Today we learned of the sad news that conductor Libor Pešek has died at the age of 89.
A tribute to him has been posted on social media by his management company IMG, while the artist page they held for him contains details on his conducting career.
Libor Pešek made some particularly fine recordings with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra when Virgin Classics was in the ascendancy in the 1990s. They include a cycle of the symphonies of Dvořák but also a rather wonderful disc introducing us to the music of Vítězslav Novák, and in particular his Slovak Suite. The recording became extremely popular with Classic FM listeners, and has led to something of a revival for the composer.
The playlist enclosed here is almost exclusively of Czech music, including works by Suk and Smetana, but we also include a nod to some extremely fine recordings of British music the conductor made, notably Britten’s Young Person’s Guide.
Any listener to classical music from the 1980s onwards will surely have encountered Libor Pešek’s art, and we can appreciate it here:
DJ Kicks, the jewel in !K7’s crown, is one of the longest running series of mix compilations – and in the last year they have enjoyed stellar contributions from Disclosure, Jessy Lanza and Cinthie. However they are set to go one better than even that, with a rare guest appearance from Theo Parrish, who has carved a creative homage to his home city in the form of Detroit Forward.
Parrish himself says, “Detroit creates. But rarely imitates. Why? We hear and see many from other places do that with what we originate. No need to follow. Get it straight. In the Great Lakes there’s always more under the surface – more than what appears to penetrate the top layer of attention and recognition. What about those that defy tradition? Those that sidestep the inaccurate definitions often given from outside positions? This is that evidence. Enjoy.”
The 90-minute mix will include Ian Fink’s Moonlite, which you can hear below to get a flavour of the compilation:
DJ Kicks: Detroit Forward will be released on 28 October on !K7 – and you can be sure to read more about it on these pages! In the meantime, you can preorder your copy here:
Download / stream tracklist:
01: De’Sean Jones & Ideeyah – Pressure
02: Donald Roland II – Simba’s Theme
03: Meftah – When The Sun Falls
04: Theo Parrish & Duminie DePorres – Real Deal
05: Specter – The Upper Room
06: Deon Jamar – North End Funk
07: Ian Fink – Moonlite (Duality/Detroit Live Version)
08: John C & Meftah – Full
09: Monica Blaire – aGain (T’s Edit)
10: De’Sean Jones – Psalm 23
11: Raybone Jones – Green Funk
12: Jon Dixon – Wind Drifts (Instrumental)
13: Whodat – Don’t Know feat. Sophiyah E.
14: KESSWA – Chasing Delerium feat. Nova Zai
15: Raj Mahal – Hudsons
16: De’Sean Jones – Flash Spain
17: Jason Hogans – Surrounded By Trees
18: Howard Thomas – Experiment 10
19: Sterling Toles – Janis
2CD tracklist:
1/01: De’Sean Jones & Ideeyah – Pressure
1/02: Donald Lee Roland II – Simba’s Theme
1/03: Meftah – When The Sun Falls
1/04: Theo Parrish & Duminie DePorres – Real Deal
1/05: Specter – The Upper Room
1/06: Deon Jamar – North End Funk
1/07: Ian Fink – Moonlight (Duality/Detroit Live Version)
2/01: John C & Meftah – Full
2/02: mBtheLight – aGAIN (T’s Edit)
2/03: De’Sean Jones – Psalm 23
2/04: Raybone Jones – Green Funk
2/05: Jon Dixon – Wind Drifts (Instrumental)
2/06: Whodat & Sophiyah.e – Don’t Know
2/07: KESSWA – Chasing Delerium feat. Nova Zai
2/08: Raj Mahal – Hudsons
2/09: De’Sean Jones – Flash Spain
2/10: Jason Hogans – Surrounded By Trees
2/11: Howard Thomas – Experiment 10
2/12: Sterling Toles – Janis
Triple vinyl tracklist:
A1: De’Sean Jones & Ideeyah – Pressure
A2: Donald Lee Roland II – Simba’s Theme
A3: Jason Hogans – Surrounded By Trees
B1: John C & Meftah – Full
B2: Meftah – When The Sun Falls
B3: De’Sean Jones – Psalm 23
C1: Ian Fink – Moonlight (Duality/Detroit Live Version)
C2: KESSWA – Chasing Delerium feat. Nova Zai
D1: Specter – The Upper Room
D2: Raj Mahal – Hudsons
E1: Raybone Jones – Green Funk
E2: Whodat & Sophiyah.e – Don’t Know
F1: Howard Thomas – Experiment 10
F2: mBtheLight – aGAIN (T’s Edit)
F3: Sterling Toles – Janis
* All tracks exclusive to ‘DJ-Kicks: Detroit Forward’, aside from ‘Real Deal’ by Theo Parrish & Duminie DePorres
That might be a bit of a sweeping statement – and don’t worry if you haven’t heard of him! – but the 19th-century Czech composer is much loved and admired for his winning way with a melody. His symphonies, concertos, chamber music and increasingly the vocal works are all part of the main body of classical repertoire.
Yet a part of Dvořák’s work is consistently overlooked, and that is his substantial body of piano music, that is hardly ever played. Leif Ove Andsnes, in a new album for Sony Classical, is looking to put that right. This is Dvořák’s Spring Song, taken from the 13-part cycle Poetic Tone Pictures, published in 1889:
The Poetic Tone Pictures are, as Leif explains briefly here, a ‘cycle of many stories’:
Happily we will be discovering much more of this music in the next month, from Leif himself. Stay tuned!
In three weeks’ time, the 21st Oxford Lieder Festival will be underway – and this is a short piece to show you why it’s worth going!
Arcana first attended this festival in 2018, and were really taken with its layout, friendly atmosphere, and intimate (or breathtaking!) venues. This is before we even get to the music, which is imaginatively chosen and programmed, and performed by some of the best singers and pianists available. Not only that, but festival director Sholto Kynoch and his team place the music in the context of interesting talks and features to place the songs in the context of the wider arts climate.
This year’s festival is Friendship In Song: An Intimate Art, and its aim is to ‘explore friendships between composers, poets and performers, recreate the intimate atmosphere of the salon, and generally enjoy a festive spirit of conviviality and shared experience. World-renowned artists mingle with the best of the new generation, and the great works of the song repertoire are complemented by new music and new discoveries’.
You are encouraged to head to the festival website to explore the concerts and artists, but Arcana would like to point you to a couple. On Saturday 15 October the songs of Richard Strauss come under the microscope. Until recently this aspect of the composer’s output was not greatly considered, lying in the shadow of his orchestral works and operas, but more recent explorations have shown just how inventive he could be as a songwriter.
Tuesday 18 October sees the beginning of a mini-series devoted to this year’s most prominent festival composer. Vaughan Williams: Perspectives will examine some of RVW’s most memorable songs and cycles, including Songs of Travel (William Thomas & Anna Tilbrook) and Four Last Songs (Ailish Tynan and Libby Burgess). As a considerable bonus Alessandro Fisher, William Vann & the Navarra Quartet will perform On Wenlock Edge together with a complementary work, Portraits of a Mind by British composer Ian Venables.
As a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, here is a small part of the deeply meaningful music from her funeral service at Westminster Abbey this morning, which also included new works from Sir James MacMillan and the Master of the King’s Music Judith Weir.
Two English works, by Sir Hubert Parry and Vaughan Williams, are included below. My Soul There Is A Country is the first of six Songs Of Farewell by Parry, for unaccompanied choir, written towards the end of the First World War.
O taste and see is a short motet that Vaughan Williams completed in 1953 for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. It is a short and beautiful piece:
Arcana.fm 