Pēteris VASKS (b. 1946)
Music for String Orchestra
Musica serena (2015) [10:06]
Musica dolorosa (1983) [12:49]
Musica appassionata (2002) [18:26]
Cello concerto no. 2 ‘Presence’(2012) [35:32]
Uladzimir Sinkevich (cello)
Anna-Maria Palii (soprano)
Münchner Rundfunkorchester/Ivan Repušić
Rec. 2020, BR Studio 1, Munich
BR KLASSIK 900336 [76:53]
The veteran Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks is particularly fond of writing for strings, and here we have four of his works for string orchestra. Vasks has been called a minimalist, along with such composers as the Estonian Arvo Pärt and the Englishman John Tavener, but none of them are very similar to the American minimalists such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass. Vasks’ idiom is basically tonal, with a free use of chromaticism and moderate dissonance like that of twentieth century masters such as Martinů and Shostakovich, both of whom he occasionally recalls.
Musica serena opens the disc and is the most recent work here. It begins with high harmonics before moving into a passage which is contemplative but not mournful. You may think of Vaughan Williams’s Tallis Fantasia as a work in a similar mood. It rises to a climax and then subsides. This is considered one of the composer’s most carefree pieces.
Musica dolorosa, which comes next, is its mournful companion. This is a much earlier work, dating from the time when Latvia was still under Soviet domination. The immediate inspiration was the death of Vasks’ sister. This is a very different work, with more chromaticism, glissandi in the strings, changes of metre and a pounding rhythm at times. There is also an anguished solo line on the cello. Vasks said, ‘This is my most tragic opus, the only one in which there is no optimism, no hope – only pain.’ It was understood at the time as referring not only to his private grief but also to the plight of the Latvian people.
Musica appassionata, a much later work, is somewhat similar, with anguished slow sections and fast ones with a driving rhythm which has somewhat the force of the fast movements of Beethoven or Bartók. There are several changes of mood and some highly complex polyphonic writing.
The cello concerto here is the Vasks’ second, having had a predecessor in 1994. That was written for full orchestra whereas this second one has a string orchestra, hence its place in this programme. It opens with a cadenza for the soloist which leads into an Andante, in which the cello leads the orchestra in a melancholy meditation with a beautiful solo with a long singing line. Then follows an Allegro which generates a terrific tension. It is this movement which reminded me particularly of Martinů, specifically the Double Concerto. The cello then has a second cadenza, fast and strenuous and full of double-stopping. The finale is a slow and elegiac one, which reminded me a little of the finale of Mahler’s third symphony. At the end, the voice of the cello moves into that of a solo soprano, singing a wordless lullaby. After this the work dies away. We have become used to the occasional solo voice in a symphony, such as Mahler’s fourth or Vaughan Williams’s Pastoral, but I am not aware of one having been used in a concerto before. It is a beautiful ending.
The Munich Radio Orchestra are experienced with Vasks’ music, having already made one recording of it. Cello soloists, Uladzimir Sinkevich is from Belarus and is the orchestra’s principal cellist. He is a fine player. Anna-Maria Palii is a member of the Baravian Radio Chorus and also has a solo operatic career. She handles her short part well. The conductor, Ivan Repušić, is from Croatia and has been the chief conductor of the orchestra since 2017. He secures excellent results. These performances are assured, lyrical and idiomatic. It so happens that they were made under the restrictions due to the Covid pandemic, with social distancing and so on for the performers. I note this only as a point of interest; you would not know it from the performances, except perhaps because of the obvious commitment of all concerned to the whole enterprise. The recording is very good and the sleeve notes, from which I have borrowed, helpful. There are other recordings of all these works, but not grouped together. This is a very worthwhile recording.
Stephen Barber
