American Concertos Baiba Skride, Gothenburg Symphony, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra & Santtu Matias Rouvali

• Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990): Serenade:
• 1 Serenade: I. Phaedrus - Pausanias. Lento - Allegro 06:46
• 2 Serenade: II. Aristophanes. Allegretto 04:46
• 3 Serenade: III. Eryximachus. Presto 01:36
• 4 Serenade: IV. Agathon. Adagio 07:38
• 5 Serenade: V. Socrates - Alcibiades. Molto tenuto - Allegro molto vivace 11:05
• Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 - 1957): Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, TH 59:
• 6 Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, TH 59: I. Moderato nobile 10:00
• 7 Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, TH 59: II. Romanze. Andante 09:14
• 8 Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, TH 59: III. Allegro assai vivace 07:33
• Miklós Rózsa (1907 - 1995): Violin Concerto, Op. 24:
• 9 Violin Concerto, Op. 24: I. Allegro non troppo ma passionato 13:20
• 10 Violin Concerto, Op. 24: II. Lento cantabile 09:41
• 11 Violin Concerto, Op. 24: III. Allegro vivace 08:53
• Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story":
• 12 Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story": I. Prologue 04:38
• 13 Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story": II. Somewhere 04:46
• 14 Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story": III. Scherzo 01:32
• 15 Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story": IV. Mambo 02:35
• 16 Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story": V. Cha-cha 01:03
• 17 Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story": VI. Meeting Scene 00:56
• 18 Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story": VII. Cool - VIII. Fugue 03:53
• 19 Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story": IX. Rumble 02:03
• 20 Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story": X. Finale 03:46
• Total Runtime 01:55:44

Info for American Concertos

“America, you are better off” – wrote Goethe in 1827, weary of German Romanticism and the 'fruitless wrangling' of sterile debates.

A century later, the New World experienced an unprecedented wave of migration consisting of leading figures, largely Jewish, from the cultural and intellectual spheres of Germany and Austriia, composers were able to immerse themselves in the new world of sound film in Hollywood. However, few were able to reap those rewards to the fullest. Among those few, who were able to make their way through pragmatism and perseverance, were Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Miklós Rózsa – both regularly nominated for Oscars. While making a living from this genre of 'music drama', each of them – whether or not they were recognized by the classical music business – sought to push the limits of the traditional formats and were remarkably successful in doing so.

'If you’re Heifetz, I’m Mozart!' Taking a phone call, Rózsa could scarcely believe that the legendary virtuoso was seriously interested in his Violin Concerto and was ready to give the work its premiere – but so he did in 1956. It was the same with the Violin Concerto by Korngold, Rózsa’s senior by ten years: the 1947 premiere of this twentiethcentury classic again showcased Heifetz as soloist. In the new generation of genuinely American musicians, one outstanding figure was Leonard Bernstein, an all-rounder whose early success led on to even greater heights: here too, one can hardly ignore his contribution to film music, even if it amounts to one single film. Bernstein rated his Violin Concerto of 1954, 'Serenade', inspired by Plato’s Symposium, as his best work ever, and this work too in its imaginatively slimmed-down scoring for string orchestra, harp and percussion is now acknowledged to be an important 20th-century concerto for violin. Isaac Stern performed the premiere of the work with the composer conducting. As an encore', this compilation includes the masterly Symphonic Dances from the immortal 'West Side Story', which has long risen above the 'fruitless wrangling' over 'light' and 'serious' music. The very different challenges posed by all three concertos are brilliantly overcome by Baiba Skride, whose unquestionable virtuosity nevertheless takes second place to the immediacy of her musical language and expression.

Baiba Skride, violin
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
Santtu-Matias Rouvali, conductor

Baiba Skride
Baiba Skride’s natural approach to her music-making has endeared her to some of today’s most important conductors and orchestras worldwide. She is consistently invited for her refreshing interpretations, her sensitivity and delight in the music. The list of prestigious orchestras with whom she has worked include the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orkest. Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Orchestre de Paris, London Philharmonic, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and NHK Symphony. Notable conductors she collaborates with include Christoph Eschenbach, Thierry Fischer, Paavo and Neeme Järvi, Andris Nelsons, Santtu Matias Rouvali, Vasily Petrenko, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, John Storgårds and Kazuki Yamada.

European highlights for the 2016/17 season include debuts with Philharmonia Orchestra London, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai and Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona. She will return to the Vienna Symphony with Gustavo Gimeno, the Stockholm, Bergen and Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestras, and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic with Vasily Petrenko. She opens the season for Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra with Alain Altinoglu before embarking on a tour to Northern Europe. Further afield, she performs with Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra/Cornelius Meister, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra/ Thierry Fischer and returns to the Sydney, Tasmanian, and Western Australian Symphony Orchestras.

In February 2016, Baiba Skride made her debut with the New York Philharmonic with Christoph Eschenbach. The concerts were a huge success with Vivien Schweitzer in the New York Times writing, “Ms. Skride brought a wide tonal palette to her insightful and passionate interpretation, her tone meaty and bold to open, then sweet, gossamer and brash.’’ This season Baiba Skride will appear with Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Symphony, as well as Boston Symphony for the American premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s Triple Concerto for violin, cello, and bayan.

Baiba Skride is a sought after chamber musician, regularly performing at festivals and venues, such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall London, Palais des Beaux Arts Brussels, Bad Kissingen and Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommen. In the 2016/17 season she appears in a new piano quartet with Lauma Skride, Harriet Krijgh and Lise Berthaud performing at the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Malmö Chamber Festival and BASF Ludwigshafen. Other artists she collaborates with include Bertrand Chamayou, Brett Dean, Sol Gabetta, Alban Gerhardt, Xavier de Maistre and Daniel Mueller-Schott. Skride was born into a musical Latvian family in Riga where she began her studies, transferring in 1995 to the Conservatory of Music and Theatre in Rostock. In 2001 she won the 1st prize of the Queen Elisabeth Competition. Baiba Skride plays the Yfrah Neaman Stradivarius kindly loaned to her by the Neaman family through the Beares International Violin Society.

Booklet for American Concertos