Through the Lens of Time - Francisco Fullana, David Fung, Carlos Izcaray, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
For his debut album, the young Spanish violinist Francisco Fullana presents 20th- and 21st-century works examining the Baroque through a contemporary lens. Max Richter's 'The Four Seasons recomposed' takes a central position in a fascinating programme that also includes music by Alfred Schnittke, Isang Yun and Salvador Broton.
Read more…- Richter • Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012) • Spring • Spring 1Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012)
Spring • Spring 1Francisco Fullana (Violin), Carlos Izcaray
City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraMay 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Richter • Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012) • Spring • Spring 2Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012)
Spring • Spring 2Francisco Fullana (Violin), Carlos Izcaray
City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraMay 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Richter • Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012) • Spring • Spring 3Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012)
Spring • Spring 3Francisco Fullana (Violin), Carlos Izcaray
City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraMay 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Yun • Königliches Thema for Solo Violin (1976) (after J. S. Bach: Musical Offering BWV 1079)Königliches Thema for Solo Violin (1976) (after J. S. Bach: Musical Offering BWV 1079)Francisco Fullana (Violin)May 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters
- Richter • Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012) • Summer • Summer 1Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012)
Summer • Summer 1Francisco Fullana (Violin), Carlos Izcaray
City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraMay 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Richter • Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012) • Summer • Summer 2Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012)
Summer • Summer 2Francisco Fullana (Violin), Carlos Izcaray
City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraMay 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Richter • Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012) • Summer • Summer 3Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012)
Summer • Summer 3Francisco Fullana (Violin), Carlos Izcaray
City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraMay 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Schnittke • Suite in the Old Style for Violin and Piano (Harpsichord) (1972) • 1. Pastorale. ModeratoSuite in the Old Style for Violin and Piano (Harpsichord) (1972)
1. Pastorale. ModeratoFrancisco Fullana (Violin), David Fung (Piano)May 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Schnittke • Suite in the Old Style for Violin and Piano (Harpsichord) (1972) • 2. Ballet. Allegro – Poco meno mosso – Tempo I – Poco meno mosso – Tempo ISuite in the Old Style for Violin and Piano (Harpsichord) (1972)
2. Ballet. Allegro – Poco meno mosso – Tempo I – Poco meno mosso – Tempo IFrancisco Fullana (Violin), David Fung (Piano)May 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Schnittke • Suite in the Old Style for Violin and Piano (Harpsichord) (1972) • 3. Minuet. Tempo di minuetto – Poco più mosso – Tempo I –Suite in the Old Style for Violin and Piano (Harpsichord) (1972)
3. Minuet. Tempo di minuetto – Poco più mosso – Tempo I –Francisco Fullana (Violin), David Fung (Piano)May 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Schnittke • Suite in the Old Style for Violin and Piano (Harpsichord) (1972) • 4. Fugue. Allegro – Poco meno mossoSuite in the Old Style for Violin and Piano (Harpsichord) (1972)
4. Fugue. Allegro – Poco meno mossoFrancisco Fullana (Violin), David Fung (Piano)May 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Schnittke • Suite in the Old Style for Violin and Piano (Harpsichord) (1972) • 5. Pantomime. AndantinoSuite in the Old Style for Violin and Piano (Harpsichord) (1972)
5. Pantomime. AndantinoFrancisco Fullana (Violin), David Fung (Piano)May 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Richter • Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012) • Autumn • Autumn 1Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012)
Autumn • Autumn 1Francisco Fullana (Violin), Carlos Izcaray
City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraMay 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Richter • Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012) • Autumn • Autumn 2Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012)
Autumn • Autumn 2Francisco Fullana (Violin), Carlos Izcaray
City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraMay 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Richter • Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012) • Autumn • Autumn 3Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012)
Autumn • Autumn 3Francisco Fullana (Violin), Carlos Izcaray
City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraMay 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Brotons • Variations on a Baroque Theme for Solo Violin (2018)Variations on a Baroque Theme for Solo Violin (2018)Francisco Fullana (Violin)May 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters
- Richter • Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012) • Winter • Winter 1Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012)
Winter • Winter 1Francisco Fullana (Violin), Carlos Izcaray
City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraMay 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Richter • Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012) • Winter • Winter 2Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012)
Winter • Winter 2Francisco Fullana (Violin), Carlos Izcaray
City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraMay 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters - Richter • Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012) • Winter • Winter 3Recomposed by Max Richter: The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi) (2012)
Winter • Winter 3Francisco Fullana (Violin), Carlos Izcaray
City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraMay 2017, New York, American Academy of Arts and Letters
'Through the Lens of Time' brings together four modern perspectives reimagining the Baroque tradition: a dialogue that prompts both composers and performers to explore musical giants of the past and place them in their own lives.
The recording begins with Max Richter's daring reworking of Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons', which Fullana first performed in 2016 under Venezuelan conductor Carlos Izcaray, who also conducts this debut recording. Fullana comments: "Richter's 'Four Seasons Recomposed' awoke a renewed commitment to my musical approach focused on instinct and emotion. It brought me back to my own beginnings, as 'The Four Seasons' was one of the few cassettes that my family would play in the car when I was a young boy. During the performance, Carlos Izcaray and I found that we both shared the same energetic approach to music making. It became clear that we both loved performing this piece too much not to do so again."
The recording continues with three other works that provide unique takes on the Baroque tradition. The Korean-German Isang Yun's 'Königliches Thema' pays homage to Bach's 'Musical Offering', conflating Baroque and modern styles in one densely rich composition that magically surveys Western musical tradition through the lens of Eastern philosophies. Meanwhile, Schnittke's 'Suite in the Old Style' presents a combination of different aspects of the Western tradition from Baroque onward, and is heavily influenced by the musical aesthetic of the composers' own time. As such, the writing represents a sort of time capsule, portraying what "Baroque style" meant to performers in the 1970s, with exaggerated gestures, verticality, and highlighting the sense of drama to the point of becoming ceremonial.
Finally, Salvador Brotons's 'Variations on a Baroque Theme' hearken to the roots of Fullana's career, and to his first performance before the public as a nine-year-old prodigy soloing in Mozart's "Turkish" A Major Concerto, under Broton's baton. The one-time mentor composed his set of variations specifically for this project, completing a circle by basing the work on a popular aria from the zarzuela, 'Acis Y Galatea', by a third Spaniard, the 18th Century Mallorcan composer Antoni Lliteres.