Chamber Music

Appalachian Journey / Ma, Meyer, O'Connor

Evgeny Kissin: The Gift of Music

Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired by Bach Vol. 1, The Music Garden / The Sound of the Carceri (Cello Suites 1 & 2)

"The Music Garden" (60 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 1 for Unaccompanied Cello. What if we created a garden inspired by Bach? In their quest for the answer, Yo-Yo Ma and garden designer Julie Moir Messervy journey from Boston to Toronto, across bureaucratic miles of frustration and through seasons of changing hope. Their remarkable tale is movingly documented by filmmaker Kevin McMahon. "The Sound of the Carceri" (55 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 2 for Unaccompanied Cello. Imagine Giovanni Piranesi's dazzling "carceri" (prison) etchings, the unrealized dreams of this 18th-century Italian master architect, brought to life in a computer-rendered 3-D "virtual" collaboration. In this cutting-edge film by Francois Girard, Yo-Yo Ma explores Bach's mysterious Second Suite, creating with his music a sound to match the invented spaces of our imagination.

Kronos Quartet - In Accord

It's impossible to say which factor has contributed more to making the Kronos Quartet our preeminent new-music chamber ensemble: the group's effortless virtuosity or its insatiable hunger for fresh challenges. Taped in 1998 (thus reflecting the longstanding Kronos lineup that had held firm until cellist Joan Jeanrenaud departed for personal reasons after the group's 25th anniversary, to be replaced by the equally fine Jennifer Culp), Kronos Quartet: In Accord's many studio performances offer eloquent proof of the group's wide-ranging musicianship, which is equally at home in the cartoon zaniness of John Zorn, the dancing drones of Perotin's Viderunt Omnes, or the slowly unfolded anguish of Alfred Schnittke's Collected Songs.

Regrettably, director Manfred Waffender not only throws in a number of irritating directorial flourishes, but he also films the proceedings primarily as a series of close-ups of the individual players, which frustrates attempts to view the interactions and unspoken communications that are the heart of chamber music. He mercifully calms down during the somber pieces, though remains at best merely a competent chronicler of the onstage action.

But from Hamza El Din's hypnotically churning "Escalay" to the sprightly excerpt from John Adams's "John's Book of Alleged Dances," from the medieval mysticism of Hildegard von Bingen to Harry Partch's muscular and vigorous exploration of an even more ancient music, there's a wealth of treasures for the ear. --Bruce Reid

Since their inception in 1973, the Kronos Quartet has achieved international acclaim for their fresh approach to music. They have sold millions of audio recordings and are responsible for the creation of more than 400 new string quartets. Their unsurpassed dedication to experimentation and visual presentation is applauded at concert halls, clubs and jazz festivals each year. Frequently referred to as the Fab Four of classical music, Kronos has earned six Grammy nominations and won the ASCAP/Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming eight times. From the aching spirituality of "Cadenza on a Night Plain" to the psychedelic anthem "Purple Haze," the Kronos Quartet will enrapture and captivate any music fan.

Beethoven: "Spring" and "Kreutzer" Sonatas/Anne-Sophie Mutter - A Life with Beethoven

Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired by Bach Vol. 3, Struggle for Hope / Six Gestures (Cello Suites 5 & 6)

"Struggle for Hope" (55 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 5 for Unaccompanied Cello. Master Kabuki actor Tamasaburo Bando sets out on a journey to discover, through traditional Japanese dance, the universality and emotion of Bach's Fifth Suite. The result is this revelatory, cross-cultural and trans-oceanic collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma, sensitively documented by filmmaker Niv Fichman. "Six Gestures" (53 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 6 for Unaccompanied Cello. Bach and ice dance? Yo-Yo Ma believes that world champion ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have done for their sport what Bach did for the cello--that is, to dramatically redefine the artistic possibilities and to shatter all preconceptions. This mesmerizing film by Patricia Rozema (Mansfield Park) explores the outcome of this unlikely collaboration, with Bach himself as the dramatic counterpoint.

Trio Fontenay

Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time/Improvisations

Olivier Messiaen is one of those composers whose work is so unique that it cannot possibly be mistaken for anyone else's. His Quartet for the End of Time (composed and first performed in a concentration camp) is one of the most powerful and emotionally satisfying pieces of chamber music ever written. Messiaen devised his own rhythmic and harmonic "modes," and his greatest influences were Catholic mysticism and bird song. Is it any wonder that his music created a whole new sound world? It's sort of the musical equivalent of those computer-generated pictures where, if you stare hard enough, a 3-D object is revealed. Once your ears adjust to what's going on, you¹re completely mesmerized. The trick is in performing the music properly. Here is a performance that brings the piece fully to life. Individually, the playing is excellent (the cellist and clarinetist, in particular, are exceptional). As a group they come as close as any to fulfilling Messiaen's intent: to "bring the listener closer to eternity." Filmed at a live concert in a beautiful old church with lots of arches and nooks, the camera slowly works its way around the architecture; much the way an audience member might look around as the music transported him or her into another world. As a major bonus, this disc includes Messiaen himself improvising three pieces at the organ of the Trinity Church in Paris. The opportunity of being able to watch a composer of this caliber create music spontaneously is easily worth the price of the disc. --Seth Krimsky

One of the greatest figures of 20th century music, Olivier Messiaen found inspiration for his works in religious and mystical symbols with striking rhythms. An enthusiastic ornithologist, he weaved into his music the songs of birds from all over the world, and is known for his harmonic explorations. Messiaen's "Improvisations" is performed by the composer on organ at the Paris-Trinity Church. His "Quartet for the End of Time," composed in 1940 during his captivity in a German prisoner of war camp, is performed by the Messiaen Quartet at the Vaux De Cernay Abbey.

Brahms-Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op.34

A chamber music masterpiece captured in HiRes 96kHz/24bit audio. Completely compatible with DVD-Video and DVD-Audio players, this disc features mixes from "stage" and "audience" mix perspectives, multiple camera angles, bios and much more; even hear Brahms' voice in a rare Edison recording. A comprehensive use of DVD technology, AIX Records' "Tribrid" DVD-Video/Audio/ROM discs feature DVD-Video with Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-Channel Surround soundtracks on Side One, and a 96kHz/24bit DVD-Audio 5.1-Channel Surround track on Side Two. Delores Stevens (piano), Ives String Quartet: Roy Malan (violin), Susan Freier (violin), Scott Woolweaver (viola), Stephen Harrison (cello). Tracks: Allegro non troppo; Andante, un poco Adagio; Scherzo, Allegro; Finale, Poco sostenuto-Allegro non troppo.

Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired by Bach Vol. 2, Falling Down Stairs / Sarabande (Cello Suites 3 & 4)

"Falling Down Stairs" (55 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 3 for Unaccompanied Cello. Although he knew the music well, Mark Morris had never thought to choreograph a dance based on Bach's "Third Suite." He felt the music was complete in itself. But through a close collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma, an astonishing dance emerges, a true three-way collaboration between musician, dancers and filmmaker Barbara Willis Sweete. "Sarabande" (56 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 4 for Unaccompanied Cello. A great musician instinctively builds a complex and intimate relationship with his listeners. This dramatic film from director Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter) explores a number of such relationships, revealing the generosity of spirit and love that flow from Yo-Yo Ma's performance.