New Classical Tracks:

Going Downtown with

Shostakovich
by Valerie Kahler, Minnesota Public Radio
July 28, 2009
St. Paul, Minn. — Dmitri Shostakovich, a New York club setting
and an unconventional classical band make for an intriguing
mix.
Whether you share Nietzsche's worldview or not, you've got to
admit that the guy was a master at coming up with a great
bumper-sticker quote. "That which does not kill us makes us
stronger," or "I would believe only in a God that knows how to
dance."
Here's one that struck a chord with Dmitri Shostakovich: "Art Jan Vogler and the Knights -- Experience: Live from New York (Sony 746985)
(Photo courtesy of Sony Records)
is there to stop reality from destroying us."
A new CD featuring cellist Jan Vogler and the New York ensemble The Knight brings the art of Shostakovich to the
reality of a New York club, Le Poisson Rouge. The recording is complete with hundreds of patrons so gung-ho to
hear the concert (and ensure a great recording) that they cheerfully gave up ice in their drinks and air conditioning
in the club.
No whirring, less clinking, but plenty of whooping and whistling and altogether un-concert hall-like sounds.
For example, when's the last time you heard Jimi Hendrix at a classical concert? While Kyle Sanna's transcription of
"Machine Gun" by Hendrix features some fine shredding from Jan Vogler and the rest of the crew, it seems more
the kind of piece which is best experienced live.
The other selections on the recording don't suffer from that restriction. Instead, they come across as the intimate,
jaunty pieces you imagine Shostakovich might have played with his friends, ash dangling dangerously from those
careless 1950s cigarettes and bottles of vodka close at hand.
There's an element to the waltzes that, depending on your frame of mind or frame of reference, can be felt as
charmingly tipsy or subtly malevolent (like clowns at the carnival). They're just slightly off-balance.
But, The Knights and cellist Jan Vogler are okay with making us feel off-balance. The Knights are not quite three
dozen strong, making them roughly one-third the size of the symphony orchestra at its fullest complement.
This size affords the band the opportunity to explore both chamber repertory and symphonic literature. In fact, one
of the stated goals of The Knights is to "expand the idea of what an orchestra can be." They want to approach the
entire classical music canon, plus jazz and rock & roll, with the vibe of an intimate chamber group.
When Jan Vogler first heard the band, he knew he'd found his partners for this CD. "The Knights bring together all
that is important today: they are stylistically enormously versatile, yet trained to perfection," he said. "They can do
it all, from Vivaldi to Elliott Carter."
That kind of versatility is important when it comes to Shostakovich. The First Cello Concerto is one of the pieces he
wrote after Stalin died, a time when you'd think he might have been under a bit less state scrutiny.
But, he was still under the microscope, still required to be circumspect in what he could say. Any personal political
apprehension had to be couched in musical terms. And it's hard to miss the fretfulness in this concerto.
Most recordings use a larger orchestra for the work, making for plenty of volume and bombast, but The Knights'
more minimalist forces seem to add an element of urgency, and are a pointed reminder of the importance of the
individual in any great undertaking, whether musical or political.
Back in 2006, during the celebrations of what would have been the composer's 100th birthday, I read one headline
that said Shostakovich "got lost in his own autobiography" - an indication that the coverage had focused so much
on his turbulent relationship with the Soviet state that his greatest gift, music, was overlooked in the bustle.
Even with that music front and center, it's difficult not to sense the politics: the anxiety mixed with parody. Music
plus history makes for a fascinating combination, but the music alone tells just as dynamic a story.
Hat-tip to cellist Jan Vogler and The Knights, for bringing Shostakovich to the hipster crowd at Le Poisson Rouge,
and for preserving the concerts on CD so the rest of us could have a small taste.
 MY SA BLOGS
July 19, 2009

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/the_music_beat/2009/07/dmitri-shostakovich-paired-wit.html

Dmitri Shostakovich paired with Jimi Hendrix

By David Hendricks

Experience: Live from New York Jan Vogler, cello, and the Knights
Sony Music

When can the music of Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich share the same program
with Jimi Hendrix? When cellist Jan Vogler and the 33-musician the Knights offer a live
concert in a cabaret setting in New York City's Greenwich Village. It's Shostakovich's
First Cello Concert one moment and Hendrix's "Machine Gun" the next.

The new CD, recorded live at Greenwich Village's Le Poisson Rouge by Sony Music,
also features several waltzes from Shostakovich's Jazz Suites and the Russian composer's
film music for "The Gadfly." This is light music that sounds entirely appropriate in a club
setting, with the audience surrounding the small orchestra while enjoying drinks.

One interesting irony. Shostakovich, born in 1906, outlived Hendrix. Hendrix died in
London in 1970, while Shostakovich made it to 1975.

The orchestra, conducted by Eric Jacobsen, comes off sounding swell in the intimate
setting. Vogler plays with a sense of showmanship. The real hoot of the recording is
hearing Hendrix performed by a chamber orchestra. It made for a nice evening in lower
Manhattan, and it's not a bad recording, either. It's another sign of the growing universal
appeal of the music of Shostakovich.
 Brattleboro Reformer
July 11, 2009
http://www.reformer.com/ovation/ci_12791616

The lighter side of a musical grump

By FRANK BEHRENS
KEENE, N.H.

Jan Vogler -- This is new to me, so let me go through the liner notes. There is a cellist
named Jan Vogler and he loves the cello concerti of Dmitri Shostakovich. There is in
New York City an ensemble called The Knights who believe that a large orchestra can
still sound more intimate because of the special relationship between the players. When
he wanted to record some Shostakovich, Vogler chose The Knights as his orchestra.

The location they chose was the old Village Gate, which was rebuilt and renamed Le
Poisson Rouge (The Red Fish). The concert they gave there before a large audience has
been captured on a Sony Classical CD with the title "Experience: live from New York"
(with "Jan Vogler and The Knights" written large on the cover).

Sticking to the nonconventional, they begin with two jazzy waltzes by Shostakovich and
follow it with the Concerto No.1 for Cello and Orchestra. A short piece by Lev Zhurbin
comes next, followed by three more Shostakovich waltzes. Then to cap things off, they
perform Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun."

The whole disc is unusual in concept and in performance and will please many. I think
Shostakovich would have been one of them.