Stravinsky, I.: Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments / Zimmermann, B. / Fortner, W.: Symphony / Ligeti, G.: Lontano
1/1/2006, 9 Tracks, 1:12:15
Featuring
Günter Wand
Nikita Magaloff
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester
NDR Sinfonieorchester
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Igor Stravinsky
Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Wolfgang Fortner
György Ligeti
Did you know?
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Historical Context
After World War II, Günter Wand, the conductor, actively worked to reintroduce composers banned by the Nazis, such as Bartók, Hindemith, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and Webern, into mainstream German concert life.
Performer Biography
Günter Wand, the conductor on this album, was Germany's youngest General Music Director in 1946, appointed to rebuild operatic and concert life in Cologne after World War II.
Critical Reception
The pianist Nikita Magaloff's playing was criticized by German critic Joachim Kaiser as too "neutral" and "passive pianistic perfection," though conductor Günter Wand held a different view.
Interpretation
Günter Wand, the conductor, treated even well-known classical works as "new" music, approaching them with the same precision and intensity he applied to contemporary pieces.
Performer Biography
Nikita Magaloff, the Russian pianist featured on this album, was the first pianist after Alexander Brailowsky to perform the complete works of Chopin in concert.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Günter Wand, the conductor, believed that to understand the past, one must live in the present, applying this philosophy to his interpretations of composers like Debussy and Beethoven.
Compositional Technique
György Ligeti's orchestral works, such as "Atmosphères" and "Lontano," feature slowly developing soundscapes where individual parts move at different speeds, creating layered harmonic crystallizations.
