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Crossroads - Where Classics Meet Jazz album cover

Album guide

Crossroads - Where Classics Meet Jazz

Raimonds Pauls and Liepāja Symphony Orchestra

Released
2004
Label
Microphone Records
Forces
Piano, Trio, Orchestra
Personnel
Raimonds Pauls piano, Toivo Unt bass, Māris Briežkalns drums and vibraphone, with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jēkabs Ozoliņš

Raimonds Pauls is best known in Latvia as a composer of songs, theatre music and film scores, but his career began at the jazz piano. Crossroads returns him to that instrument with bassist Toivo Unt and drummer Māris Briežkalns, joined by the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra.

Jēkabs Ozoliņš arranged and conducted the 2004 session at Latvian Radio. Its journey from Rameau and Scarlatti to Gershwin lives up to the title, with Pauls at the keyboard providing the thread across the centuries.

Hear both

The classical side contains only the source pieces used on the album, in album order. The jazz side presents the complete album whenever a dependable copy can be embedded.

The originalsBeethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rameau, Chopin, Scarlatti, Rachmaninoff, Schubert, Liszt, Mozart, Debussy, J.S. Bach, Handel, Gershwin · classical source works

The listening queues above follow the same order. The classical player omits tracks that are not based on a classical original.

Jazzed upRaimonds Pauls and Liepāja Symphony Orchestra · 2004
Open full album in Spotify

Spotify’s player is here for convenience; the full track listing below remains available to everyone.

Source works

The album’s complete track listing, with each classical source identified and original compositions marked plainly.

  1. Rondo C-MollBeethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 ‘Pathetique’: III. Rondo. Allegro
  2. June/Barcarolle/The SeasonsTchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op. 37a: VI. June — Barcarolle
  3. TambourinRameau: Pieces de clavecin (1724), Suite in E minor, RCT 2: No. 8, Tambourin
  4. Nocturne Cis-MollChopin: Nocturne in C sharp minor, KK IVa/16, ‘Lento con gran espressione’ (posthumous)
  5. Sonata C-DurScarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in C major, K. 159 (L. 104)
  6. Andante CantabileRachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation XVIII, Andante cantabile
  7. Impromptus As DusSchubert: Impromptu in A flat major, Op. 142 No. 2, D 935
  8. Nocturne Nr.3Liszt: Liebestraum No. 3 in A flat major, S. 541, published as Notturno No. 3
  9. Sonata A-DurMozart: Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331: I. Andante grazioso (theme and variations)
  10. Clair De LuneDebussy: Suite bergamasque, L. 75: III. Clair de lune
  11. Concert F-MollJ.S. Bach: Keyboard Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056: II. Largo
  12. PassacagliaHandel: Keyboard Suite No. 7 in G minor, HWV 432: VI. Passacaglia
  13. Andantino Moderato/Rhapsody In BlueGershwin: Rhapsody in Blue — the Andantino moderato theme