"The Finnish conductor and violinist is talking about Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, a work of such innate Britishness that it regularly tops UK classical music popularity polls. Kuusisto's Lark isn't RVW-lite, however, but a penetrating, convincingly honest account that strips the music back to its essential roots in the English folk tradition."
"The album, entitled Willows and featuring the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, is in part a reflection on grief and loss: Ellen Reid's Desiderium, a visceral howl for solo violin, is dedicated to Kuusisto's gifted brother Jaako, who died in 2022."
"Caroline Shaw's Plan & Elevation, an orchestral version of her 2015 string quartet, picks up on the arboreal theme in a work that maps out Washington DC's Dumbarton Oaks estate. Architecturally conceived, the piece takes Mozart and Ravel as its guides in flickering lines crisscrossing five assorted movements."
Pekka Kuusisto, a Finnish conductor and violinist, releases Willows with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, an album that reinterprets classical music by stripping away excess to reveal core artistic elements. The album opens with Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, presented as an honest account rooted in English folk tradition. The project reflects on grief and loss, featuring Ellen Reid's Desiderium, a solo violin piece dedicated to Kuusisto's brother Jaako who died in 2022. Caroline Shaw's Plan & Elevation reimagines her string quartet as an orchestral work inspired by Washington DC's Dumbarton Oaks estate, drawing on Mozart and Ravel. Sam Amidon contributes traditional American folk songs arranged by Nico Muhly, expressing themes of faith, sorrow, ritual, and resistance.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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