By his own admission, emotion is central to the music of Peteris Vasks, though his intense outpourings are far from amorphous or undisciplined rhapsodies. Rather, his most passionate works are tempered by an appreciation of tradition and a practical awareness of instrumental techniques, timbres, and orchestral textures. Neo-Romanticism plainly dominates Vasks' works from the last quarter of the twentieth century, and this is revealed in the quasi-Mahlerian essays for string orchestra, Cantabile (1979) and Musica dolorosa ...
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By his own admission, emotion is central to the music of Peteris Vasks, though his intense outpourings are far from amorphous or undisciplined rhapsodies. Rather, his most passionate works are tempered by an appreciation of tradition and a practical awareness of instrumental techniques, timbres, and orchestral textures. Neo-Romanticism plainly dominates Vasks' works from the last quarter of the twentieth century, and this is revealed in the quasi-Mahlerian essays for string orchestra, Cantabile (1979) and Musica dolorosa (1983), the lush and brilliantly orchestrated Cor Anglais Concerto (1989), and the aspiring, suspension-filled Lauda (1986). Yet Vasks also employs many modernist devices: echoes of Bartók's evocative "night music" may be recognized in Message for strings, percussion, and two pianos (1982), and towering cluster chords, sweeping glissandi, and free dissonant counterpoint enrich Vasks' expression; his music is not limited to merely imitating the Romantic past, but is open to any...
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Add this copy of Vasks: Message to cart. $29.95, like new condition, Sold by Mom's Resale rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from River Hills, WI, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Sony Classical.