Works from Ernest Bloch, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Max Bruch and Maurice Ravel
Transmission: Edgar Moreau und das Luzerner Sinfonieorchester
Erato Records 2022
Schelomo & Jewish Life
The Luzerner Sinfonieorchester under Michael Sanderling accompanies the young French cellist, Edgar Moreau. The French newspaper «La Provence» says of him, «This exceptional talent belongs to the family of the greatest artists of all time.»
«I think it is always exciting for the audience to hear new things,» Edgar Moreau says with conviction. The exceptional young cellist remains true to his word with his new album, «Transmission». In this recording, he considers himself to be a fervent ambassador of a repertoire influenced by the Jewish culture and way of life.
Son of a Jewish mother who grew up in Jerusalem, Edgar Moreau describes himself, in his own words, as «Jewish, but not at all religious». The selection of works includes a number of unconventional compositions, among them Ernest Bloch’s neoclassical work «Schelomo – Hebrew Rhapsody», in which the composer captures with oriental timbres the «Hebrew spirit»of the music. The cello takes on the part of King Solomon (in Yiddish «Schelomo»), while the orchestra paints the musical narrative. The non-Jewish composer Maurice Ravel is also to be heard in the «Deux mélodies hébraïques». The composer set the «Kaddish» prayer and other Jewish melodies to music purely out of fascination with this foreign religion.
Press reviews
Tagesspiegel | 13th March 2022 | Frederik Hanssen
«With painful intensity, the French cellist plays works by Ernest Bloch, Max Bruch, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Maurice Ravel, as lamentations without words, telling of pain, despair and impotent rage.»
Pizzicato | 14th January 2022 | Remy Franck
«What follows is a moving interpretation of Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei. It precedes the two-part Schelomo (Salomon), which Ernest Bloch called a ‘Rhapsodie hébraïque pour violoncelle et grand orchestre’ (1916/17). Restrained melancholy and solemn rhetoric can be heard in the cello’s eloquent portrayal of the wise king in his charismatic dialogue with the people, represented by the orchestra. This dialogue succeeds here in the best possible way. On one hand we hear a very intense performance by Edgar Moreau and on the other a finely nuanced orchestral sound.» (https://www.pizzicato.lu/beruhrende-interpretationen-mit-edgar-moreau/)
The Violin Channel | 18. März 2022
«The repertoire on Transmission brings a ‘prayerful’ atmosphere that invites intimacy and introspective clarity — which is especially evident in Bloch’s three short pieces comprising From Jewish Life.»
(https://theviolinchannel.com/out-now-edgar-moreau-releases-new-album-transmission/)
Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung | 6th April 2022 | Castrop-Rauxel
«Everything works here: the choice of programme, Edgar Moreau’s ravishingly beautiful tone and Michael Sanderling’s conducting. […] Moreau and Sanderling (with the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester) are far from that. The orchestra’s clarity and vital energy create the ideal conditions for the 27-year-old cellist to make the pieces as expansive as they are filigree, in the best French tradition.»
