biNg bang plays lešnik
Igor Lešnik
Jeunesses Musicales Croatia
Jeunesses Musicales Croatia (JMC) percussion ensemble was founded in 1999 under the leadership of Igor Lešnik. Winning the Percussive Arts Society 2004 Percussion Ensemble Competition, biNg bang's performing members are the best percussion students of Croatia and laureates of numerous percussion competitions in Croatia and Slovenia. Soprano soloist Tamara Felbinger Franetovic studied at the Music Academy of Zagreb with Zdenka Zabcic, and has received critical acclaim for her performances in ensembles and operatic roles at home in Croatia as well as Austria, France, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Switzerland and Spain.
Igor Lešnik has lead the Croatian Radio Symphony orchestra percussion section since 1984, and has been organizing international percussion events since 1990. His compositions are part of concert programs of renowned soloists and ensembles around the globe, and his collaborations, recordings, and performances have introduced Croatian percussion music to the world. As founder of the percussion department at the Music Academy in Zagreb, and president of the Croatian Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society, Lešnik has received several awards for his artistic achievements and in 2003 was awarded French knighthood for accomplishments in arts and literature.
| TRACKS | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | Dwarfs (Igor Lesnik) | |
| Dawn (theme by Zivojin Glisic) | 5:39 | |
| The Temple of blue Dwarfs | 6:21 | |
| Carpet ride | 4:52 | |
| E-HA Theme | 2:52 | |
| 5–8 | Hommage A Ball (Igor Lesnik) | |
| Credo | 3:12 | |
| Pas de Deux | 2:24 | |
| Deadly Unplugged | 5:12 | |
| All'Inizio | 2:37 | |
| 9–11 | Concerto for Percussion & Percussion (Franz Cibulka & Igor Lesnik) | |
| I. Allegro | 6:06 | |
| II. Adagio Moderato | 4:33 | |
| III. Presto, Cadenza Finale | 5:35 | |
| 12–14 | Chamade Suite (Igor Lesnik) | |
| Chamade | 3:33 | |
| Retraite | 2:45 | |
| Diane | 1:19 | |
| Total Playing Time | 57:00 | |
REVIEWS
Although Croatian composer Igor Lešnik has yet to make a splash in the United States, his accessible and highly entertaining music for percussion ensemble has a chance of catching on, if his growing acceptance in Western Europe is any indication. Lešnik's style is idiosyncratic and iconoclastic -- often similar in its jazz-rock flavor and occasional silliness to Frank Zappa's music; and, just as often, it is as technically demanding as Christopher Rouse's celebrated percussion music for virtuosos.
Taken at face value, "Dwarfs" (2003), "Chamade Suite" (1993), and the Lešnik/Cibulka collaboration the "Concerto for percussion and percussion" (2002), are instant crowd-pleasers with an extroverted character; these works offer bright displays of various mallet instruments and impressively vigorous drumming. However, Lešnik's "Hommage à Ball" (1995) is a bit more arcane and perhaps less immediately appealing for its experimental nature.
This setting of Hugo Ball's 1916 Dadaist sound-poem "Six Poems of Voices and Sounds" may annoy the less adventurous listener if the verbalizations are not taken in a spirit of fun. The Jeunesses Musicales Croatia, also known as biNg bang, was founded by Lešnik, and this talented group delivers his music with special authority, enthusiasm, and panache. Equilibrium's sound quality is fine. – Blair Sanderson From: Barnes & Noble – All Music Guide
