Nimrod Borenstein - Violin Concerto; etc. (Irmina Trynkos; Vladimir Ashkenazy)

Information

Composer: Nimrod Borenstein

• (01) Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 60
• (05) The Big Bang and Creation of the Universe, Op. 52
• (08) If You Will It, It Is No Dream, Op. 58

Irmina Trynkos, violin
Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra
Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor

Date: 2017
Label: Chandos
https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%205209

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Review

Although his music has attracted significant premieres and several recordings, this is the highest-profile disc yet devoted to the British-French-Israeli composer Nimrod Borenstein (b1969), three of whose recent orchestral pieces are featured here. Most substantial is the Violin Concerto (2013), which its composer intends as following in the lineage of Brahms, Sibelius and Shostakovich, but which more directly calls to mind Stravinsky in the layout of its four movements and the Second Concerto of Prokofiev in aspects of its figuration and motifs.

Technically demanding while never merely showy, at least as rendered by the excellent Irmina Trynkos, the solo part plays out against an orchestral backing where timpani and vibraphone enjoy a concertante role in music whose textural resourcefulness is not quite matched by its thematic memorability or expressive uniformity. Much the same also holds good for the other works. The Big Bang and Creation of the Universe (2009) is a triptych which unfolds from the luminous timbres of ‘Light’, through the tenuous tranquillity of ‘Peace’, to the cumulative animation of ‘Adam and Eve’. If You Will It, It Is No Dream (2012) is a showpiece where the composer’s much-vanted ‘multimelodic’ technique gives rise to music of an immediacy and distinctiveness almost equal to its nine-minute duration.

What is never in doubt is the commitment of the Oxford Philharmonic and long-time advocate Vladimir Ashkenazy in interpreting this music in the best possible light. Those responsive to the work of Nicolas Bacri or Guillaume Connesson should certainly give Borenstein a try.

-- Richard Whitehouse, Gramophone

More reviews:
MusicWeb International  RECORDING OF THE MONTH
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2017/Sep/Borenstein_VC_CHSA5209.htm
https://www.classical-music.com/reviews/vladimir-ashkenazy-conducts-irmina-trynkos-performance-borensteins-violin-concerto/
https://www.allmusic.com/album/nimrod-borenstein-violin-concerto-if-you-will-it-it-is-no-dream-the-big-bang-and-creation-of-the-universe-mw0003090229
https://www.amazon.com/Nimrod-Borenstein-Concerto-Creation-Universe/dp/B074BJGYVJ

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Nimrod Borenstein (born 1969) is a British-French-Israeli composer whose music is widely performed throughout Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan. Born in Tel Aviv, he grew up in Paris and studied at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music in London. Borenstein's substantial catalogue currently numbers over seventy works including orchestral and chamber music as well as vocal and solo instrumental pieces. His works have featured in numerous music venues and festivals across Europe. Vladimir Ashkenazy has been a supporter of Nimrod's music for many years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod_Borenstein
https://www.borensteinarts.com/Home.php

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Irmina Trynkos is a strong advocate of reviving unknown violin compositions and working with living composers. Her debut CD with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra became Naxos' best-seller and reached the Top 20 Specialist Classical Charts. Her recording with Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting the Oxford Philharmonic for Chandos, featuring Nimrod Borenstein’s Violin Concerto, brought her the coveted 5 star BBC Music Magazine "Concerto Choice". Following these successes, Irmina was invited to give an extensive tour of China which included debuts in Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou.
https://www.irminatrynkos.com/

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Vladimir Ashkenazy (born July 6, 1937) is a Russian-born internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor of Icelandic and Swiss citizenship. He studied with Lev Oborin and Boris Zemliansky at the Moscow Conservatory, and won 2nd prize in the 1955 Chopin competition. Ashkenazy has recorded a wide range of piano repertoire, both solo works and concerti. His recordings have earned him five Grammy awards plus Iceland's Order of the Falcon. Midway through his pianistic career, Ashkenazy branched into conducting and steadily increased his activity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Ashkenazy

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