Jacob Reuven and Omer Meir Wellber grew up together in the Israeli desert city of Be’er Sheva-Reuven with Iraqi Jewish roots and Omer Meir Wellber coming from a western Jewish community. United since childhood by an irrepres - sible joie de vivre, they have a shared passion for music and, more specifically, for the instruments of their homeland, learned as schoolboys: mandolin and accordion. They have been making music together ever since. Jacob Reuven is now an internationally acclaimed mandolinist, a virtuoso who strives tirelessly to expand the instrument’s repertoire far beyond conventional boun - daries. He has long been known as a pioneer in this field, famed for mandolin performances of masterpieces of the violin repertoire. Omer Meir Wellber stands as conductor of some of the finest orchestras in the world. He is currently the Music Director of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Palermo’s Teatro Massimo, and from September 2022 assumes the role of Music Director at the Vienna Volksoper. To this day he champions the accordion with unflagging passion, and continues to take every opportunity to colla - borate with his lifelong friend Reuven. The two perform together frequently, typically with Reuven as soloist and the orchestra conducted by Wellber. For this project, however, that set-up has been relinquished in favour of a more intimate form of musical commu - nication which focuses on the solo instruments. Here mandolin, accordion, harpsichord and eighteen string players from the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig combine to explore and shed new light on the celebrated ‘Seasons’ of Vivaldi and Piazzolla. Unlike most other Baroque composers, Antonio Vivaldi did in fact write for the mandolin as a solo instrument. However, as the mandolin was historically deemed to be rather limited in range, Vivaldi’s mandolin concertos- while meritable works in their own right-are far less musically complex, vibrant or virtuosic than those written for violin. This is exactly where Reuven, equipped with a modern instrument and a technique based on the teachings of violin schools across Europe, puts his skills to work, demonstrating how the mandolin might offer a fresh per - spective on the Baroque violin concerto. The result recorded here is striking: in many passages the familiar character of Vivaldi’s famous work gives way to an altogether more exotic sound-world, transporting the listener from eighteenth century Venice to the sand dunes of the Middle East. Upon hearing the Ukraine-born composer Leonid Desyatnikov’s arrangement of Piazzolla’s Cuatro estaciones porteñas-a brilliant adaptation for violin-Reuven discovered an immediate desire to re-fashion the work for mandolin. Desyatnikov’s contemporary adaptation draws upon that very same violinistic essence that fascinates the artist, and here under Reuven’s fingers takes on a folk-like character bestowed by the mandolin and accordion. Omer Meir Wellber’s role as continuo player in both sets of ‘Seasons’ means the music he plays is entirely improvised, granting each piece a sense of uniqueness, charming candidness and startling vivacity. For Wellber this is the reason for making a ‘live’ recording of these works; it is his way of challenging the musicians to leave behind accepted mannerisms and patterns, and instead to surrender completely to the surprises of impromptu musical communication. Indeed, this is how the current album was conceived and assembled. The musical intensity generated by the two friends throughout this recording is alluring and demonstrates so much more than a profound mutual understanding. Rather, it stems from the fusion of cultural traditions that occurs naturally to wanderers between worlds.
INGE KLOEPFER © 2022
in conversation with JACOB REUVEN and OMER MEIR WELLBER
www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc...