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Release Date: June 26, 2020
Catalog #: NV6291
Format: Digital & Physical

Concerto 2000 and Other Works

Jan Järvlepp composer

Pascale Margely flute
Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava | Stanislav Vavřínek conductor
Zagreb Festival Orchestra | Ivan Josip Skender conductor
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra | Petr Vronský conductor

Jan Järvlepp's first Navona release, CONCERTO 2000, presents a tonal concerto, scored for orchestra – one might think Wagner or Mahler when listening. Except that Wagner and Mahler might not quite have agreed with the directness of his tonal language: for Järvlepp's work unabashedly aspires to appeal on a popular level.

Järvlepp, born in Ottawa, Canada to Finnish and Estonian parents in 1953, began to play guitar and cello as an adolescent and even studied composition in San Diego – where he didn’t quite see eye-to-eye with his instructors. Unimpressed with the dissonance and lack of coherence in Modernist music, the young man turned his back on those teachings the day he left University, and instead began to create music in a style he felt was more fitting: a curious melange of folk elements, neoclassical structure, large instrumental setups, clear melodic lines, accessible harmonies, and pop music rhythms. Järvlepp, ever convinced, has stayed true to this style to this day.

The listener who expects a daunting epic in face of an awe-inducing title such as CONCERTO 2000 will therefore be surprised (and likely, relieved) to instead encounter lighthearted, bubbly music able to put a spring in your step. Järvlepp's deceptively fine brushstroke bears a secret power: that of whisking the listener on a world tour within the span of three symphonic movements. I. Caliente! would be just as fitting a soundtrack for a film set in Mexico, or perhaps Spain, during a more romantic, heroic age than ours. The calm II. Nocturne is reminiscent of a mysterious urban scene, perhaps in Paris, London or Warsaw; it's the musical equivalent of a walk in nightly fog. The whole concerto concludes with the fittingly-titled III. Fire, Ice and Vodka, a spirited collision of the Champagne Aria, Hungarian-esque folk dances, and the kind of merriment one is likely to find among a group of slightly-intoxicated Russians (but sans the melancholy). Interestingly and intriguingly, all this somehow works to Järvlepp's advantage – not least owing to the solo flute, whose ample deployment ties together the entire concerto.

CONCERTO 2000 demonstrates that writing great music and writing music with popular appeal can be one and the same. It's got style, it's got humor, and it’s a pleasure to listen to.

Listen

Hear the full album on YouTube

"Thoroughly engaging"

Gramophone Magazine

Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 Concerto 2000: I. Caliente! Jan Järvlepp Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava | Pascale Margely, flute; Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor 7:48
02 Concerto 2000: II. Nocturne Jan Järvlepp Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava | Pascale Margely, flute; Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor 13:11
03 Concerto 2000: III. Fire, Ice & Vodka Jan Järvlepp Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava | Pascale Margely, flute; Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor 6:46
04 Pierrot Solaire (Version for Orchestra) Jan Järvlepp Zagreb Festival Orchestra | Ivan Josip Skender, conductor 13:59
05 Brass Dance Jan Järvlepp Zagreb Festival Orchestra | Ivan Josip Skender, conductor 5:04
06 Street Music Jan Järvlepp Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra | Petr Vronský, conductor 4:39
07 In Memoriam (Version for String Orchestra) Jan Järvlepp Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra | Petr Vronský, conductor 7:17
08 Camerata Music (Version for Orchestra) Jan Järvlepp Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra | Petr Vronský, conductor 7:49

CONCERTO 2000
Recorded June 24 - 25, 2019 at Dům Kultury města Ostravy (The Ostrava House of Culture) in Ostrava, Czech Republic
Session Producer Jan Košulič
Session Engineer Aleš Dvořák
Assistant Engineer Maroš Hlatký

PIERROT SOLAIRE & BRASS DANCE
Recorded November 3, 2019 at Blagoje Bersa Concert Hall, Zagreb, Croatia
Session Producer Krešimir Seletković
Session Engineer Jan Košulič

STREET MUSIC
Recorded March 14, 2018 at Reduta Hall in Olomouc, Czech Republic
Session Producer Vít Mužík
Co-producer Bob Lord
Session Engineer Jan Kosulic

IN MEMORIAM
Recorded March 7, 2017 at Reduta Hall in Olomouc, Czech Republic
Session Producer Vít Mužík
Session Engineers Aleš Dvořák, Jan Košulič

CAMERATA MUSIC
Recorded September 11, 2018 at Reduta Hall in Olomouc, Czech Republic
Session Producer Vít Mužík
Co-producer Bob Lord
Session Engineer Aleš Dvořák
Assistant Engineer Maroš Hlatký

All photos, unless otherwise noted Jane Staples

Executive Producer Bob Lord

Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Director Brandon MacNeil

VP, Audio Production Jeff LeRoy
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
Recording Sessions Director Levi Brown
Recording Sessions Assistant Emma Terrell

International Recording Sessions Manager, Editing & Mixing (tracks 1-5) Addtl. Mixing (tracks 6-8), Mastering Jan Košulič
Editing & Mixing (tracks 6-8) Shaun Michaud

VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Patrick Niland, Sara Warner

Artist Information

Jan Järvlepp

Composer

Composer Jan Järvlepp creates a genuine European/American musical fusion by combining the excitement of rock and jazz rhythms with the large-scale classical structures found in orchestral and chamber music. The seriousness of his well-thought-out forms and the immediacy of contemporary rhythmic and melodic ideas make a potent brew that is appealing to both open-minded classical listeners and pop music listeners who are searching for something new.

Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava

Orchestra

The Janáček Philharmonic is a world-class symphony orchestra based in Ostrava, Czech Republic and an emerging figure on the international performance scene. With over 100 top-level musicians, the orchestra aims to introduce unique, quality repertoire while showcasing their own recognizable sound.

Zagreb Festival Orchestra

Orchestra

The Zagreb Festival Orchestra was founded in 1989, comprised of the top classical performers in Croatia and formed with the intent to record a single album. That intent was fulfilled with OVERTURES, a record of composer Gioachino Rossini’s greatest operatic works conducted by the acclaimed maestro Michael Halász, a resident conductor at the Vienna State Opera for 20 years, and produced by six-time GRAMMY Award winner Martin Sauer.

Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra

Orchestra

The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the foremost and oldest symphony orchestras in the Czech Republic. It is based in the historical capital of Moravia, the city of Olomouc, and has been a leader of music activities in the region for the past 70 years. Its artistic development was directly influenced by distinguished figures from the Czech and international music scene.

Petr Vronský

Conductor

After successes in several important international competitions for conductors — including the competition in Besancon France in 1971 and the Karajan Competition in Berlin in 1973 — his career began at the opera company in Pilsen. From 1974 to 1978, he was Chief of Opera of the State Theater in Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic. In 1978, he was appointed Chief Conductor of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he held until 1991. Vronsky was later appointed Chief Conductor of the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra Ostrava in 2002.

Stanislav Vavřínek

Conductor

Stanislav Vavřínek is one of the most prominent Czech conductors and has been Chief Conductor of the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice since 2018. Having graduated from the Conservatory in Brno where he studied flute and conducting, he continued his education at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Subsequently, he also took master classes with Roberto Benzi in Switzerland, culminating with a concert in which he conducted the Biel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Notes

CONCERTO 2000 was composed for flutist Pascale Margely with funding from the Canada Council. It was first performed in the year 2000 in Gatineau, Quebec with Margely as soloist, accompanied by the Hull [now Gatineau] Conservatory Orchestra conducted by Yves Léveillé. It is divided into the classic fast-slow-fast three movement format. The first movement has plenty of lively Hispanic-style flavor, mostly derived from flamenco influences. For example, an elementary version of the repetitive rhythm compas bulerías is used for hand clapping. The second movement is influenced by Arabic styles of singing, which I was exposed to when playing in the Al-Arz Lebanese Orchestra in Ottawa. Mysterious incantations take place over a drone punctuated from time to time by a claves click. The third movement was influenced by lively Finnish folk music, the first album by Värttinä in particular. It almost feels like one is at a rowdy wedding reception. In this concerto I decided to “take the temperature” of the artistic world around me at the threshold of the third millennium. I found a multiplicity of styles at play all at once and a lack of a unified mainstream compositional style.

— Jan Järvlepp

Pierrot Solaire began life as a quintet for flute, violin, bass, percussion, and piano. Seeing that it has become my most popular chamber music piece, I decided to orchestrate it so that it could reach a wider audience. I make no attempt to hide the overt pop music influences such as parallel motion, power chords with no thirds, and off beat hits. Orchestration has permitted me to use brash, colourful blocks of sound for maximum contrast. In the middle is a lively polka-like section which bears a resemblance to the well-known Finnish folk tune Säkkijärven Polkka, albeit on steroids. Basically I have tried to do the opposite of what Arnold Schoenberg did in his famous Pierrot Lunaire by permitting American pop music influence as well as folk music elements. Even fun is allowed!

— Jan Järvlepp

Brass Dance was originally the second movement of my Symphony for Brass and Percussion. I orchestrated it in order to reach a wider audience. True to its roots, there are many solos for trumpets and French horns. It starts off innocently enough with a melodic fragment reminiscent of a 1950s pop song. But then unpredictable things start to happen, such as the off-kilter feeling induced by the frequent use of 5/8 time signatures.

— Jan Järvlepp

Like Brass Dance, Street Music was also derived from my Symphony for Brass and Percussion. Imagine that you are walking down the street on a sunny summer day and you come across a couple of guys drumming on metal cans. Improvising on top of that are trumpets and trombones. Here you have it written out for full symphony orchestra. The percussion players propel the piece ahead in the same manner that an outboard motor drives a boat forward.

— Jan Järvlepp

In Memoriam is quite different from the other works on this disc, having been composed in the palliative care ward of Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga, Ontario. My brother Harry was slowly dying of liver cancer, and after many long days of visiting him I pulled out a piece of manuscript paper and started jotting down ideas. I sat right beside him when he could no longer talk. After he had passed away, I entered the notation into my computer and out popped an expressive piece of romantic string music. I can honestly say that this is the most sincere piece that I have ever written. It is my memorial to him.

— Jan Järvlepp

Camerata Music started out as an octet for the eight music teachers of Camerata Music, a classical music teaching studio which continues to operate in Ottawa’s west end to this very day. Since it was a music school, there were four keyboard teachers, one flute teacher, one guitar teacher, and one cello teacher (me). This resulted in every possible keyboard being used (four hands piano, accordion, harpsichord). The singing teacher got roped into playing the synthesizer. As with Pierrot Solaire, I make no effort to hide the pop music influences contained within.

— Jan Järvlepp

Scores

Concerto 2000: I. Caliente (excerpt)

Jan Järvlepp

Concerto 2000: II. Nocturne (excerpt)

Jan Järvlepp

Concerto 2000: III. Fire, Ice and Vodka (excerpt)

Jan Järvlepp

Pierrot Solaire (excerpt)

Jan Järvlepp

Brass Dance (excerpt)

Jan Järvlepp

Street Music (excerpt)

Jan Järvlepp

In Memoriam

Jan Järvlepp

Camerata Music (excerpt)

Jan Järvlepp