Der Bote: Elegies for Piano [Import]

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (Composer), John [1] Cage (Composer), Tigran Mansurian (Composer), Franz Liszt (Composer), Mikhail Glinka (Composer), Frederic Chopin (Composer), Valentin Silvestrov (Composer), Claude Debussy (Composer), Bela Bartok (Composer), Aleksei Lubimov (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Aleksei Lubimov
• Composer: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, John [1] Cage, Tigran Mansurian, Franz Liszt, Mikhail Glinka, et al.
• Audio CD (June 25, 2002)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Ecm Import
• ASIN: B0000646WZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,586 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #95 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Short Forms > Character Pieces
  • #100 in Music > Classical > Instruments > Keyboard > General

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Comprising three centuries of noted composers' "minor" works, Lubimov's Der Bote (The Messenger) bears out its title with short, introspective pieces that capture thoughts of nostalgia, mourning, and meditation. The first work, C.P.E. Bach's 1787 Fantasy, sounds amazingly avant-garde, full of surprising darts and turns. And the experimental 20th-century composer John Cage's "In a Landscape" is an even bigger surprise. Instead of random keyboard plink-plunks, it's a diaphanous Debussyan tone poem, bound to startle party guests playing Name That Composer.

Liszt's otherworldly "Abschied," Glinka's achingly beautiful Nocturne "La Separation," and Bartók's bleak "Vier Klagelieder" (Four Dirges) are highlights, but so are virtually all the other selections--especially Lubimov's moving interpretation of Chopin's neglected Prelude op. 45. Valentin Silvestrov is represented by his stark Elegie, and the fascinating "Der Bote," which vainly attempts to recall the lost world of classicism through Mozart quotations that fragment into shards. This is a concept album that works, each short gem casting refracted light on the others. Despite the New Age implications of an album of short, contemplative music, there's solid substance and stunning pianism here. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great music for meditation, September 27, 2002

By 

Rob Watkins (Augusta, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Der Bote: Elegies for Piano (Audio CD)

alexei lubimov presents a program of quiet beauty in this album. the range is remarkable, moving through the different periods of classical music, yet still finding and maintaining a consistency of mood and approach. seriously, how many of us would enter a concert hall, look at a program containing works from both CPE Bach and Bartok, and think we were going to hear anything having to do with anything? yet mr. lubimov has done so and with excellent results. the 18th century sounds in complete harmony with the 20th. the form of the elegy is a quiet piano study, but open to a panorama of interpretation. here, bach reveals a surprising burst of energy and harmonics that keep you captivated throughout; cage reveals an impressionistic bent that unfolds wonderfully; and the title piece by silvestrov is worth the price of the album by itself. this is a great album to contemplate. it is never jarring, but instead sets a tone for thinking and resting without ever becoming maudlin or boring. this is one of the best classical piano releases of the year.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More ECM magic, October 24, 2006

By 

Joseph Davis (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Der Bote: Elegies for Piano (Audio CD)

Not having a musical vocabulary, I can only attempt to tell you why I love this curiously eclectic program of piano music. Not many collections will give you a selection of composers that range from C.P.E. Bach to John Cage. Mind you, Lubimov plays C.P.E. Bach in a style which illuminates the similarities between these two brilliant composers born two hundred years apart. Lubimov slows the music down and gets into the spaces between the notes. If you haven't heard Cage's In A Landscape before, you are in for a major treat. I had heard the Debussy Elegie before, of course, but I have never heard it like this. It is also wonderful to hear Silvestrov, an unjustly neglected contemporary composer, played so well. My advice is to set the scene carefully before you play the music. It should be quiet, no distractions, perhaps early evening. Some candles, a calm housecat bathing itself on a cushion, and a swallow of cognac or red wine would also help create a felicitous atmosphere. Each note on this CD counts. Somehow this music gives life a perspective. It puts cares, worries and compulsions in their proper place. It helps you realise that there is much more to living than the mundane. Who needs drugs when you can experience wonderful music like this?

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful beautiful music., October 24, 2010

By 

Dave - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Der Bote: Elegies for Piano (Audio CD)

It's simple: If you're reading this review, then you want this "Aleksei Lubimov - Der Bote: Elegies for Piano" CD. ~ It's better than great!