4CD Cello 2017 / Julien-Laferrière - Okamoto - Cañón-Valencia - Karizna

Coffret 4CD – Cello 2017

NEW RELEASE

The second edition of the Queen Elisabeth Competition dedicated to the cello gives us an opportunity to re-immerse ourselves in the performances of four laureates during the very first session dedicated to this instrument, in 2017.

This 4CD box set features recordings, most of which have never been previously released, from the first round, the semi-final, the final, as well as from the laureates’ concerts, each cellist including a concerto from the mainstream repertory in his program.

On these CDs we shall hear Victor Julien-Laferrière (1^st Prize), Yuya Okamoto (2^nd Prize), Santiago Cañón-Valencia (3^rd Prize) and Ivan Karizna (5^th Prize and Musiq3 & Canvas-Klaraprijs audience prizes).

Victor Julien-Laferrière opens the box set. He made his mark in 2017 both for his commitment and for his musicality. He can be heard in extracts from Bach’s Second Suite for solo cello, Boccherini’s Sonata for two cellos, and Brahms’ Sonata, which he performed in the semi-final. His Concerto No. 1 by Shostakovich in the final will always be a great moment: contrasting, expressive, subtle, admirably carried out, the Frenchman shows exceptional maturity in a concerto that was performed six times during the 2017 final.

Then comes the Japanese Yuya Okamoto who presented a magnificent Second Concerto by Haydn in the semi-final: his musicality seems evident, both in the quality of the phrasing and in the roundness of tone, all thanks to real technical perfection. His Dvořák Concerto in the final is also marked by ease and simplicity: no gratuitous effects, the music speaks for itself, and, accompanied by the Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Stéphane Denève, he offers a masterful interpretation of this major work of the repertory.

We continue with the Colombian Santiago Cañón-Valencia, an artist with an extraordinary personality, musicality and technique. We hear him first in a perfect Shostakovich Sonata, then in Elgar’s Concerto, performed during the closing concert with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Muhai Tang: an elegant, limpid performance, the emotion dosed to perfection.

The last disc in this set is dedicated to Ivan Karizna who won the audience prizes from the two radio stations Musiq3 and Klara. From the start of the competition, he wowed audiences with his stage presence and his commitment to performance. He presented a fabulous Haydn Concerto No. 1: at first fiery and contrasting, then contemplative and intimate in the Adagio and lastly a real firework display for the finale! With a light bow and a golden tone, he also charmed by the fluidity of his ​interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, recorded during the laureates’ concert accompanied by the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège conducted by Christian Arming.

Programme:

CD1 - Victor Julien-Laferrière

1-3 Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) – Suite for solo cello No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008 (excerpt) *

4-6 Luigi BOCCHERINI (1743-1805) – Sonata for two cellos in C minor, G. 2 *

7-10 Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) – Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99

11-14 Dmitry SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) – Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 107

Lidy Blijdorp, cello ^(4-6)
Théo Fouchenneret, piano ^(7-10)
Brussels Philharmonic – Stéphane Denève, conductor ^(11-14)

Total time CD1 – 71’05

CD2 - Yuya Okamoto

1-3 Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809) – Cello Concerto No. 2 in D major, Hob. VIIb:2 *

4-6 Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) – Cello Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 104 B. 191

7 Antonín Dvořák – Rondo in G minor, Op. 94 B. 171 *

Thomas Hoppe, piano ⁽⁷⁾
Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie – Frank Braley, conductor ^(1-3)
Brussels Philharmonic – Stéphane Denève, conductor ^(4-6)

Total time CD2 – 73’07

CD3 - Santiago Cañón-Valencia

1-4 Dmitry SHOSTAKOVICH – Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40 *

5-8 Edward ELGAR (1857-1934) – Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 *

9 Hans BOTTERMUND (1892-1949) / János STARKER (1924-2013) – Variations on a Theme of Paganini *

Naoko Sonoda, piano ^(1-4)
Antwerp Symphony Orchestra – Muhai Tang, conductor ^(5-8) [Closing concert]

Total time CD3 – 57’54

CD4 - Ivan Karizna

1-3 Joseph HAYDN – Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major, Hob. VIIb:1 *

4-6 Luigi BOCCHERINI – Sonata for two cellos in C major, G. 17

7-9 Sergey PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) – Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 119 *

10 Pyotr TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) – Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33 *

Lidy Blijdorp, cello ^(4-6)
Takashi Sato, piano ^(7-9)
Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie – Frank Braley, conductor ^(1-3)
Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège – Christian Arming, conductor ⁽¹⁰⁾ [Laureates’ concert]

Total time CD4 – 80’07

* unreleased recordings

4 CD box set
Total duration: 4h44’13’’
Digifile
Live recordings 2017