Saint John of Damascus Collection: 4 Books Paperback

Rachmaninov allegedly considered The Bells to be his best work, and it is not difficult to hear why. Written in 1913, it has a freshness of invention that is irresistible. Perhaps the text (an adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe poem) struck a chord with this composer's sensibilities: different bells symbolize different facets of existence. The piece deserves more frequent airing, and it is to be hoped that Mikhail Pletnev and his Russian forces help raise awareness of it. The soloists are superb (Mescheriakova is particularly impressive), but the real star is the Moscow State Chamber Choir. This is a worthy companion to Pletnev's accounts of Rachmaninov orchestral works.

Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (1856-1915) is an exceptional figure in 19th-century Russian music. He had nothing in common with the Russian National School. Taneyev's abstract approach to composing was in stark contrast to the outbursts of emotion that we encounter in many of his contemporaries. People tend to call him the Russian Brahms, were it not for Taneyev's disapproval of his music. Taneyev was a composition student of Tchaikovsky and, as a pianist, provided the premieres of Tchaikovsky's works for piano and orchestra. A close friendship developed between the two, which would last until Tchaikovsky's death, despite the sincerity with which Taneyev was one of the few in the Tchaikovsky area to dare to criticize his work.