Customer Reviews

Double Violin Concerto

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Mark O'Connor has become quite the composer in recent years. Known very well among the Nashville session musician circle as one of the great fiddle players of all times (his fiddle work is featured on the landmark 1987 TRIO album by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris), O'Connor has also ventured into the classical realm as well, taking his experiences in country and bluegrass and placing them into Classical Americana. And on this album, he gets some high-power assistance.

Specifically, that high-power assistance belongs to Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, one of the greatest classical violinists this nation has ever produced. Both her and O'Connor take up O'Connor's own Double Violin Concerto, which takes on elements of blues and jazz music, as well as his Appalachia Waltz, which he had previously recorded with bassist Edgar Meyer and cello virtuoso extraordinnaire Yo-Yo Ma. On the "Johnny Appleseed Suite", which O'Connor composed for a Grammy-nominated children's recording in the early 1990s, the composer is joined by good friends John Jarvis and Bryan Sutton in one of the truest expressions of Classical Americana since Aaron Copland's glory years. This recording ends with O'Connor's fine rendition of the ultimate American spiritual "Amazing Grace."

Best of all, there is great support to be had on this recording from the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and its Conductor Laureate Marin Alsop, one of the great conductors around today, female or otherwise. One could not have asked for better accompaniment than from this largely unknown orchestra or its fine conductor. And O'Connor, Salerno-Sonnenberg, and company are brilliant in their roles as well. A great recording to look out for, especially if one appreciates the heart and soul of America in classical form with some unique twists.

Playing Time - 59:33 -- Recorded at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver on two nights in November, 2003, "Double Violin Concerto" features violinists Mark O'Connor and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop. "Double Violin Concerto" was composed by O'Connor in 1997 and is his third symphonic concerto. Mark's goal was to achieve blues, jazz, swing and big band feelings, and he shows an extraordinary ability to accomplish it as only a virtuoso can. The piece was originally composed for Nadja and was premiered with the Chicago Symphony in 1999. The third movement, "Dixieland," gives the Orchestra's bass players and horns a good workout. Mark and Nadja also perform "Appalachia Waltz." O'Connor's "Johnny Appleseed Suite" is his 1994 orchestration of the children's music he originally composed for a Garrison Keillor disc and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Children's Recording. Friends John Jarvis (piano) and Bryan Sutton (guitar) join O'Connor and the Orchestra in a resplendent string journey. Long exquisite lines provide us with nostalgic views lost to the passing of time. The album closes with Mark's splendid rendition of "Amazing Grace" with Orchestra. His fluid, lyrical, and emotional style is truly heartwarming.

I first became familiar with Marin Alsop, the emerging superstar conductor when she was on the podium with the Eugene Symphony Orchestra. Her insight, instinct, intuition and interpretation of the music resulted in O'Connor calling her "the best friend to an American composer." Mark's collaboration with Nadja has spanned about six years, and he considers her to be "one the greatest violinists of not only our time but of all time." A diverse musician who has made a considerable name for himself in many walks of life, O'Connor has a down-to-earth style which is impeccable. Salerno-Sonnenberg's second violin is played with a more regimented classical approach. However, both have excellent command of the techniques to impressively play difficult passages and responses that complement each other. There are occasional flurries of notes and rapid-fire commentary, but the two indefatigable maestros fully understand each other. (Joe Ross, Roseburg, OR.)

Nadja Slerno-Sonnenberg must be heard -- and above all felt -- to be believed. Obviously, I have become a believer. This album is characteristic of her insatiable need to explore beyond the usual repertoire. I find her always rewarding. One need not attempt comparisons with other great violinists, to be appreciated in their own right. And I would never insist that anyone buy anything merely on my say-so. But to me, everything I have tried, and I have tried a lot, has brought great rewards.

The Double Violin Concerto is a delight, played with aplomb. It begins with a string figure well-known to aficionados of disco-music ca. 1977, and soon hits the barnyard, all the while totally steering clear of that turkey in the straw. Excellent solo and duo sections, and again - you can't use the word aplomb twice, and panache is too hi-falutin'. This opening movement is titled "Swing." II ("Midnight On The Dance Room Floor") is unfortunately gooey at the start, and alludes to everything American from Copland to Gershwin and Korngold, but it is deliciously orchestrated and ultimately, charming. It closes in "Dixieland," cake-walking and spotlighting the clarinet, of course, but it's, naturally, the fiddling which is featured. After all, this is a concerto for two violins. None of the Double Concerto is tacky; it shouldn't be labelled "crossover," however it would be a shame if it didn't sell in crossover quantities.

The seven-minute Appalachia Waltz for violin duo is subtle and quite tender.

The Johnny Appleseed Suite is in four movements, runs eighteen minutes, and is slight; it could easily be used for a teevee movie soundtrack: each movement could be called a theme: "Marching Along The Ohio Frontier," with flute and guitar featured, "Johnny's Apple Pie," "Three Angel Brides," and "The Life and Times of Johnny Appleseed." I guess I was close: the liner notes explain this was written for a "folk ensemble" for a children's recording narrated by Garrison Keillor.

The disc closes with a brief arrangement of "Amazing Grace" for violin and orchestra. It's pretty.

I still laud the Double Concerto. Kudos to all the players.

Steve Koenig, Editor, AcousticLevitation dot org, a journal of art, music and culture

Bought this CD because I heard the Johnny Appleseed suite on the classical station and loved it. The first three tracks are really awfully discordant although the virtuosity of the violin playing has to be admired. I have to skip over these tracks to get to the rest of the CD which is lovely. It is not the kind of CD you would play while reading a book and having a cup of tea. I really wonder to whom the first three tracks appeal? Sounds more like an unplanned and unrehearsed violin jam session, well, with very accomplished musicians.

Is just me, or has anyone else noticed that the tail end of this composition is identical to the old N'Sync song, "I Want it That Way"? The chord changes are exactly the same (just like the "E-bay Song", on YouTube!