FAZIL SAY (b.1970): Violin Concerto "1001 Nights in the Harem" (Patricia Kopatchinskaja [violin], Lucerne Symphony Orchestra; John Axelrod), Summertime Variations for Piano, Alla Turca Jazz - Fantasia on the Rondo from the Piano Sonata in A, K.331 by Mozart for Piano, Patara Ballet for Soprano, Percussion and Ney.
Catalogue Number: 04K117
Label: Naïve
Reference: V 5147
Format: CD
Price: $16.98
Description: The lively and hugely enjoyable violin concerto takes as a point de départ the idea of Sheherazade as the tireless narrator of the Thousand and One Nights, but does not illustrate scenes from the story. The omnipresent violin assumes different characters in movements depicting the women of the harem, an energetic dance, variations on a Turkish melody and a sensuous finale, all with a middle-eastern modality in a firmly tonal context. The composer pays tribute to his Turkish roots through these melodic inflections and the use of traditional Turkish instruments and dance rhythms. the whole is an immensely enjoyable, instantly accessible work with a satisfyingly virtuosic rôle for the soloist. Patara, originally ballet music, incorporates the traditional Turkish flute, the ney, in a dialogue with the piano representing themes of love in the different cultures of east and west. A fragment of Mozart is presented and varied in the piano part, while the distinctive timbre of the ney, with its microtonal inflections and the wordless soprano part take up the theme and pass it back and forth in a dreamy and exotic landscape painted by the percussion textures and hypnotic piano accompaniment. T he jazzy transmutation of Mozart's Turkish Rondo and the variations on Gershwin's most sensuous and lovely song are piano encores for, and played by, the composer. Burcu Soysev (soprano), Aykut Köserlerli (percussion), Celalettin Biçer (ney), Fazil Say (piano).