AMG Review of Silencio

Mark W. B. Allender
All Music Guide

Kremer's orchestra returns with a program of music centered (for the most part) on silence. With the exception of the first movement of Arvo Pärt's Tabula Rasa, the works on this recording explore themes of quiet and introspection. Not that these pieces are background music; these are all complex pieces. Glass' Company, in fact, has a cascade of liquid passages full of arpeggiations and complex rhythms. The overall effect, however, is one of peacefulness. Interesting, too, the titles of the pieces lend themselves to images of intimacy -- titles Company, Come In!, and Darf Ich (German for "May I"). Come In! features soft and delicate music interspersed with a knocking sound. Opening movement "Ludus" from Tabula Rasa is the exception to the disc, with fiery intensity and almost unbearable tension. The Kremerata Baltica performs exquisitely and seem to do so effortlessly. This disc features two premiere recordings (Come In! and Darf ich) and one first recorded arrangement for string orchestra (Company).