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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kremer has produced another winning collection, November 13, 2002
This review is from: After Mozart (Audio CD)
Violinist Gidon Kremer and his talented ensemble, Kremerata Baltica, have been producing fresh interpretations of classic and contemporary classical works for some time now. This release is no exception. The idea behind "After Mozart" is a simple one but produces wonderful results. The music features compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (and his father, Leopold), as well as latter-day composers inspired by him. Raskatrov, Silvestrov and Schnittke are among the composers featured. As usual with this ensemble, the music is bright, brilliant, and a true celebration of the compositions. I could have done without the inclusion of "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" (a nice piece of music but soooo overexposed), but otherwize the selections are wisely chosen. Bravo to Kremer and his musicians.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pop Mozart is the draw here, March 5, 2007
This review is from: After Mozart (Audio CD)
First off, I am guessing you are considering this record because it is done by Gidon Kremer. If not, please understand that he is a gifted nut job. He is not the place to go for a canonical interpretation. And Mozart would applaud this judgement and Kremer's course. Mozart loved fun, not reverence and protocol. He did opera for the masses.
I called Kremer a nut job, but in a serious way. He does not fool with the music. The performances are tight, disciplined presentations. But he does have his own way. Not technically, mind you, as we see some performers do. Rather it is a context of presentation where faithful joins fun.
Back to the rest of you Kremerata fans. Getting past the opening tintinabulation and more, rather than kleine, nachtmusik, you get to some quite interesting Schnittke. Here you are in the heart of what Kremer knows how to do best. This piece is the anchor for the record.
But I confess that the Leopold Mozart's Kids Symphony is the real draw for me. I promise not to tell on you for this cheap pleasure. The trick is not to play to the toys. You gotta do it strait or it would be a pandering flop.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mozart's Playful Side, July 25, 2006
This review is from: After Mozart (Audio CD)
The performances on this CD are superb. They are especially successful at bringing out the playful side of the Mozartian musical vision -- not only as shown in the obviously experimental pieces by other composers, but also in how the more-familiar pieces by Mozart are interpreted and recorded (e.g., the cadenzas in the final movement of the "Serenata Notturna"). Less impressive is the way these pieces fit together. The Kremerata Baltica do bring out the essential commonality of the music, but that commonality is sometimes overwhelmed by the prominent idiosyncracies: the Raskatov contribution with its keening violin, the somber Silvestrov piece floating in from far away on a windy day, the jarring familiarity of "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" in the middle of works you're likely hearing for the first time, and especially the loudly recorded toy sounds interpersed throughout Leopold Mozart's symphony. Not to say that these distracting traits make for bad music -- Gidon Kremer's playing on the Andante is particularly lovely -- or that someone listening closely to the CD would find these traits objectionable. But potential buyers at least should be aware that they will not be getting the sort of Mozart disc that people put on as background music so that they can relax and drink a cup of chamomile tea. You'll need to approach it with the same playfulness that Mozart often exhibited in his compositions.
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