Modest Mussorgskys Boris Godunov stands out among the major works of the opera repertoire in having an extremely complex creative history. The revised Boris was completed in 1872, and performed two years later in St Petersburg, while the Moscow audience had to wait until 1888, seven years after the death of its composer. In order to promote the work, Mussorgskys colleague and friend Rimsky-Korsakov later undertook to revise the work, making the orchestration more traditional and colourful and softening a number of harsh harmonies. It was the Rimsky-Korsakov version that took the opera out of Russia and without it, the opera would not be as widely known as it is today. In recent times, however, several opera houses have begun performing the more abrasive original version from 1869, and it is this Boris that has been recorded here. It is performed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under its principal guest conductor, Kent Nagano. They are joined by a cast of mainly Russian vocal soloists, headed by Alexander Tsymbalyuk as Boris. In the opera, as in Pushkins drama, the Russian people plays a hugely important role here performed by the Göteborg Opera Chorus.

Kent Nagano and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra first became acquainted in 1993, when they worked together on Mahler's Third Symphony. Love was immediate and Kent Nagano conducted the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra regularly over the next decades.
When Kent Nagano was appointed as Principal Guest Conductor starting in the autumn of 2013, one of the ideas turned into a project: performing and recording major orchestral works of Richard Strauss in connection with the composer’s 150th anniversary in 2014. Having worked for a long time as Music Director of the Bayerische Staatsoper, Kent Nagano has unique insights into Strauss’s music and the Strauss tradition, and can draw on infor- mation from authentic sources within the Strauss family.
What is perhaps less known is that the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra also has a solid Richard Strauss tradition. The orchestra already performed “Don Juan” in its inaugural season 1905-1906; it has been played more than 50 times since then. Under Wilhelm Stenhammar, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra played “Macbeth” (1908) and “Tod und Verklärung” (1913), as well as the overture to “Guntram” and “Till Eulenspiegel” (1913). After Stenhammar’s period as Principal Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, several of his later successors championed the music of Richard Strauss: Sergiu Comissiona (“Don Quixote”), Sixten Ehrling (“Ein Heldenleben”) and Charles Dutoit (“Don Juan”). Neeme Järvi and Gustavo Dudamel had a particular affinity with “Don Juan”, and Dudamel also conducted “Ein Heldenleben”.
“Eine Alpensinfonie", the last of Strauss’s large orchestral pieces, entered the orchestra's repertoire with Otmar Suitner in 1975, and since then has been one of the most popular pieces with both the orchestra and its audience. Neeme Järvi took it to the UK and Estonia (1999) and Gustavo Dudamel conducted it five times in Sweden (2007).
The orchestra was thus technically and musically familiar with the splendid score when performances were scheduled with Kent Nagano in 2014, including this recording.
For these performances and recording a new approach was taken. Conductor and orchestra wished to express not the bombastic aspects, but the subtle emotional changes, the colours and nuances of the vast and impressive landscape and the wanderer’s instinctive reaction to it, which is also expressed in the enormous orchestral apparatus. This was made possible only by the long and searching work orchestra and conductor carried out together over the years, which made possible new shades and depths in the re-creation of this magnificent piece of art.

Among the phantasmagoria of Gustav Mahler's symphonies the Third stands out for its size, length and detailed programme, as its six movements plot the course of life, the evolution of nature, the soul and the godhead, with no less than Zarathustra himself making an appearance in the mysterious third movement. Among versions of this massive work, Kent Nagano's stands out for its lean profile, alert, athletic and beautifully balanced as heard in a superb recording, which happens to be his first for Teldec as the Music Director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. The highlight of the performance is the final hymn-like slow movement, which is delivered at a flowing pace, quicker and more impulsive than what one often hears and in many ways more passionate and exciting.

瓦雷兹 (VARESE，Edgard)
美籍法国作曲家。1883年12月22日生于巴黎，1965年11月6日卒于纽约。童年在巴黎和勃良第度过，1893年迁居意大利的都灵。1900年他开始在博尔佐尼那里学音乐。1903年独自前往巴黎，在第二年进入圣歌学校，师从鲁塞尔(Roussel)、丹第和博德斯(Bordes)。1905年又进人巴黎音乐学院维多尔(Widor)作曲班学习。1907年瓦雷兹来到柏林，结识了许多著名音乐家，其中有布索尼和理查·斯特劳斯。剧作家霍夫曼斯塔尔为他撰写了歌剧脚本《俄狄浦斯与斯芬克斯》。他曾听过勋伯格《月迷彼埃罗》的演出，自己的交响涛《Bourgogne》在1910年得到上演的机会。1915年12月瓦雷兹移居美国，1年以后作为指挥家登台。他与萨尔泽多(C-Salzedo)在1921年创立了“国际作曲家协会”，组织上演了勋伯格、斯特拉文斯基、贝尔格、韦伯思、拉格尔斯以及考埃尔等人的室内乐作品，瓦雷兹自己的《奉献》、《双棱体》、《八棱体》、《积分》也举行了首演。1928年瓦雷兹回到巴黎。对歌剧创作进行的尝试没有获得成功，但他与从1913年就结识的伯特兰一起进行的电子乐器研究，却产生了《赤道仪》这部电子音乐作品。之后，他为了建立一个理想的电子音质研究中心四处寻求赞助，但均被拒绝，这使他陷人苦恼。1937年在美国的圣菲“阿苏那美术学校”，1948年在哥伦比亚大学从事教学工作，并组织了“纽约大合唱团”演出文艺复兴和巴罗克时期的作品。1953年一位隐没了性名的音乐爱好者赠送给瓦雷兹一架录音机，这使他得以实行多年以来的计划，他为《沙漠》这部作品搜集音响片断，制成了其中的录音部分(器乐演奏部分早在1950年就开始写作)。1954年《沙漠》在巴黎上演，并在电台以立体声播出。1957年他又在艾恩德霍芬的“菲利浦工作室”里进行全部采用录音带酌《电子音诗》的创作。瓦雷兹在生前的最后几年中，获得了多项荣誉和奖励，被选进国家艺术与文学家协会、瑞典皇家学会。他的作品频繁上演、录音和出版。在瓦雷兹看来，音乐是一门艺术科学，是数学的边缘学科。他曾说，音乐家应该和机械、电子科学家们携起手来，共同探讨新的音乐表现手段。他是电子音乐的开拓者，但同时又自认为与佩罗廷(Perotin)、马受(Machaut)、许茨(Schutz)等早期音乐家在观念上更为接近。在同时代的人中，他受德彪西、斯特拉文斯基和勋伯格的影响较深。在瓦雷兹的作品中，最典型的手法是将各种不同的音响“流”叠置起来，它们在音高、音程、音域、节奏、音色、发展手法、变化的频率等方面形成鲜明的对比。他将“噪音”引进了音乐的范畴，并见运用了微分音技术，这些做法大大扩股了音乐的表现潜力。
阿美利加(Ameriques)管弦乐
完成于192l年。1926年4月9日由斯托考夫斯基指挥，在费城音乐学院首演。1927年的修订版由波利特(Poulet)指挥，于1929年明30日在巴黎上演。1973年周文中再次给予修订。瓦雷兹本人曾解释说，这部作品的标题象征着发现与开拓——在大地上，在天空中，在人们的思想领域里寻找新的世界。与瓦雷兹的另一部早期作品《奉献》(Offrandes)一样，《阿美利加》也表现出德彪西对他的影响，尤其是作品中竖琴和弦乐的写法、中音长笛的独奏旋律的应用等。《阿美利加》的乐队编制很大，仅打击乐器就有11件（定音鼓为两套），而在配器上又是十分精致的。修订时，瓦霄兹去掉了其中一些对庞大音响的试验性写法，但与后来的所有作品相比，它在音乐素材的运用上仍然是最为丰富的。
奥秘(Arcana)管弦乐
作于1925—1927年。1927年4月8日由斯托考夫斯基指挥，在费城首演。1960年修订。
这部作品使用了庞大的乐队，包括一个人数众多的弦乐组、39件打击乐器和扩充了的木管组。瓦雷兹格如此庞大的乐队极其严密地组织在一起，使用了《双棱体》(1922-1923)和《积分》(1924-1925)中的一些原则，但从强度和时间的跨度上都大大扩展了。从表面上看，《奥秘》是由一些基本素材的多种形式的重复构成的，而且比起其他小型的作品更具有“主题性”。然而，作品的展开却不是“线式”的，许多素材消失了，或者在变形之后再次出现，这种变形在音响上始终是处于使人惊叹的骤变中。在作为“萌芽”的音响群中，有低音乐器在一开始引出的砰然作响的音型和《积分》中的动机。除了使用先前作品中的素材以外，这里也有些素材(如开始段落中第18小节的音型)在后来的作品《电离》(1929—1931)中进一步被运用。一位评论家这样形容他对这部作品的感受和联想：明亮的星星一颗接一颗地上升，它们形成了新的天宇。实际上除了标题以外，作曲家并没有对所表现的内容提供任何其他描绘性说明。
沙漠(Deserts)管乐、钢琴、打击乐和两声道录音磁带
作于1950一1954年，1954年12月2日由谢尔欣(Scherchen)指挥，在巴黎首演。
从1937年起，瓦雷兹基本上停止了创作，因为他对于常规乐器的潜力失去了兴趣。他进行一些教学和组织演出的活动，同时开始在电子音乐这个新的领域中探索出路。录音机的发明使他获得了新的音响材料，从50年代起，他的创作活动又逐渐积极起来。
关于《沙漠》，瓦雷兹曾解释说，这里不仅意味着沙土、海洋，山峰与白雪，意味着太空和沙莫般的城市街道这些物质世界，同时也意味着人的内心世界，每一个人在这个神秘的、冷漠的世界里，都是孤独的。在乐队的编制上，《沙漠》与《双棱体》、《积分》比较接近，它包括14件管乐器，1架钢琴和5位打击乐演奏者，但在具体的形式上却是不同的。尽管其中有突然出现的动机，但比起持续的和弦或是单独的音来说，还属于次要地位。瓦雷兹的配器十分精致，那些有具体音高的打击乐——主要是钢琴，还有颤音琴(vibraphone)、钟琴、木琴和管钟(tubular bells)——它们总是与管乐器配成对使用；音响的聚集与分散造成美妙的效果；其中还有“音色旋律”式的片断，它那种透明的音响令人想到韦伯思的音乐。比起作曲家早期的作品来，《沙漠》比较简洁和平静，它用了较多的谐和音程，节奏上也不那么活跃，无固定音高的打击乐也显然减少了。与乐队音响形成鲜明对照的，是录在磁带上的刺耳噪音，这是工厂里的声音和噪音打击乐的声音。磁带上的材料三次插人乐队的演奏，最后这两者逐渐混合在一起。
电离(Ionisation)打击乐
作于1929—1931年。1933年3月6日由斯洛尼姆斯基指挥，在纽约卡耐基音乐厅首演。
由于仅仅使用了打击乐器，所以它被认为是瓦雷兹所有最激进的作品之一。像往常一样，他除了标题之外，没有提供任何文字来说明作品所描述的内容。但是人们仍然可以通过其中的音响，感受到瓦雷兹是在描写现代都市生活中的种种声音，这与德彪西等人对大自然音响的兴趣恰好形成鲜明的对比。瓦雷兹曾经说：“任何一个时代都有它自己的特殊的声音。”作为作曲家，他的确把时代的特征用音乐充分地表现了出来。《电离》所使用的约40件打击乐器(13名演奏者)，绝大多数是没有固定音高的噪音乐器，正因为如此，“节奏细胞”便得以自由地发展变化和交替使用。在作品的最后17小节中，具体准确的音高才由钢琴在低音区以“音块”的形式出现，同时，由钢琴、钟琴和管钟奏出的三个和弦在节奏上有着丰富的变化。对于打击乐器具有的潜力，瓦雷兹始终抱有极大的兴趣。他在《电离》中的种种新发现，后来在1950年的《沙漠》中，又被大大地开掘和发展了。
（以上资料均摘自《现代音乐欣赏词典》 主编 罗忠镕 副主编 杨通八 高等教育出版社 1997年版 瓦雷兹相关条目执笔 周小静）

Gramophone Review:
Turangalila is a difficult score, and to record it live is risky... Whether despite or because of that risk this is a splendidly exciting performance; more surprisingly it is also for the most part a very accurate and detailed one. -Michael Oliver
Barnes & Noble review:
One way or the other, listeners have powerful reactions to Messiaen's massive, ten-movement Turangalîla-Symphonie. Some find the composer's intense fusion of sensuality and spirituality utterly intoxicating, while others find it annoyingly indulgent. Considering its enormous dimensions and unusual musical demands -- including a substantial and intricate solo piano part and the prominent use of the ondes martenot (an electronic instrument familiar to anyone with a taste for classic science fiction films) -- a surprisingly large number of conductors have taken up the symphony's cause. Kent Nagano's interpretation now faces competition from recordings by Chailly, Chung, Rattle, Salonen, and Tortelier, although this Teldec CD has some distinct advantages. To begin with, there's Pierre-Laurent Aimard, the French pianist whose disc of Messiaen's Vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus earned rave reviews from just about every critical corner. There's also the inimitable sound of the Berlin Philharmonic in their first recording of this score (if the lush string sound in the two "Chant d'amour" movements doesn't sweep you off your feet, then probably nothing will). Then there's the fact that Teldec has squeezed the entire 73-minute work onto a single disc. (Only Chung's DG account offers similar economy; the others are spread out over two CDs.) But first and foremost, there's the brilliant conducting of Kent Nagano. The up-and-coming American maestro has had a long association with Messiaen's music -- he led magnificent performances of the opera Saint François d'Assise in Salzburg (recorded by DG) -- and he dances through Turangalîla's difficulties with the grace and vitality of a young Baryshnikov. Recorded live at the Berlin Philharmonie in March 2000, this invigorating performance should win new converts to one of the most wonderfully wacky scores of the 20th century. -Andrew Farach-Colton

梅西安为钢琴和乐队而作的《百鸟苏醒》(Reveil des oiseaux)，副标题为《春》，献给鸟类学家图拉曼与妻子洛里奥(Loriod)，作于1953年，1953年10月11日由其妻洛里奥主奏钢琴而首演。此曲可视为春天午夜至中午的交响诗，由梅西安采集到的38种鸟鸣歌调构成。作品按时间可分为：1.午夜；2.凌晨4点，鸟儿醒来；3.日出，晨歌；4.中午，大休止。其中第三部分钢琴最后的华彩连续了17种鸟鸣歌调，而第二部分鸟儿醒来时有12种鸟鸣歌调汇集在一起，形成高潮。
（林逸聪编撰：《音乐圣经（增订本）》，华夏出版社）
《三个小礼拜仪式》(Trois petites liturgies de la Presence Divine,1944)，梅西安把这部为十八位女高音、钢琴、马特诺琴、钢片琴、颤音琴、三位打击乐手和弦乐队而作的作品，视为自己“宗教音乐会作品”的代表。单就这部作品的名称来看，虽然它沿用了传统音乐命名法那种“数字+体裁”的简单形式，但它绝不是单纯模拟传统音乐命名法，而仅以此表明是“同体裁”作品的“结集”或“联套”（如“三首夜曲”、“三首浪漫曲”、“三首无词歌”或“三首奏鸣曲”等）。梅西安用的这个曲名，一是为了凸显宗教中关于“圣三位一体”的思想，二则是为实现那种“组织好了的在音乐会中进行的（宗教）颂扬活动”。
马特诺电子琴(ondes Martenot)，是法国人马特诺(M.Martenot)于1922年发明的一种电子键盘乐器。其音高可以无限变化，音乐也有一定变化。1928年，德米特里·列维迪斯为这种乐器的首次公开演出而创作了《马特诺琴与乐队的交响诗》。除梅西安外，奥涅格、米约和法国作曲家凯什兰(Charles Koechlin,1967-1950)等人也用过这种乐器。
洛里奥(Yvonne Loriod,1924- )是梅西安的第二位妻子。她作为钢琴演奏家，与20世纪的新音乐关系十分密切。1943年，洛里奥和梅西安二人首演了梅西安《阿门的幻象》，自此她就成了梅西安此后全部钢琴作品包括其他作品中钢琴声部的演奏者，而且大部分都灌制了唱片。梅西安把《阿门的幻象》和《朝觐耶稣的二十种目光》两套作品都献给洛里奥。洛里奥和梅西安俩人在钢琴领域的这种相互合作与支持，很像意大利新音乐作曲家贝里奥和他的妻子、歌唱家凯茜·贝贝里安在“新人声”领域里的合作。此外，洛里奥还是巴托克、勋伯格、布列兹等人不少作品的首演者。

From BBC
by Andrew McGregor
20 November 2002
El Niño has existed for less than a year, yet it feels like longer already. And while I know it's pretty pointless trying to predict which new works will still be getting public performances in twenty years time, I feel like sticking my neck out on this one. John Adams's nativity oratorio is a winner, a very palpable hit - an intelligent, emotional and sometimes magical re-telling of the old, old story from a new perspective. Adams wants us to experience the birth of the child from the mother's point of view, and realising that the traditional biblical texts couldn't possibly do this on their own, he's drawn on a wide variety of sources to engage our emotions: Hildegard of Bingen, poems by Hispanic women, even the Apocrypha and the Wakefield Mystery Plays.
Adams asks us to think about the miracle of birth afresh, and to help us he's devised one of his most rewarding scores. Those familiar Adams-isms are all there: the chugging chords, the motor-rhythms, the stammering vocal lines familiar from his operas...but there are references to Bach oratorio and Handel as well, and some of the most beautiful episodes I've heard in any of his music.
The recording was made during the original production run at the Châtelet Theatre in Paris, and you can tell the cast has the music in their bones. Dawn Upshaw brings a beautiful simplicity to Mary, Willard White is magnificent as the angry, baffled and then humbled Joseph, and the chorus of three counter-tenors is really effective. The performance gets the atmospheric recording it deserves, and shorn of the dizzying multimedia kaleidoscope that was the original Peter Sellar's production, El Niño emerges with a new radiance and beauty on record.
At a time when other major companies are putting yet more Messiah recordings on the Christmas market, Nonesuch should be thanked for offering such an eloquent alternative. For some people this will be the perfect Christmas present, a gift with real meaning.

Cast of Characters
The Captain, bar
First Officer/"Rambo", b-bar
Swiss Grandmother/Austrian Woman/British Dancing Girl, ms
Molqui, t
Mamoud, bar
Leon Klinghoffer, bar
Omar, ms
Marilyn Klinghoffer, c
Choruses of Exiled Palestinians and Exiled Jews, etc.
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The Death of Klinghoffer, John Adams' second opera, takes as its subject the hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985. Again the concept for the opera was suggested by director Peter Sellars. The L.A. Opera shared the work's commission but never presented it.
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Synopsis
The Death of Klinghoffer is told in a very different style than Adams' previous opera, Nixon in China. While based on historical events, Klinghoffer does not always treat them in a traditionally narrative manner, and the events we see are not always those we expect. Several important events in the historical narrative--including Klinghoffer's death itself--are not seen onstage, but only commented on after the fact. In addition, many of the characters sing their versions of the action as reminiscences, as for example in the Captain's opening aria, "It was just after 1:15," which recounts the original appearance of the hijackers on board. Meanwhile, each scene ends with a number in which the chorus reflects on the events that have occurred. The opera begins with a prelude consisting of two of these choruses, one sung by a Chorus of Exiled Palestinians and the other by a Chorus of Exiled Jews.
Act I begins with the Captain of the Achille Lauro narrating the events of the original hijacking; most of the passengers had disembarked for a tour of the Pyramids when the hijackers first appeared; the remaining ones were rounded up in the ship's restaraunt. Another version of the hijacking story is told by a Swiss Grandmother, one of the passengers, and then by the ship's First Officer, who also tells that a passenger had been shot in the leg, apparently accidentally when a bullet ricocheted off the floor. Molqui, one of the terrorists, sings an aria ("Give these orders") explaining the situation to the passengers and promising them safety. Scene 2 introduces another of the terrorists, Mamoud, a more dangerous and violent man than his companion. The Captain reflects on the fact that every ship is a kind of prison. ("I have often reflected") Another passenger relates how she locked herself in her cabin and stayed there through the entire episode, undiscovered. Mahmoud sings an aria about freedom, contrasting with the Captain's earlier song. ("Those birds flying")
The chorus that opens Act II, "When Hagar was led into the wilderness," recounts the Biblical story of Hagar and Ishmael, representing the beginnings of Arab-Israeli tension. Molqui is frustrated at the lack of a reply to his demands; he is afraid people will die. Mamoud says only, "Now we will kill you all." It is only now we see Leon Klinghoffer for the first time. Explaining that he is normally a person who likes to avoid trouble, he nevertheless goes on to condemn the hijackers, accusing them of simply using their ideologies as a license to fulfill their real desire--to kill. ("I've never been/A violent man") He is replied to in equally harsh terms by another hijacker, called "Rambo." ("You are always complaining") Another passenger tells her story, including her impressions of Klinghoffer. Finally we hear from the last of the terrorists, Omar, a young idealogue who is hoping to die in his cause. At the end of the scene, Omar and Molqi fight, and Molqui takes Klinghoffer away.
The next scene opens with Klinghoffer's wife Marilyn, talking about disability, illness, and death; she assumes that her husband has been taken to the ship's hospital. In fact, during her aria, he is killed, offstage, by the terrorists, who are now threatening to kill another passenger every fifteen minutes; the Captain tells them to kill him instead of a passenger. As the terrorists negotiate with shore, Leon Klinghoffer's body appears and sings a "Gymniopédie". In the final scene, after the crisis has been resolved and the passengers have disembarked, the Captain tells Marilyn Klinghoffer about her husband's death. ("Mrs. Klinghoffer, please sit down"/"You embraced them!")
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Performance History
World premiere production:
Théâtre de la Monnaie
World premiere: 19 Mar. 1991
Brussels, Belgium
Opéra de Lyon
French premiere: 13 April 1991
World premiere production
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The Captain: James Maddalena
The First Officer; "Rambo": Thomas Hammons
Swiss Grandmother; Austrian Woman; British Dancing Girl: Janice Felty
Molqi: Thomas Young
Mamoud: Eugene Perry
Leon Klinghoffer: Sanford Sylvan
Omar: Stephanie Friedman
Marilyn Klinghoffer: Sheila Nader
Conducted by Kent Nagano
Stage direction by Peter Sellars
Choreography by Mark Morris
Set design by George Tsypin
Costume design by Dunya Ramicova
Lighting design by James F. Ingalls
Sound Design by Jonathan Deans
Projection design by John Boesche
Opéra de Lyon
French premiere: 13 April 1991
World premiere production
Brooklyn Academy of Music
U.S. premiere: 5 Sep. 1991
World premiere production