─ 吉爾.夏漢／小提琴
─ 艾瑞克．賈柯柏森／指揮
─ 騎士室內樂團

這是小提琴家夏漢在沉寂將近五年之後的第一張專輯, 也是他第一次錄製貝多芬小提琴協奏曲, 也可能是最受期待的加入他作品集的最新作品. 夏漢是在沉醉於重複聆聽大衛歐伊斯特拉夫錄製的貝多芬專輯中長大的; 這些專輯至今仍然令他驚歎. 雖然他在現場音樂會中演奏過貝多芬超過一千次, 在此錄音專輯的全部情感之旅就如同是第一次演奏一般的清新. 用他自己的話來描述: ”如果有音樂能改變與影響靈魂的話, 就是這個作品”.

布拉姆斯的協奏曲是在夏漢還是DG唱片公司藝人時最後的錄音作品之一, 是一張與阿巴多和柏林愛樂合作, 備受好評的現場表演. 在此新錄音專輯的卻是完全不同的一回事, 結合一種藝術方法和室內樂製作中的親密夥伴關係 – 觀察, 聆聽, 反應 – 這是一件更大的大師級作品. 夏漢在布拉姆斯小提琴協奏曲第一樂章的快速節奏, 促成最瘋狂熟練技巧的飛行旅程. 波士頓音樂情報雜誌(Boston Musical Intelligencer)於2019年檀格塢(Tanglewood)音樂廳, 在錄音前幾天的一次布拉姆斯協奏曲的表演中觀察到夏漢 “在精湛技術與抒情片段兩方面施展至高無上的控制, 有點像在體操運動員和紳士之間以清晰聚焦與閃亮的音調往返”.

這張是夏漢與騎士室內樂團的第二次合作錄音, 第一次是在2016年錄製獲得葛萊美獎提名的普羅高菲夫第二號小提琴協奏曲(CC16), 是夏漢錄1930年代小提琴協奏曲計畫的一部分.


Gil Shaham partners for this recording with Brooklyn-based The Knights, conducted by Eric Jacobsen, musicians with whom he feels fortunate to collaborate with on a regular basis. The Knights believe that having an enormous amount of fun is the best way of accomplishing serious musical work, so it`s only natural that the World`s happiest orchestra teams up with the world`s happiest violinist!

Brothers and Knights Artistic Directors Colin and Eric Jacobsen are in the business of disseminating musical pleasure, add Gil Shaham, and musical utopia beckons!

This is Gil Shaham`s first solo release in almost 5 years, and his first recording of the Beethoven violin concerto, arguably the most anticipated addition to his recorded oeuvre. Shaham was captivated growing up listening to David Oistrakh`s recording of the Beethoven over and over again; and it continues to inspire awe in him. Despite the 1000`s of times he played the Beethoven live in concert, the whole emotional journey is as fresh here on this recording as if he was playing it for the first time. In his own words "If there is ever music which changes and effects the soul, this is it."

The Brahms concerto was one of the last recordings Shaham made as a DG artist, a much lauded live performance with Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. This recording is all together a different affair, bringing together an artistic approach and partnership bordering on the intimacy in chamber music making —watching, listening, responding— but a much larger-scale masterpiece. Shaham`s swift tempo in the first movement of the Brahms, facilitates the wildest flight of virtuoso deftness, the Boston Musical Intelligencer observing in a performance of the Brahms at Tanglewood in 2019, days before this recording took place, that Shaham `exercised sovereign command in both the virtuosic and the lyrical passages, sort of going back and forth between being a gymnast and a gentleman, with cleanly focused, gleaming tone."

This is Gil Shaham`s second recording with The Knights, the first in 2016 resulted in the Grammy nominated recording of Prokofiev`s Violin Concerto No. 2 (CC-16), part of Shaham`s 1930s Violin Concertos project.

Booklet annotations are penned by the celebrated author and academic Styra Avins who sheds an interesting perspective the role Beethoven and his Violin Concerto played in Brahms composing his only concerto for the instrument and the vital role Joseph Joachim played in both concertos.