|
See larger image!
|
|
Dvorak Concerto for Cello & Herbert Concerto for Cello
Kreger, James
James Kreger Performs Two Cello Concertos
Dvorák: Silent Woods, Op. 68, No. 5; Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104. Herbert: Cello Concerto No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 30. James Kreger, cello; Philharmonia Orchestra, Djong Victorin Yu, conductor. (Guild GMCD 7235)
JAMES KREGER received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard in 1969 and 1970, and has taught at the School for 25 years. A student of Leonard Rose and Harvey Shapiro at Juilliard, Kreger also studied with Casals and Piatigorsky, and was a winner of the 1974 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
Kreger’s taping of cello concertos by Dvorák and Victor Herbert with the Philharmonia Orchestra was issued in 2002 by the Guild label of England (GMCD 7235). The Dvorák is a repertory staple, while the Herbert Second is a comparative rarity on concert programs and CDs. However, the two works are actually closely related. Herbert was a faculty member of the National Conservatory when Dvorák came to America to become its director. Dvorák attended the 1894 premiere of Herbert’s Second and was inspired to begin writing his own concerto in New York eight months later.
Kreger’s performances are outstanding. His burnished tone is rich and mellow, his dynamics subtly nuanced and at times daringly hushed. His bowing is seamless, his intonation irreproachable. Kreger’s rhapsodic interpretation of the Dvorák Concerto is poignant and touching, while Silent Woods has a rapt inwardness that is mesmerizing. The Philharmonia Orchestra is with him hand-in-glove, distinguished by dramatic-sounding brasses and ravishing solo woodwinds.
Kreger has also recorded an expressive reading of Strauss’s Don Quixote in 1994 for Guild (GMCD 7204) with British violist Roger Benedict. As in the Dvorák/Herbert, the Philharmonia Orchestra is led by the commanding young Korean conductor Djong Victorin Yu. It is coupled with a spectacular account of Strauss’s great tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra.
Lastly, Kreger’s effervescent performances of Mendelssohn’s complete works for cello were released on Koch Discover International (DICD 920586). His fluent pianist is Gerald Robbins. (Although deleted, this CD is available exclusively from the Juilliard Bookstore.)
Publisher/Manufacturer: Albany Music Distributors
Imprint: Guild
Cover: GMCD 7235
ISBN/ID: 795754723526
onhand: 3 Price: $
15.99
|
