Gidon Kremer at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, June 10th 2022
Founded in 1969, ECM Records is an independent label known from its atmospheric jazz recordings. Ranging from the avant garde of outfits like the Art Ensemble of Chicago, to the soothing sounds of early Pat Metheny, the Norwegian label runs the gamut of this American art form from an unabashedly non-mainstream point of view. In the nineteen eighties they started the New Series imprint dedicated to contemporary Western Classical music. The first record released under this banner is, along with the Steve Reich Ensemble version of Music for 18 Musicians, quite possibly the most emblematic recording of the series. The first recording of the New Series was Tabula Rasa , which started the close relationship between Arvo Part and ECM. It closes with the work the recording is titled from. It also includes the dramatic Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten . Fratres , perhaps the best known Part composition, is showcased twice. Once in the middle in a version for 12 cellos and another right a