Muhly/Helbig/Long: Three Continents, Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 2
6/19/2020, 6 Tracks, 1:02:07
Cellist Jan Vogler plays the world premiere recording of an innovative new concerto titled “Three Continents”. Each of its three movements is by a different composer: Nico Muhly from the USA, Sven Helbig from Germany, and Chinese-born Zhou Long. Volger performs this concerto with the WDR Symphony Orchestra and Cristian Măcelaru, and Shostakovich’s popular Second Concerto with the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre and Valery Gergiev.
Featuring
Jan Vogler
Cristian Măcelaru
Valery Gergiev
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Mariinsky Orchestra
Nico Muhly
Dmitri Shostakovich
Did you know?
1/7
Compositional Technique
The 'Three Continents' Cello Concerto is unique in that each of its three movements was written by a different composer: Nico Muhly, Sven Helbig, and Zhou Long.
Composition History
The 'Three Continents' Cello Concerto was a newly commissioned piece, motivated by cellist Jan Vogler's desire to unite the three cultures that play a key role in his life: German, American, and Chinese.
Composer Biography
Nico Muhly, one of the composers of 'Three Continents', studied with John Corigliano and Christopher Rouse at New York's Juilliard School and worked as an assistant and conductor for Philip Glass.
Composition History
Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 2 was composed for the charismatic cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and premiered on September 25, 1966, to celebrate the composer's sixtieth birthday.
Composer Biography
Sven Helbig, another composer of 'Three Continents', works with a diverse range of artists, from classical musicians like the Fauré Quartet to pop artists like the Pet Shop Boys, Rammstein, and Snoop Dogg.
Recording & Production
This album features the world premiere recording of the 'Three Continents' Cello Concerto by Muhly, Helbig, and Long, which premiered at the Dresden Music Festival on May 18, 2019.
Composer Biography
Zhou Long, the third composer of 'Three Continents', was forced to be an agricultural laborer during the Cultural Revolution before studying composition and later winning the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2011.
