Oleg Solokov

Although each significant players in the Russian School of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the piano concertos of Pavel Pabst, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Scriabin have been largely neglected by comparison to the other titanic piano concertos to come from the likes of Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff. Unlike their contemporaries, each of these three composers wrote but one piano concerto and in one way or another were writing outside of their comfort zone. Rimsky-Korsakov, for example, was a fine orchestrator, but had little experience writing for the piano. By contrast, Scriabin was a brilliant pianist and writer for his instrument, but his concerto represents his first attempt at writing an orchestral work.

Oleg Marshev has recorded several very good CDs of the piano music of Emil von Sauer (1862-1942), thus rescuing this forgotten composer from undeserved obscurity. Sauer was a pupil of Liszt and Nikolai Rubinstein and he became one of the preeminent virtuosos of his day, along with d'Albert and Godowsky. These etudes are incredibly finely crafted dainties, which require a brilliant technique - something Marshev has in abundance. The Etudes de Concert are not works of great profundity or emotional depth, but they explore some of the furthest reaches of Romantic pianism, marshaling countless colours, textures and effects.

Ukrainian pianist Oleg Poliansky joins Volker Hartung and the Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra in performing cherished orchestral works by Dvorak, including the dramatic Piano Concerto in G Minor, Op. 33, B. 63, in addition to the exuberant Slavonic Dances.

The first half of the 19th century witnessed the blossoming of the Russian seven-string guitar (tuned D G B d g b d'). During that time, an exquisite repertoire for the instrument was created, which departs significantly from the Western European guitar tradition. This compact disc is the world's pioneer recording of selections from that repetoire on original instruments. The performance is historically informed and based on a careful study of Russian 19th century guitar techniques. The pieces included represent the individual styles of eleven composers - ranging from "giants" such as Sychra and Vysotsky to less prolific ones like Alferiev and Palevich, of whom we have only a handful of pieces. This recording displays the variety, elegance and wit of the Russian guitar tradition as well as its technical and musical specifity.

The fourth New Series album from the St Petersburg-based composer Alexander Knaifel may be his most wide-ranging to date, voyaging from the sacred to the secular and back again via several inspired detours. It includes two Prayers to the Holy Spirit, movingly performed by the Lege Artis Choir. Tatiana Melentieva sings Bliss, based on Alexander Pushkin’s poem, and the great Russian poet is cross-referenced with St Ephraim the Syrian in O Lord of All My Life (A Poem and a Prayer) sung by Piotr Migunov.

This is a very familiar and yet purely rhetorical question, as proven by the centenary anniversary of the composer’s death. Wherever you go you can find concerts of his works and events or exhibitions in tribute of the great German musician. Brahms was very fond of Switzerland, particularly of Thun and the region around its lake, often finding musical inspiration on his long hikes here. It is thus particularly appropriate that Claves honor this gentle man and giant composer by symbolically presenting him with two bouquets of flowers to accompany some of his most beautiful chamber music. French painter Bernard Cathelin (born in 1918) has kindly allowed us to use two of his paintings for the covers of these two compact discs. His exquisite pictures visually capture the perpetual youth and colors of Brahms’ music.