Prophecy
Works by Erkki-Sven Tüür, Tõnu Kõrvits, Pēteris Vasks
Ksenija Sidorova (accordion); Estonian Festival Orchestra/Paavo Järvi
Alpha ALPHA1198 44:56 mins
The accordion is not only central to the folk and popular music of the Baltic states, but is also a vibrant participant in their contemporary classical traditions.
Prophecy, the title of this engaging collection of music for accordion and orchestra, takes its name from a single-span concerto composed in 2007 by Erkki-Sven Tüür. From the start the accordion is embedded in the orchestral texture with the soloist emerging almost imperceptibly. Ksenija Sidorova’s playing is superbly judged, melding seamlessly with a range of instrumentals, but never dominating as an adversary; her playing adds grit and whimsy while gently pushing the argument on in this inventive and impressively sustained work.
Tõnu Kõrvits’s 2024 Dances, while undeniably attractive, lacks the bracing imagination of Prophecy. The substantial introductory movement, entitled ‘Darkness. Under the Cajun Moon’, begins with an almost vocal cadenza for the accordion, leading to a melodious, predominantly tonal faster section. In the graceful Passacaglia second movement, the accordion acts more as a continuo accompaniment than a soloist. The familiar characteristics of the instrument are more extensively exploited in the Siciliana and Sarabande although, frankly, a little more glitz would not have gone amiss.
The remaining piece, The Fruit of Silence by Pēteris Vasks, is an arrangement of a melodious choral setting of words by Mother Teresa.
All three works have a near-ideal advocate in Sidorova. Sensitively accompanied by Paavo Järvi and the Estonian Festival Orchestra, she inhabits these scores with elegance and empathy.
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