Gary’s CD’s
Sinaia
Dedicated to Maestro Florin Totan
This work was conceived in the fall of 2001 during a trip to Romania and completed in Holland and France in the winter of that year. Its setting is the town of Sinaia in the Transylvanian Alps at the location of the 160-room Peles castle, built by the Romanian ruler, King Carol, at the end of the 19th century. While sitting and gazing at the magnificent castle against the backdrop of the Carpathian mountains, the composer was carried away by a reverie of the tumultuous past history of this wonderful country which had so captivated his heart. This reverie encompassed struggles and conflicts, but also the Romanian folk tradition, the joyful but deep character of the people which has withstood so much suffering, and the structure of Peles castle itself.
The work is divided into several parts and its structure is based on three statements of the Peles Castle theme, each of which becomes more ornamented. The rondo sections in between each of these statements are first a quiet pizzicato fugal section, and second a fast and furious one which ushers in the principal folk themes, original in nature but reminiscent of Romanian and othereastern European rhythms and melodies. The folk section is structured around the statement of the theme first by only two instruments in duet, then by a group of five and finally taken up by the entire ensemble. Each of these progressive statements is played in a different meter: the first in 7 beats, the next in 5, and the last in 9. Sinaia begins and ends with the mysterious statement of ascending scales of 7 notes each, using solo violas at the beginning of the work and the entire orchestra at the finale. The work ends on a tritone (called the devil’s interval in the middle ages and forbidden in medieval music) which appears throughout the work. The Lydian (FGABCDEF) and Myxolydian modes (GABCDEFG) are also featured and the tritone F-B or B-F is found to be their common element. Sinaia was recorded in Rotterdam by the Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra under the direction of maestro Conrad van Alphen. Mr. Van Alphen conducted the rehearsals, did the editing of the session and acted as co-producer of the project with composer Gary Goldschneider.
Listen to MP3 audio samples:
sinaia.mp3
One World Concerto (Concerto #1 for Piano & Orchestra)
Dedicated to Berthe Meijer
This work was written in Amsterdam in the fall of 1987. Its three movements are each meant to describe a different part of the world and time period. As its title indicates, Old Roots, the first movement, takes us back to an earlier historical era in the Middle East. It also includes some melodies that recall older Celtic civilizations. The movement is written in a modal format based on the tone B and is in 11/8 time, with varying subdivisions of 2 and 3 beat units (2+3+3+3, 3+3+3+2, etc.) The piano part, as in most of the concerto, is not conceived of as being virtuoso in character. The second movement, African Mirrors, presents the great beating heart of the world, Africa, in a very timeless setting. Two sections are of particular interest. The first is called ululation, employing Gary Goldschneider a vocal technique of calling across the African savannah through the oscillation of two notes. The second is a tribute to the African thumb piano, or kalimba. Since only thumbs are used to play this instrument, the modern pianist is requested to imitate it through playing the theme with the thumbs of both hands. Gradually the melody is expanded by adding the second, third, fourth and fifth fingers of each hand until 10 melodic lines are set up. This is finally stated when the hands, mirrorwise, beginning with the thumbs, play all 10 notes successively. It recalls the African musical use of the hocket, in which each member of a Pygmy tribe sings one note of a melody. New Impressions, the third movement, takes us to the world of twentiethcentury film and dance music in Western and Latin American cultures. It is upbeat in nature, and features a cadenza dedicated to the memory of John Coltrane, the American jazz saxophonist.
The One World Concerto was premiered in Rimnicu-Valcea, on February 7, 2002, by the Valcea Philharmonic conducted by maestro Florin Totan, with composer Gary Goldschneider at the piano. Subsequent Romanian performances under maestro Totan with the composer as soloist followed in Ploesti and Constanta with the orchestras there. Under maestro Conrad van Alphen’s direction with the composer as soloist, the Bulgarian premiere took place in Plevin and the Russian premiere in Maikop in the Caucuses region of Krasnodar with their regional orchestras, both in 2002. All of these Eastern European premieres were well attended and enthusiastically received. In Romania the concerto shared the program with Tchaikovsky’s first symphony, in Bulgaria with the Sibelius second symphony, and in Russia with Shostokovich’s fifth symphony. This recording of the One World concerto took place in January of 2002 at the national studios in Sofia, Bulgaria with the Balkan Symphony Orchestra. The Bulgarian musicians were enchanted by this new melodic and rhythmic approach to symphonic music and participated with great gusto and deep involvement. Maestro Conrad van Alphen conducted the rehearsals and recording, supervised the digital recording and editing, and acted as co-producer along with pianist-composer Gary Goldschneider.
Listen to MP3 audio samples:
To order:
Price for the Sinaia CD: $11.-
Plus $ 3.50 packaging and mailing costs.
European customers can also pay by bank:
Sunshower Productions BV, account nr. 392 348 268 - Rabobank, Amstelveen, Netherlands
Other CD's:
Sunshower Productions
Hobbemakade 92 hs
1071 XR Amsterdam
Netherlands
tel: (+31) (20) 6404197
fax: (+31) (20) 6432682
e mail: gary@goldschneider.com
