DAVID CHESKY
"Orchestral Urban Composer"
Reviews:
"Piano, Orchestra and Bassoon Concertos"
"Piano, Orchestra and Bassoon Concertos"
D Chesky
Piano Concerto. Bassoon Concerto. Concerto for Orchestra.
Love Derwinger / Martin Kuuskmann / Norrlands Opera Symphony Orchestra /
Rossen Gergov
"High-energy works that bring jazz and pop: the soloists love them.
David Chesky's music has no trouble opeening your ears. It is rhythmically alive, full of colorful sonorities, and more than a little brash in its fusion of jazz and classical elements. The three "Urban Concertos" here are high in pop-oriented energy and indebted to such masters as Stravinsky and Bartók, at times perhaps too much so. Chesky quites The Rite of Spring in the Piano Concerto and, obviously, in the Bassoon Concerto. Titbits from Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra crop up in Chesky's piece of the same name. These shows of affection aside, the pieces go about their business with ample personality of their own.
The principal appeal of the Piano Concerto is its breezy propulsion, especially the solo part's perpetual-motion challenges in the finale. Elsewhere Chesky revs up the activity or goes deftly laguid. Whatever the demands, pianist Love Derwinger is a champion of all keyboard things he survey's, and the Swedish orchestra, conducted by Rossen Gergov, make their way
'Rhythmically alive, full of colorfull sonorities...
the ears are never allowed a moment's rest'
audaciously through the score. The musicians are equally alert to the dark, mischievious corners of the Basson Concerto, which explores the solo intrument's extremes of range and character. In the last movement, the basson goes happily bersek to rythms clapped by the orchestra players. Martin Kuuskmann wails beautifully when he isn't taking the basson on wild Cheskian rides.
In his Concerto fro Orchestra, the composer celebrates instrumental vaiety trough sleek transformation of themes and the juxtaposition of massive and delicate sonorities. ALong with Bartók and Stravinsky, Chesky pays respects to Holst. The ears are never allowed a moment's rest, compellingly so."
Piano Concerto. Bassoon Concerto. Concerto for Orchestra.
Love Derwinger / Martin Kuuskmann / Norrlands Opera Symphony Orchestra /
Rossen Gergov
"High-energy works that bring jazz and pop: the soloists love them.
David Chesky's music has no trouble opeening your ears. It is rhythmically alive, full of colorful sonorities, and more than a little brash in its fusion of jazz and classical elements. The three "Urban Concertos" here are high in pop-oriented energy and indebted to such masters as Stravinsky and Bartók, at times perhaps too much so. Chesky quites The Rite of Spring in the Piano Concerto and, obviously, in the Bassoon Concerto. Titbits from Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra crop up in Chesky's piece of the same name. These shows of affection aside, the pieces go about their business with ample personality of their own.
The principal appeal of the Piano Concerto is its breezy propulsion, especially the solo part's perpetual-motion challenges in the finale. Elsewhere Chesky revs up the activity or goes deftly laguid. Whatever the demands, pianist Love Derwinger is a champion of all keyboard things he survey's, and the Swedish orchestra, conducted by Rossen Gergov, make their way
'Rhythmically alive, full of colorfull sonorities...
the ears are never allowed a moment's rest'
audaciously through the score. The musicians are equally alert to the dark, mischievious corners of the Basson Concerto, which explores the solo intrument's extremes of range and character. In the last movement, the basson goes happily bersek to rythms clapped by the orchestra players. Martin Kuuskmann wails beautifully when he isn't taking the basson on wild Cheskian rides.
In his Concerto fro Orchestra, the composer celebrates instrumental vaiety trough sleek transformation of themes and the juxtaposition of massive and delicate sonorities. ALong with Bartók and Stravinsky, Chesky pays respects to Holst. The ears are never allowed a moment's rest, compellingly so."
Donald Rosemberg
Gramophone Magazine
Gramophone Magazine
The Concerto for Bassoon is sometimes aggressive, sometimes yearning, other times humorous and clever.
DAVID CHESKY: Urban Concertos =Concerto for Piano and Orchestra; Concerto for Orchestra; Concerto for Bassoon - Martin Kuuskmann, bassoon/ Love Derwinger, piano/ The Symphony Orchestra of the Norrlands Opera/ Rossen Gergov - Conductor.
David Chesky has released a new album, titled Urban Concertos, that is very good music, well-played, and well-recorded. He's a pioneer in recording technique, a champion of new music and new musicians, and a fine musician, himself.
During the last year and a half (maybe two years) David's written a Concerto for Flute, a Violin Concerto, a concert piece for female voice and orchestra that lasts about 12 minutes, a Bassoon Concerto, a Piano Concerto, and a Concerto for Orchestra.If the term hadn't been used before, I'd say this period has been Chesky's annus mirabilis, or "year of miracles".Many composers would have been happy to have written one or two strong pieces in the time he's written six.
In one set of variations, the Concerto's first Movement swivels between Bartók-like and Stravinsky-like figures, and how Chesky can use them in a way that goes farther than either Bartók or Stravinsky did on their own.
This music is not for everyone. It is pretty high-brow.What if you don't know Bartok and Stravinsky?Well, then you might enjoy this album because it is a nearly perfect recording."Good job," to all the musicians in The Symphony Orchestra of the Norrlands Opera, and to Rossen Gergov who provided very tasteful and intelligent accompaniment. This is really a disc of music for the connoisseur.No hip, with-it household should be without it.
DAVID CHESKY: Urban Concertos =Concerto for Piano and Orchestra; Concerto for Orchestra; Concerto for Bassoon - Martin Kuuskmann, bassoon/ Love Derwinger, piano/ The Symphony Orchestra of the Norrlands Opera/ Rossen Gergov - Conductor.
David Chesky has released a new album, titled Urban Concertos, that is very good music, well-played, and well-recorded. He's a pioneer in recording technique, a champion of new music and new musicians, and a fine musician, himself.
During the last year and a half (maybe two years) David's written a Concerto for Flute, a Violin Concerto, a concert piece for female voice and orchestra that lasts about 12 minutes, a Bassoon Concerto, a Piano Concerto, and a Concerto for Orchestra.If the term hadn't been used before, I'd say this period has been Chesky's annus mirabilis, or "year of miracles".Many composers would have been happy to have written one or two strong pieces in the time he's written six.
In one set of variations, the Concerto's first Movement swivels between Bartók-like and Stravinsky-like figures, and how Chesky can use them in a way that goes farther than either Bartók or Stravinsky did on their own.
This music is not for everyone. It is pretty high-brow.What if you don't know Bartok and Stravinsky?Well, then you might enjoy this album because it is a nearly perfect recording."Good job," to all the musicians in The Symphony Orchestra of the Norrlands Opera, and to Rossen Gergov who provided very tasteful and intelligent accompaniment. This is really a disc of music for the connoisseur.No hip, with-it household should be without it.
Max Dudious
Audiophile Audition Magazine
Audiophile Audition Magazine
CLASSICAL CD REVIEW
"In October 2005 this site reviewed an extraordinary SACD of music by David Chesky featuring his concertos for violin and flute. Now we have another terrific disk from the same source, called "Urban Concertos," with his Piano Concerto, Bassoon Concerto and Concerto for Orchestra, each one approximately 24 minutes in length. All three concertos are highly rhythmic and percussive, challenging not only for the featured soloists, but for everyone involved. The 24-minute Piano Concerto has two spiky outer movements separated by a nostalgic interlude that begins and ends softly after a jazzy middle section. The last movement is filled with large smashing chord clusters, all highly rhythmic of course, and punctuated by percussion and surprisingly this vivid concerto ends quietly. The 24-minute Bassoon Concerto is a welcome addition to the repertory, a true tour de force for the soloist, filled with whimsy, and the fabled bassoon opening of Stravinsky's Sacre du Printemps, one of the most famous bassoon solos in orchestral repertory, quoted several times. Chesky's Concerto for Orchestra is an imaginative exercise in orchestral writing and proves again that David Chesky is an important composer on today's music scene. I've never heard of conductor or soloists featured on this disk, they are first-rate throughout, as is the Norrlands Opera Orchestra. Sonic quality is outstanding, as we have come to expect from the label. Highly recommended!"
"In October 2005 this site reviewed an extraordinary SACD of music by David Chesky featuring his concertos for violin and flute. Now we have another terrific disk from the same source, called "Urban Concertos," with his Piano Concerto, Bassoon Concerto and Concerto for Orchestra, each one approximately 24 minutes in length. All three concertos are highly rhythmic and percussive, challenging not only for the featured soloists, but for everyone involved. The 24-minute Piano Concerto has two spiky outer movements separated by a nostalgic interlude that begins and ends softly after a jazzy middle section. The last movement is filled with large smashing chord clusters, all highly rhythmic of course, and punctuated by percussion and surprisingly this vivid concerto ends quietly. The 24-minute Bassoon Concerto is a welcome addition to the repertory, a true tour de force for the soloist, filled with whimsy, and the fabled bassoon opening of Stravinsky's Sacre du Printemps, one of the most famous bassoon solos in orchestral repertory, quoted several times. Chesky's Concerto for Orchestra is an imaginative exercise in orchestral writing and proves again that David Chesky is an important composer on today's music scene. I've never heard of conductor or soloists featured on this disk, they are first-rate throughout, as is the Norrlands Opera Orchestra. Sonic quality is outstanding, as we have come to expect from the label. Highly recommended!"
Classicalcdreview.com
Robert Benson
Robert Benson
"Violin and Flute Concertos"
Arts & Leisure
Classical Recordings
Swirling Currents on a Private Label
Published: September 18, 2005
David Chesky: Violin Concerto, 'The Girl From Guatemala,' Flute Concerto
Tom Chiu, violinist; Wonjung Kim, soprano; Jeffrey Khaner, flutist. Area 31, conducted by Anthony Aibel. Chesky SACD288; CD.
Reviewed by ALLAN KOZINN
"DAVID CHESKY writes concert works influenced by jazz and Latin music, and works in Latin forms with undercurrents of North American and European classicism. He has the luxury of releasing his music through a family-run label that specializes in classical music and jazz, but don't write his discs off as vanity projects. The music on this new one is deftly orchestrated and full of original ideas, and Mr. Chesky has enlisted superb players, including Jeffrey Khaner, the principal flutist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Tom Chiu, a New York violinist who has become prominent in new-music circles.
The three pieces here - two virtuosic, lyrical concertos and a vocal work - combine a gritty sophistication with a street-level energy and currents of exotic folkishness. All three include flamencolike clapping and stamping, an effect that could grow tiresome if it weren't used so inventively, both as a quirky alternative to conventional percussion and as a tightly intertwined line of rhythmic counterpoint.
The Violin Concerto begins with a consonant, naively poplike chord progression, but the bouncy opening quickly shatters into a spiky, vigorous deconstruction. Mr. Chiu gives its slow movement the shape and intensity of a dramatic monologue, and he summons considerable energy for the finale, which weaves 12-tone themes into rhythms and textures drawn from the last movement of Bach's "Brandenburg" Concerto No. 3.
The Flute Concerto heads in different directions, often taking on an accent of mid-20th-century French urbanity but sometimes borrowing Brazilian moves as well. Its lyricism suits Mr. Khaner's sound, but he seems equally at home in the music's rougher moments, including its explosively rhythmic finale.
Mr. Chesky's vocal writing in "The Girl From Guatemala," a setting of a poem by the Cuban writer and revolutionary José Martí, glides between Mozartean gracefulness and contemporary angularity. Wonjung Kim, the soprano, sounds comfortable at either extreme."
Classical Recordings
Swirling Currents on a Private Label
Published: September 18, 2005
David Chesky: Violin Concerto, 'The Girl From Guatemala,' Flute Concerto
Tom Chiu, violinist; Wonjung Kim, soprano; Jeffrey Khaner, flutist. Area 31, conducted by Anthony Aibel. Chesky SACD288; CD.
Reviewed by ALLAN KOZINN
"DAVID CHESKY writes concert works influenced by jazz and Latin music, and works in Latin forms with undercurrents of North American and European classicism. He has the luxury of releasing his music through a family-run label that specializes in classical music and jazz, but don't write his discs off as vanity projects. The music on this new one is deftly orchestrated and full of original ideas, and Mr. Chesky has enlisted superb players, including Jeffrey Khaner, the principal flutist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Tom Chiu, a New York violinist who has become prominent in new-music circles.
The three pieces here - two virtuosic, lyrical concertos and a vocal work - combine a gritty sophistication with a street-level energy and currents of exotic folkishness. All three include flamencolike clapping and stamping, an effect that could grow tiresome if it weren't used so inventively, both as a quirky alternative to conventional percussion and as a tightly intertwined line of rhythmic counterpoint.
The Violin Concerto begins with a consonant, naively poplike chord progression, but the bouncy opening quickly shatters into a spiky, vigorous deconstruction. Mr. Chiu gives its slow movement the shape and intensity of a dramatic monologue, and he summons considerable energy for the finale, which weaves 12-tone themes into rhythms and textures drawn from the last movement of Bach's "Brandenburg" Concerto No. 3.
The Flute Concerto heads in different directions, often taking on an accent of mid-20th-century French urbanity but sometimes borrowing Brazilian moves as well. Its lyricism suits Mr. Khaner's sound, but he seems equally at home in the music's rougher moments, including its explosively rhythmic finale.
Mr. Chesky's vocal writing in "The Girl From Guatemala," a setting of a poem by the Cuban writer and revolutionary José Martí, glides between Mozartean gracefulness and contemporary angularity. Wonjung Kim, the soprano, sounds comfortable at either extreme."
The New York Times
"David Chesky is best known as a jazz musician who, with his brother Norman, runs an audiophile label bearing his family name. Don't assume that this disc of Chesky's classical works--or art music, or post-classical music, or whatever we should be calling it now--is a vanity project. This is memorable, involving well-crafted music in a highly individual, identifiable style performed with beauty and gusto in excellent sound.
All these compositions date from the autumn of 2003. Although Chesky, in his liner notes, makes much of the influence of Latin jazz on these scores, the Latin elements tend to be restricted to subtle complex manipulations of meter, and in-truth, there are few blatant jazz inflections in the concertos' solo lines, except insofar as certain jazz techniques have become common parlance in contemporary music.
The highly engaging Violin Concerto features colorful, though light-scoring, memorable themes, essentially tonal harmonies, and rhythmic vigor. Right off the bat, Chesky wins us over with a bracing rhythmic figure that involves some of the orchestral musicians clapping in a vaguely flamenco style (shales of Carlos Surinach here). The general style is something like Michael Daugherty, without the comic books. the solo part sounds daunting, with rampant, rapid string crossings, but it's played with gusto by Tom Chiu (of the Flux Quartet). Chiu's tone can sometimes be scratchy, but this isn't Tchaikovsky's folks. The second movement, although it is not immediately apparent, is a Cuban DANZON, but not nearly as touristy as Copland's DANZON CUBANO, and the finale takes up very strong rhythms in what Chesky says is a commentary on Bach's BRANDENBURG CONCERTO NO 3, although it sounds to me more like deconstruction of something Handelian.
The title, THE GIRL FROM GUATEMALA, given Chesky's background, calls to mind a certain Panama beach-dweller, but this concert aria is a world away from Antonio Carol Jobim. It's a setting of a text by 19th century Cuban poet Jose Marti, about a girl who dies of love. Chesky describes it to be containing "expressive flamenco vocal lines that flow sensually over a pizzicato orchestral texture propelled by the fervor of the PALMAS (the traditional hand clapping used in flamenco music" You won't confuse this with flamenco, though, the idiom is thoroughly contemporary, with a superficial resemblance to Villa-Lobos. Wonjung Kim sings the difficult vocal line with aplomb.
The Flute Concerto, featuring the brilliant Philadelphia Orchestra principal Jeffrey Khaner, features the most sinuous, blatantly Latin melodic lines on the disc. If the Violin Concerto is accessible mainly through its rhythms, the Flute Concerto owes its appeal to melody as well as rhythm. The work calls to mind, in turn, Villa-Lobos, Jobim, Piazolla, and again Surinach, although the score draws not from them so much as from their common Latin-American sources.
Anthony Aibel leads a crack chamber orchestra called Area 31--about which the notes are rather cryptic--in alert, vibrant, swinging performances that seem to convey all the color, excitement, and fun in these scores. It's a small orchestra recorded with absolute clarity and firm spatial definition in a small room; you are seated in the middle of the hall in the beautiful sound recording. In every respect, this is irresistible."
Fanfare Classical Magazine
James Reel
James Reel
CLASSICS TODAY
"David Chesky comes of age as a 'classical' composer with these two concertos... [his] writing for woodwinds, bassoons especially, may bring to mind Ginastera or Villa-Lobos, but with greater transparency in the orchestration... There is real substance here, and a dynamic creative personality at work. I'm very interested to hear how Chesky will follow this achievement, and I hope that the wait won't be too long."
"David Chesky comes of age as a 'classical' composer with these two concertos... [his] writing for woodwinds, bassoons especially, may bring to mind Ginastera or Villa-Lobos, but with greater transparency in the orchestration... There is real substance here, and a dynamic creative personality at work. I'm very interested to hear how Chesky will follow this achievement, and I hope that the wait won't be too long."
ClassicsToday.com
David Hurwitz
David Hurwitz
"The restless composer has had one hand in jazz, one in classical. Here he brilliantly blends the two, adding ethno-folk into the mix. Musically audacious, and one of the finest recordings you'll ever hear, period."
MUSICANGLE
"David Chesky fuses diverse influences into a musical language all his own"
Gramophone Magazine
"If you love classical music, you have got to hear Chesky's new recording-and if you don't love classical music that might be because you haven't heard anything as fresh and lively as Chesky's compositions"
Stereophile Magazine
Wes Phillips
Wes Phillips
"Fusing the European conservatory tradition with Latin and jazz elements, they flow together like a single train of thought."
HOME Theater Magazine
"The three new Chesky works on this stupendous-sounding disc are easily his boldest, most ingenuous and fully realized compositions yet. One needn't be a classical music critic-and I've never claimed to be one-or even an experienced classical music listener (a claim I can make), to immediately grasp and appreciate both the conceptual audacity of the music, which melds traditional classical motifs with flamenco accents, South American folk music and contemporary jazz, and the skill displayed by the composer in weaving the thread of his concept throughout the three pieces. If you want a high-concept one line "treatment," how about "Chesky and Stravinsky Joyride South of the Border and Return to New York to write up the trip?"
Music Angle
Michael Fremer
Michael Fremer
"I think that Chesky deserves to be thought of as among the serious composers of his generation. The book may not be closed on the stature of David's music until most of us are gone. He might be judged a "great" composer, like the insurance executive Charles Ives"
Audiophile Audition Magazine
"David Chesky Area 31 (SACD288) includes concertos for flute and orchestra, violin and orchestra and The Girl from Guatemala for soprano with orchestra, all by David Chesky. The ensemble, Area 31, conducted by Anthony Aibel, is ?devoted to the recording and performance of new music works that challenge the assumed confines of modern composition.? They certainly do an admirable job on this wonderful music, which combines the concerto tradition with American jazz, Latin and Brazilian rhythms, Baroque counterpoint, and enough energy to drive a locomotive.
Jeffrey Kahner performs the virtuosic concerto, which was written in 2003. The work is fun, probably due in no small measure to Kahner?s ability to make it sound easy. Although the technical patterns are anything but that. This is highly-recommended recording should be on every flutists'shelf."
Jeffrey Kahner performs the virtuosic concerto, which was written in 2003. The work is fun, probably due in no small measure to Kahner?s ability to make it sound easy. Although the technical patterns are anything but that. This is highly-recommended recording should be on every flutists'shelf."
Flute Talk Magazine
Copyright 2006 © David Chesky
All rights reserved
All rights reserved
CHESKY: URBAN CONCERTOS.
Piano Concerto. Bassoon Concerto. Concerto for Orchestra.
Love Derwinger, piano; Martin Kuuskmann, bassoon. Symphony Orchestra of the Norrlands Opera,
Rossen Gergov, conductor; Nicholas Prout, engineer.
"These are superbly crafted and involving compositions that deserve our undivided attention.
Along with Christopher Rouse, CHESKY is one of the most gifted concerto composers current active. An earlier SACD, Area 31, offered examples for violin and flute; the pieces starring piano and bassoon are even better. CHESKY's concertos not only fully exploit the unique character of the solo instrument but also present a compelling dialog between the protagonist and larger ensemble. The piano work, with its angular nervous energy, evokes the three Bartók concertos. Love Derwinger's confident, muscular technique serves the music well. The Bassoon Concerto features exceptionally idiomatic writing for the soloist - CHESKY revels in the instrument's flatulent low register as well as the saxophone-like high range (with several references to the high-flying opening of The Rite of Spring). Martin Kuuskmann, a specialist in contemporary music for bassoon, has an appealingly robust tone with wide vibrato.
The Concerto for Orchestra, as expected, is about individual and ensemble virtuosity, and the Swedish orchestra is up to the task. CHESKY pays homage to many large-scale twentieth century works, including Bartók's peace of the same name as well as (more subtly) music of Holst, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, and others. Jazz and Latin influences-flamenco handclaps are recurrent feature- are apparent. But mostly, one's impressed with the constant high level of invention.
The sound is fast, refined and very detailed, with realistic instrumental timbres. The 4.0 surround version (Chesky's no friend of the center channel) is judiciously executed with no apparent output from the rear speakers at the listening position-a kind of enhanced stereo. The two-channel DSD program is nearly as dimensional and coherent."
Piano Concerto. Bassoon Concerto. Concerto for Orchestra.
Love Derwinger, piano; Martin Kuuskmann, bassoon. Symphony Orchestra of the Norrlands Opera,
Rossen Gergov, conductor; Nicholas Prout, engineer.
"These are superbly crafted and involving compositions that deserve our undivided attention.
Along with Christopher Rouse, CHESKY is one of the most gifted concerto composers current active. An earlier SACD, Area 31, offered examples for violin and flute; the pieces starring piano and bassoon are even better. CHESKY's concertos not only fully exploit the unique character of the solo instrument but also present a compelling dialog between the protagonist and larger ensemble. The piano work, with its angular nervous energy, evokes the three Bartók concertos. Love Derwinger's confident, muscular technique serves the music well. The Bassoon Concerto features exceptionally idiomatic writing for the soloist - CHESKY revels in the instrument's flatulent low register as well as the saxophone-like high range (with several references to the high-flying opening of The Rite of Spring). Martin Kuuskmann, a specialist in contemporary music for bassoon, has an appealingly robust tone with wide vibrato.
The Concerto for Orchestra, as expected, is about individual and ensemble virtuosity, and the Swedish orchestra is up to the task. CHESKY pays homage to many large-scale twentieth century works, including Bartók's peace of the same name as well as (more subtly) music of Holst, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, and others. Jazz and Latin influences-flamenco handclaps are recurrent feature- are apparent. But mostly, one's impressed with the constant high level of invention.
The sound is fast, refined and very detailed, with realistic instrumental timbres. The 4.0 surround version (Chesky's no friend of the center channel) is judiciously executed with no apparent output from the rear speakers at the listening position-a kind of enhanced stereo. The two-channel DSD program is nearly as dimensional and coherent."
The Absolute Sound Magazine
Andrew Quint (March 2007)
Andrew Quint (March 2007)