Between Worlds (2014)

performed by Amichai Grosz (viola), Avi Avital (mandola), Avi Avital (mandolin), Catrin Finch (harp), Efrain Oscher (flute), Giora Feidman (clarinet), Itamar Doari (percussion), Klaus Stoll (double bass), Ralf Benesch (guitar), Richard Galliano (accordion)
composed by Astor Piazzolla, Béla Bartók, Bulgarian Traditional, Ernest Bloch, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Manuel de Falla, Ora Bat Chaim, Sulkhan Tsintsadze, Vittorio Monti, Welsh Traditional

Fresh off an album of music by Bach, Israeli mandolinist Avi Avital returns with an album of 20th century music influenced by folk traditions. Much is made in the booklet about the boundary-crossing nature of the program, but really, aside from the fairly unusual but entirely appropriate music by Georgian composer Sulkhan Tsintsadze, it is a pretty standard collection of ethnic material. It stands out for several reasons, however, one of which is simply that it's been a while since the mandolin has been asked to do so many ... Read More

Fresh off an album of music by Bach, Israeli mandolinist Avi Avital returns with an album of 20th century music influenced by folk traditions. Much is made in the booklet about the boundary-crossing nature of the program, but really, aside from the fairly unusual but entirely appropriate music by Georgian composer Sulkhan Tsintsadze, it is a pretty standard collection of ethnic material. It stands out for several reasons, however, one of which is simply that it's been a while since the mandolin has been asked to do so many different things. Another is the arrangements, some of which are by Avital himself: they surround the mandolin with delicate little groups of strings and/or harp, accordion, clarinet, and percussion. The effect is to set off many of the quieter mandolin effects, all of which are very elegantly executed, quite clearly. Major credit is due to Deutsche Grammophon's engineers, working at the Siemens-Villa Konzertsaal studio in Berlin, but Avital himself contributes a kind of confidence... Read Less