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Purchased based on mention by Orson Scott Card in his Greensboro Rhino Times column. Unusual instrument for these pieces. Performed with considerable skill; some enjoyment based on novelty value. Quite beautiful for a banjo.
This is amazing. Well-chosen classical music, beautifully played on, of all things, a banjo. Only Bela Fleck could carry that off. I love this album.
Classical pieces rewritten for Banjo. I have lent it to various friends across all the musical genres, and every one of them have reluctantly returned the CD, saying they did not want to give it back, it was so beautiful. Even knowing Bela's music from his early days in Newgrass Revival, I felt a bit confused. This music is simply glorious, surprising and mind bending. Bela chose his co-musicians for the maximum expertise and knowledge needed to pull this off. And he did, incredibly.
The opening piece, Scarlatti's Keyboard Sonata in C Major, sets things in motion wonderfully. Who would have thought vibes & banjo go together so well. The playing, of course, is flawless. The music is varied and rich in its diversity. This meeting of bluegrass & classical spawned its own little sub-genre a few years back, with excellent entries from Bela, Edgar Meyer, & Mark O'Connor, in various combinations with each other & such other fine musicians as Chris Thile, Mike Marshall, Sam Bush, Joshua Bell, Yo Yo Ma & others. Regardless, this minor quibble doesn't detract, or take away even 1/2 a star. One of my personal favorites was Evelyn Glennie on the Brahms piece, which is lively. 10 with Edgar Meyer, is short but tasty.
I do acknowledge what some reviewers say that sometimes the disk does sound like it was recorded in a deep, dark well. Chopin's Mazurka in F Sharp Minor, is deftly handled by Bell & Fleck. To my ear, this is as fine an entry into this category as any. (I also am ashamed to confess that I had been ignorant of Ms Glennie's work b/f this disk came out). The Debussy features Bell & cellist Gary Hoffman. I love Chris Thile, & his contributions, particularly on Bach's Three-Part Invention (Sinfonia) No. Perhaps, as some have speculated, they felt they needed to do some of that for technical reasons which I can't appreciate. Honestly, I would put this ahead of either Uncommon Ritual or Music for Two, in part b/c of the diversity that comes with playing with lots of different musicians, and right up there with Short Trip Home at the top of this subgenre.
What else can you say - Bela fleck is a natural phenomenon and has created one of the most bewilderingly impressive feats on a banjo you will ever hear. Who would have ever thought you could accomplish this with a banjo - Another impressive aspect of Bela Fleck is that he has somehow managed to memorize most of the masterpieces on this album, and to see it live is mind boggling. The album is simply a masterpiece. I watched this live many years ago and was amazed - a life changing performance. This is a once in a lifetime performance by one of the most talented musicians to ever live. It's a privilege to have been able to experience it and I highly recommend the album, especially to Bach and Beethoven fans - you will be blown away.
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