The pop-minimalist music of
Max Richter
has been gaining followers beyond his native Germany and his residence of Britain thanks to some highly successful soundtracks and energetic promotion by the
Deutsche Grammophon
label, which recorded
Exiles
in 2019 and released it in 2021. Here, he is interpreted by the
Baltic Sea Philharmonic
and its conductor,
Kristjan Jaervi
.
Richter
selected the group himself, and it was a good choice. The
Baltic
musicians have plenty of experience with the glassy, precise textures of minimalism, and they deliver accomplished readings.
comprises 18 short sections with a simple pulse, slightly modifying -- in classic minimalist fashion -- a pattern laid out at the beginning.
explains it this way: "It's a very simple idea, but I wanted to put this notion of exile, of walking, of movement, into the heart of the music in a technical sense as well as metaphorical." One could do well to choose this album as an introduction to
's music, for this is close to its essence. He is less original musically than
Philip Glass
, whom he most resembles, but he has a strong sense for linking dramatic ideas with musical structure. There are "
short edits
" of
and of one of the other pieces,
Flowers of Herself
, which was originally part of a longer piece called
Woolf Works
and is intended to represent imagery from the beginning of the novel Mrs. Dalloway. Whether one might guess that without being told is debatable, but
's textures are both distinctive and easy on the ears. His popularity is no accident, and
offers an ideal gateway. ~ James Manheim