Ludwig van Beethoven - Gabriel Prokofiev

Pastoral 21

Gabriel Prokofiev

Label: Signum Classics
Format: CD
Barcode: 0635212076125

Catalog number: SIGCD 761
Releasedate: 02-02-24

- an artful combination of contemporary electronics with classical strings brilliantly performed by the Unlimited Ensemble (Verbier Festival’s first professional Alumni ensemble).

- a work that honestly explores the climate crisis and the contemporary consumerist life-styles that nurture it.

- Two very different perspectives on our changing environment: from Beethoven’s pre-industrial celebration of the natural world to a nostalgic ode to our increasingly fragile eco-system.

Pastoral Reflections is a contemporary exploration on what the concept of ‘Pastoral’ means to us in this time of climate crisis. It features classical string sextet alongside field recordings, electronic bass & angular beats, centered around Gabriel Prokofiev’s contemporary response to Beethoven's 250 year old Pastoral Symphony.

The Album opens with the original first movement of Beethoven’s famous symphony (arranged for sextet) - reminding listeners of our less troubled relationship with nature 250 years ago - before moving on to the modern beats of Prokofiev’s recent composition Breaking Screens, which explores ideas of consumerism, digital life and impending crisis. The programme climaxes with 5 movement 'Pastoral Reflections' which echoes Beethoven’s symphonic narrative, but from a contemporary perspective.

Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 'Pastoral' (Arr. for String Sextet)

I. Erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande. Allegro ma non troppo