Perhaps the album is poorly timed; the Transmission of its title refers not to a virus but to the transmission of tradition in its musical materials and their realization. Cellist Edgar Moreau, Jewish on his mother's side, delivers richly lyrical performances of pieces either by Jewish composers or using Jewish materials. This strand of classical music too often begins and ends with Max Bruch's Kol nidrei, Op. 47, and perhaps Ernest Bloch's Schelomo, and both are heard here, in fine performances. However, Moreau structures ...
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Perhaps the album is poorly timed; the Transmission of its title refers not to a virus but to the transmission of tradition in its musical materials and their realization. Cellist Edgar Moreau, Jewish on his mother's side, delivers richly lyrical performances of pieces either by Jewish composers or using Jewish materials. This strand of classical music too often begins and ends with Max Bruch's Kol nidrei, Op. 47, and perhaps Ernest Bloch's Schelomo, and both are heard here, in fine performances. However, Moreau structures the program around works that he himself encountered during his training, and this brings in some lesser-known pieces. Bloch's From Jewish Life is arguably a superior work to Schelomo, fusing the Jewish program with traditional form in a more subtle way, and Ravel's Deux Mélodies Hebraïques provide a conclusion that hints at deeper spiritual issues. As for Erich Korngold's Cello Concerto, Op. 37, originally part of the score for the 1946 film Deception, the work seems intended to...
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