Uri Caine: Diabelli Variations

by Uri Caine, Concerto Koeln

Overview

In the '90s and 2000s, Uri Caine has acknowledged a wide variety of classical composers--everyone from Johann Sebastian Bach to Robert Schumann. And the Philadelphia-born pianist has acknowledged them on his terms; Caine's jazz/classical hybrids have been about interpretation, not emulation. That approach has never endeared him to classical hardliners, who believe that musicians should play exactly what the masters wrote and not do any interpreting or improvising. Caine, thankfully, doesn't feel that way, which is why Diabelli Variations is an interesting as it is. Recorded in Cologne, Germany in 2002, this CD finds Caine putting his spin on the compositions of Ludwig van Beethoven. Diabelli Variations is less daring and more straight-forward than some of Caine's other releases; none of his arrangements on this album sound like iconoclasm for the sake of iconoclasm. Nonetheless, the pianist does his share of improvising and brings his usual appreciation of jazz to the table--and when he improvises, there are subtle hints of everyone from James P. Johnson to McCoy Tyner. Some jazz fans might focus on Caine's orchestral backing and conclude that Diabelli Variations is really more Euro-classical than jazz--that what Caine does on this CD (unlike some of his other releases) is basically European classical music with jazz overtones. Even so, the jazz elements are noticeable enough to offend classical purists, who would argue that Beethoven's work isn't open to interpretation--period. But then, Caine doesn't cater to classical purists any more than he caters to jazz purists. Diabelli Variations is strictly for broad-minded listeners who have no problem with the Euro-classical and jazz worlds interacting. ~ Alex Henderson

Product Details

Release Date:	07/03/2020
Label:	Winter & Winter
UPC:	0025091026524
Rank:	241100

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Uri Caine   Primary Artist,Piano,Fortepiano
Concerto Koeln   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Martin Ehrhardt   Violin
Antje Sabinski   Viola
Joerg Buschhaus   Violin
Werner Matzke   Cello
Stefan Gawlick   Trumpet
Corinna Hildebrand   Violin
Frauke Poehl   Violin
Pierluigi Fabretti   Oboe
Stefan Schmidt   Viola
Lorenzo Alpert   Bassoon
Antje Engel   Violin
Cordula Breuer   Flute
Johannes Esser   Bass
Werner Ehrhardt   Violin
Stephan Saenger   Violin

Technical Credits

Hans-Reinhard Giese   Piano Tuner
Hans Giese   Piano Tuner
Stefan Winter   Producer,Packaging,Executive Producer
Carlos Albrecht   Mixing,Engineer,Recording
Ulrich Kurth   Producer
Uri Caine   Arranger,Composer,Improvisation
Ludwig van Beethoven   Composer,Original Material
Peter Postel   Printing Engineer
Walter Platte   Technical Engineer
Adrian von Ripka   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Marcel-Raphael Babazadeh   Engineer
Christoph Gronarz   Engineer
Paul Schmitthenner   Artwork
Mariko Takahashi   Executive Producer