Ulrich Leyendecker: Violin Concerto; Symphony No. 3

Ulrich Leyendecker (Composer), Johannes Kalitzke (Conductor), NDR Symphony Orchestra (Hamburg) (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: NDR Symphony Orchestra (Hamburg)
• Conductor: Johannes Kalitzke
• Composer: Ulrich Leyendecker
• Audio CD (September 20, 2005)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B0007XHKZS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #821,624 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enrapturing music!, February 21, 2006

By 

JohnWYC "John" (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ulrich Leyendecker: Violin Concerto; Symphony No. 3 (Audio CD)

When I bought this disc, I wasn't expecting, since Leyendecker is a name that is totally unknown to me (and probably many others).

However, when I played the disc, I was captured into Leyendecker's colourful soundscapes right from the beginning. His music frequently adopts unusual register spacing techniques that creates spatial effect. The 1st movement of Symphony No. 3 sounded like a very deep and dark room. His use of novel orchestral effects also produce vivid images. I really felt like flying when I listened to the 2nd movement (Presto volante - 'volante' means flying).

The music contains a lot of emotion, be it grief, meditation, unrestrained joy or turbulence.

His music is mostly atonal, with occasional hints of tonality (listen to the beginning of the symphony, where there is a widely spaced-out G# minor chord). However, the music certainly isn't dodecaphonic and calculated.

Leyendecker incorporates the saxophone and the guitar/mandolin into his orchestral scores, which seems to be a current trend in the development of the 21st century orchestra.

The sound is superb, with a chilly touch in the symphony, which is very much appropriate. The Violin Concerto was recorded before a studio audience, but I heard no noise whatsoever from them.

This is a truly wonderful recording, and Leyendecker has immediately become one of my favorite composers (I will acquire his other discs when I find them). This is music that is modern, yet totally accessible because it conjures up vivid images and contains a lot of deeply felt emotion. Urgently recommended, and well done, Naxos!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars modernistic brilliance, February 6, 2007

By 

SONNET CLV (Paradise, Montana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ulrich Leyendecker: Violin Concerto; Symphony No. 3 (Audio CD)

Naxos is once again to be commended for this fine release. The two works by Ulrich Leyendecker are sterling examples of modernistic brilliance. Those of you who follow contemporary serious music will find this release a treasure. The excitement I experienced upon hearing Leyendecker's Symphony No. 3 I haven't known since ... well ... since I first heard the symphonies of Einojuahani Rautavaara a couple of years back. Rautavaara and Leyendecker share a similar sound universe which proves fascinating, mysterious, and illuminating. But Leyendecker is not Rautavaara, nor anyone else. His voice is unique and certainly deserves to be heard. I give both the Symphony No. 3 (1990/91) and the Violin Concerto (1995) five stars.

I do have one quibble with Naxos's packaging. And this is not a singular error, since Amazon.com has continued the problem. Though the CD disc label identifies tracks 1 through 6 correctly, the back cover of the CD case lists the Violin Concerto as the first work (tracks 1-3) and the Symphony No. 3 as the second work (tracks 4-6). In actuality, the Symphony plays first, tracks 1-3, and the Concerto follows, tracks 4-6. Too, while the disc label notes are correct, the back cover of the case notes misname the individual tracks. Track one is not the "Allegro" of the Violin Concerto but rather is the "Largo leggiero" of the Symphony. The timings given for individual tracks, however, are correct! So the 11:07 of track 3 is correct, though it marks the time span of the Symphony No.3's third movement, "Luminoso" and not the span of the "Allegro (Variations)" of the Violin Concerto.

You'll notice that Amazon has listed their six listening samples for this work as they are given on the erroneously labeled back cover notes of the case. So when you click on that first track "Allegro" you'll be hearing the opening of the Symphony No. 3's "Largo leggiero". Tracks 1-3 are the Symphony, mislabled as the Concerto's movements, and tracks 4-6 are the Violin Concerto, mislabeled as the Symphony's movements. Got that? Good. Now ... get this disc, too. Unscramble the confusing back jacket notes, listen, and enjoy.