This entertaining disc features an eclectic mix of pieces both serious and humorous in celebration of the Kremerata Baltica’s fifth anniversary. The best of them is Franz Waxman’s hilarious “Auld lang syne” Variations, four movements in the style of Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and “Shostakofiev” respectively. Joseph Ghys and François Servais team up to produce a typical 19th-century showpiece variation set, in this case on “God save the King” (a very popular tune for variations), the intention here being purely virtuosic rather than witty. Peter Heidrich’s “Happy Birthday” Variations also mimics famous composers (with Haydn and Mozart being especially well differentiated), but the work concludes with a delightful series of “free” variations that let the composer’s own fanciful imagination take center stage.
Teddy Bor’s McMozart’s eine kleine bricht Moonlicht nich Musik might be funny had P.D.Q. Bach not done the same thing on a much larger scale and with far more amusing results. Vato Kakhidze’s strangely multi-cultural “Blitz” Fantasy adds melismatic vocal contributions to music that hovers somewhere between poignancy and Muzak. Three shorter pieces–Tchaikovsky’s Elegy, Schnittke’s Polka, and Ladislav Kupkovic’s Souvenir–round out this enterprising collection. It goes without saying that the performances do full justice to the music, and also to Kremerata Baltica’s avowed purpose of presenting programs that offer musical food for thought and occasional surprises in addition to more normal fare. Excellent sonics capture the festivities warmly and vividly. Clearly, a good time was had by all, though the notes take the entire project rather too seriously. [2/11/2003]
