Bar Avni - Stravinsky :Symphonies in 3 Movements -Charlotte Sohy, Milhaud, C.P.E.Bach, Stravinsky : Bar Avni / Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine - Import CD

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Bar Avni

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【La Maestra 2024 Winner Bar Avni's Debut Album】 La Maestra, an international competition for female conductors, held its inaugural edition in Paris in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The winner of the third edition in 2024 is Bar Avni, originally from Israel and now based primarily in Germany. This debut album (she previously recorded a CD accompanying a concerto) was planned as part of the competition's support program, featuring symphonies from different eras and countries. It was a serendipitous coincidence discovered after the selections were made that all pieces are in three movements. While this provides a unifying sense to the whole, the musical ideas and instrumentation vary greatly. Nevertheless, the program is masterfully crafted, creating a rich and thought-provoking musical experience through unexpected pairings. Furthermore, the profound understanding of the works, from C.P.E. Bach to Stravinsky, combined with the vibrant musicality characteristic of the new generation, is highly captivating. This album fully showcases Avni's outstanding talent. Among the composers featured, Charlotte Soie (Sohee) deserves special attention.Born in 1887 as the daughter of a Parisian businessman, she blossomed into a talented musician through a broad musical education. While also writing novels and plays, she bore and raised many children in her private life. Her musical works spanned orchestral pieces, chamber music, vocal works, sacred music, and operas. While her works were performed by masters in Parisian salons, and she had the support of her husband Marcel Labeu, who was both a composer and conductor, opportunities to perform her music gradually diminished. Today, she is largely forgotten. Her only symphony, composed during World War I (1914-17), is now known by the subtitle "The Great War." The direct motivation for its composition is said to be the death of her friend, the composer Albéric Magnard, who fell victim to the war in 1914. An ambitious work for an expanded double wind ensemble with harp, lasting nearly 30 minutes, it was never performed during Soï's lifetime, and its premiere had to wait until 2019. Recordings are extremely scarce, including one by the premiere performer, Deborah Waldman, included in the Bru Zane label's 8-disc set (BZ2006).The work is written in the same C-sharp minor as Magnard's final Symphony No. 4, featuring a cyclic form influenced by Franck and a post-Romantic musical character. Avni, who encountered this piece while preparing for the La Maestra Competition, felt "it was her mission to breathe life into this work." She delivers a superb performance that captivatingly brings out the work's distinctive character, including its characteristic orchestration. Naxos Japan