Catalogue

Summary:

“Sebastian Bohren plays it with an amber-like tone, so clean and pure even in its most stringent of attaccas and frenzied incantations… fine sound by [recording producer] Andreas Neubronner: immersive yet crystal-clear … there’s plenty to enjoy in these exquisite performances” – Gramophone

“the Concerto, which fulfils first expectations in its reflective demeanour, startling with plangentent descending phrases in the orchestra, and long lines spun by the soloist in a gently swaying triple metre … It’s very beautiful, and beautifully played all round” ★★★★ – BBC Music Magazine

“In this, its premiere recording, Swiss violinist Sebastian Bohren proves to be an ideal champion. The long soaring lines are lovingly sustained and his tone, although lucid, allows for melancholy and uncertainty too. Yet there’s no lack of power, not least in the three cadenzas, which are replete with double- and triple-stops” – The Strad

“the more I listen to this music, the more I like it and I immerse myself deeply in the musical world of this old master of Latvian music … this album is extremely successful and Vask’s Violin Concerto “In Evening Light” will certainly find its way into concert halls soon” – WDR3 Hörstoff – Neue Klassik-Alben

Audio Interview and Album Review: NDR Kultur: The New Album 

“very well-played and certainly shows Vasks’ compositional strengths to good advantage. Listeners already familiar with the composer, and especially with his earlier concerto for violin, will find this a (★★★★) release that complements other recordings of his music very well” – Infodad

“Sebastian Bohren Gives a Bravura Performance on ‘In Evening Light’ … a bow-stroke masterclass as he navigates swift changes while bringing power to loud passages and rich musicality to melancholy moments” – Strings Magazine

“a truly beautiful work, superbly played” – WholeNote

Sebastian Bohren’s world-premiere recording of “In Evening Light”, the second violin concerto by Peteris Vasks, comes 25 years after the celebrated Latvian composer’s first, “Distant Light”, one of the most successful, oft-performed and recorded concertos by a living a composer. “In Evening Light” seems certain to follow in its forebearer’s footsteps, destined to become another modern classic.

“In Evening Light” – a three-movement, 38-minute work – is beautiful and contemplative, evoking a twilight world immersed in muted colours and permeated with deep shadows and dramatic contrasts. The album ends as it begins, with another atmospheric Vasks work. “Lonely Angel” is an homage to his late mother who lived through practically the whole of the 20^th century. The composer explains, “This piece is the vision of an angel flying alone above humankind, filled with grief at how cruel and aggressive we are to each other. Like a guardian angel he touches the earth with his wings and in that way offers us comfort and healing.”

Sandwiched in between is the contrasting, classical era Rondo in B minor by Franz Schubert, arranged for violin and strings. Preceding Vasks’ works by nearly two centuries, Schubert similarly revels in exploring ambiance and spaciousness.

Tracklist:

PĒTERIS VASKS (b. 1946)
Concerto No.2 ‘Vakara gaismā’ (‘In Evening Light’)
for violin & string orchestra • world-premiere recording
1. I. Andante con passione – Cadenza I. 11.32
2. II. Andante cantabile – Cadenza II. 17.08
3. III. Andante con amore 9.37

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797–1828)
4. Rondeau brillant in B Minor Op. 70, D.895 – Andante – Allegro 15.07
arr. violin and strings Paul Suits

PĒTERIS VASKS
5. Vientuļais eņģelis (Lonely Angel) – Adagio 13.39
Meditation for violin & string orchestra

Sebastian Bohren, violin
Münchener Kammerorchester
Sergej Bolkhovets, conductor

Recorded: Himmelfahrtskirche, Sendling, Munich, 27–29 September 2023
Publisher: Schott Music (Vasks)
Recording Producer, Engineer, Editor: Andreas Neubronner
Mastering: Andreas Neubronner