Mari Kodama – Kaleidoscope (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Mari Kodama – Kaleidoscope (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 56:00 minutes | 874 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © PentaTone

After having recorded and performed all thirty-two of Beethoven’s Sonatas in concert, Mari Kodama, the Japanese pianist who grew up in Paris and was a student of Geneviève Joy-Dutilleux has now made a rather original contribution to the “Year of Beethoven”, with a selection of relatively unknown transcriptions, almost all of which are first recordings.

This anthology includes piano interpretations of excerpts from Beethoven’s five string quartets in the style of the arrangements in vogue in the 18th and 19th centuries, which delighted many amateur musicians in private settings at a time when music only circulated through practice. Of course, these types of transcriptions are in great abundance, which Cyprien Katsaris demonstrated most tenaciously in his “A Chronological Odyssey” (Piano 21). Yet, what makes Mari Kodama’s choices so special here is that they have all been interpreted by Saint-Saëns, Balakirev and Moussorgski, who each added a little of their personality to the great maestro’s music.

The grand finale of the album is a special treat as the last tracks are variations of Mozart’s Quintet with clarinet K. 581 in a transcription for fortepiano that was attributed to Beethoven and first published in Edinburgh in 1812 under the name of “ A Wonderful aria with variations of Mozart by Lewis van Beethoven”. – François Hudry

Tracklist:
1. Mari Kodama – String Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1 “Rasumovsky No. 1″: II. Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando (Transcr. C. Saint-Saëns for Piano) (09:03)
2. Mari Kodama – String Quartet No. 6 in B-Flat Major, Op. 18 No. 6: II. Adagio ma non troppo (Transcr. C. Saint-Saëns for Piano) (07:28)
3. Mari Kodama – String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2 “Rasumovsky No. 2”: III. Allegretto – Maggiore. Thème russe (Transcr. M. Balakirev for Piano) (08:41)
4. Mari Kodama – String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: V. Cavatina. Adagio molto espressivo (Transcr. M. Balakirev for Piano) (06:53)
5. Mari Kodama – String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135 (Excerpts Transcr. M. Mussorgsky for Piano): II. Vivace (03:51)
6. Mari Kodama – String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135 (Excerpts Transcr. M. Mussorgsky for Piano): III. Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo (10:13)
7. Mari Kodama – Clarinet Quintet in A Major, KV 581 (Excerpts Arr. L. Beethoven): IVa. Allegretto con variazioni. Theme (00:54)
8. Mari Kodama – Clarinet Quintet in A Major, KV 581 (Excerpts Arr. L. Beethoven): IVb. Var. 1 (00:56)
9. Mari Kodama – Clarinet Quintet in A Major, KV 581 (Excerpts Arr. L. Beethoven): IVc. Var. 2 (01:01)
10. Mari Kodama – Clarinet Quintet in A Major, KV 581 (Excerpts Arr. L. Beethoven): IVd. Var. 3 (01:45)
11. Mari Kodama – Clarinet Quintet in A Major, KV 581 (Excerpts Arr. L. Beethoven): IVe. Var. 4 (01:17)
12. Mari Kodama – Clarinet Quintet in A Major, KV 581 (Excerpts Arr. L. Beethoven): IVf. Var. 5 (02:50)
13. Mari Kodama – Clarinet Quintet in A Major, KV 581 (Excerpts Arr. L. Beethoven): IVg. Var. 6 (01:03)

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