Anatol Vieru: Piano and Chamber Music
The music of the Romanian composer Anatol Vieru (1926–98) is an arresting fusion of classical procedures, avant-garde modernism and folk roots; the influence of his Jewish heritage – he narrowly escaped a pogrom in the ghetto of his native Iaşi in 1944 – also underlies his musical impulses. These divergent influences fed into a musical language that is simultaneously familiar and intriguingly unconventional, with hypnotic, quasi-minimalist passages rubbing shoulders with bursts of wild, gypsy-like energy. It can likewise encompass both an epic sense of scale and chuckling good humour.
Daniela Braun, violin
Anna Carewe, cello
Irmela Roelcke, piano
Listen To This Recording:
Piano Trio (1997) (28:36)
- I. Crochet ≈ 72 (7:34)
- II. Crochet = 84-88 (7:14)
- III. Crochet = 80 (7:12)
- IV. Minum = 64 (6:36)
- Versete for piano and violin, Op. 116 (1989) (17:58)
Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 140 (1994) (18:33)
- I. Crochet ≈ 48-50
- II. Dotted quaver = 120 (1:31)
- III. Crochet = 40 (7:58)
First Recordings
Walter Zimmermann :
congeniale interpretation
Fanfare< :
‘Pianist Irmela Roelcke seems to be the guiding hand behind this project. Her playing makes very difficult music sound easy and natural. Her string colleagues play wonderfully as well. The booklet contains several informative essays.
[…] anyone interested in the musical styles of recent decades will find Vieru’s chamber and piano music worth a listen.’
—Michael Vaillancourt, Fanfare