Max Richter - Exiles
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MAX RICHTER
Max Richter - Exiles
Baltic Sea Philharmonic, Max Richter
[ Deutsche Grammophon / CD ]
Release Date: Friday 13 August 2021
Prolific and pioneering composer Max Richter releases his 33-minute work Exiles on Deutsche Grammophon. The title piece features alongside expansive reimaginings of tracks composed by Richter for a Virginia Woolf-inspired ballet, Fendi fashion runways, Hollywood blockbusters, Golden Globe-winning documentaries, and a record loved by David Bowie.
Profoundly moved by the tragedy of the migrant crisis, Richter chose to channel his compassion into a piece for Nederlands Dans Theater. His ballet score Exiles grew from a conversation with the Dutch company's resident choreographers Sol León and Paul Lightfoot. "Composing is a way to talk about the things I care about, so when Paul and Sol asked me to write a new ballet for them I immediately began to think about subject matter; what exactly should a new work made in Europe in 2017 talk about?" recalls Richter. "Reflecting on contemporary society, I decided to make a work on the universal subject of journeys … Many of us are lucky enough to be able to influence where we are going, but for an increasing number there are very few choices: the physical journey is a necessity in order for the journey forward through time to continue at all."
The world premiere recording of Richter's composition is central to his latest album, EXILES. Also comprising brand-new orchestral versions of some of his best-known earlier works, the album was recorded in Tallinn in 2019 by Kristjan Järvi and the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, an orchestra that prides itself on fostering cross-border unity and artistic innovation.
Richter said, "The Baltic Sea Philharmonic is a really interesting orchestra, it's of young players from all the nations around the Baltic Sea so that obviously includes former Western European countries, former Eastern European countries, so it's a little bit of a social project. It has this 'peacemaking' function, people being able to talk to each other in a creative way. It struck me that it would be nice to have that orchestra play music that matched that theme."
"The music's constant pacing is a powerful representation of the plight of refugees. That it is here performed by the excellent Baltic Sea Philharmonic - an ensemble of no-fixed abode that connects multiple countries around Scandinavia and mainland Europe - is apt."
4 out of 5 stars - BBC Music Magazine
"Richter's careful control of the music's architectonic space across its 30-minuteplus timespan is impressively handled and controlled but credit must also go to Kristjan Järvi and the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, who judge the ebb and flow of the music with astute poise and precision." - Gramophone
Tracks:
1. Flowers of Herself
2. On The Nature of Daylight
3. The Haunted Ocean
4. Infra 5
5. Sunlight
6. Exiles
