th century’s most transcendent concertos, a work of grief and grace composed in memory of Manon Gropius, the daughter of Alma Mahler and Walter Gropius. Kremer’s radiant tone and interpretive insight illuminate the piece’s spiritual beauty, while Davis and the Bavarian Radio Symphony provide luminous orchestral support.
The companion Three Orchestral Pieces, composed in 1914–15, reveal Berg’s mastery of texture and orchestral color — a bridge between Romantic expression and modernist intensity. From the brooding Präludium to the sinister power of the final Marsch, these performances capture Berg’s sound world in all its haunting detail.
Product Features
- Format: Audio CD
- Recording Type: DDD Stereo
- Recording Dates: December 1983 & March 1984
- Recording Location: Munich, Germany
- Soloist: Gidon Kremer (violin)
- Orchestra: Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
- Conductor: Sir Colin Davis
- Label: Newton Classics BV (licensed from Universal International Music BV)
- Country of Manufacture: Netherlands
- Total Playing Time: 47′00″
Interesting Facts
- A Farewell in Music: Berg completed the Violin Concerto just months before his death in 1935. Its dedication, “To the Memory of an Angel”, mourns Manon Gropius and serves as a poignant requiem for the composer himself.
- Kremer’s Interpretation: Gidon Kremer’s reading of the concerto has been hailed as one of the most emotionally resonant ever recorded — balancing intellectual precision with heartfelt expressiveness.
- Sir Colin Davis’s Baton: Davis, a master of late-Romantic and early-Modern repertoire, shapes Berg’s complex harmonies with clarity and warmth, drawing luminous playing from the Bavarian Radio Symphony.
- A Tonal–Atonal Bridge: The concerto integrates the twelve-tone method with tonal references — notably a Bach chorale — symbolizing reconciliation between old and new musical worlds.
- Modern Mastery: The Three Orchestral Pieces anticipate Berg’s operatic masterpiece Wozzeck, using immense orchestral forces to paint psychological tension and tragic grandeur.
Track Listing
-
Violin Concerto “To the Memory of an Angel” I. Andante – Allegretto – 11′51″ II. Allegro – Adagio – 16′32″
-
Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 6 I. Präludium – 4′13″ II. Reigen – 5′37″ III. Marsch – 8′47″
Total Duration: 47′00″
Publishers
Originally recorded for Universal International Music BV (1983–1984). Digitally remastered and reissued by Newton Classics BV (2010). Manufactured and printed in the Netherlands.
All rights of the producer and of the owner of the work reproduced reserved. Unauthorized copying, hiring, lending, public performance, and broadcasting prohibited.
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Hashtags
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