Given Russia’s richness in superstar pianists, it is not surprising that Russian composers have composed extensively for the piano. Some of the composers represented in this collection were impressive pianists in their own right and they composed music designed to display their own technique and artistry. Others were more modestly gifted as performers but still […]
Tchaikovsky’s First Quartet, Borodin’s Second and Shostakovich’s Eighth are three of the finest quartets in the Russian repertory. They reveal that Russian composers were hardly less at home in the relatively private medium of the string quartet than when writing for the more spectacular full symphony orchestra. Both the Tchaikovsky and the Borodin have received […]
Each of the works on this disc is associated with a notable cellist who made a career in Russia: the ‘Rococo Variations’ with the German player Wilhelm Fitzenhagen (1843–90), the ‘Andante cantabile’ with Anatoly Brandukov (1859–1930), the ‘Chant du Ménestrel’ with the Polish player Alexander Wierzbilowicz (1849–1911) and the Shostakovich Concerto with Mstislav Rostropovich (1927–2007) […]
Lazar Berman, a bear of a man whom The Times of London called ‘one of the last unabashed exponents of the Romantic tradition of Russian pianism’, was known for the power of his playing and for his prodigious technique but was also capable of great delicacy at the keyboard. The core of his repertoire was […]
