Concertgebouw Orkest Rimski Korsakov Scheherazade Krill

That the cello's repertoire has been so wonderfully enriched during the 20th century is due largely to Mstislav Rostropovich, the most influential cellist of his time, a champion of liberty, and also a noted conductor and pianist. Born In Baku on 27 March 1927 to a pianist mother and a cello-playing father who had studied with Pablo Casals, 'Slava' received early paternal grounding in his chosen instrument.

A limited-edition 55-CD set of legendary and critically acclaimed recordings celebrating the famous PHILIPS heritage. An alliance of great artistry and superb sound. Classic-status albums spanning over half a century of recording and showcasing a wealth of international talent.
An unrivaled collection that that embraces all musical genres - from solo piano and chamber music through to large scale choral works and opera.

The musicians of the Tonkunstler Orchestra – and especially their concertmaster Kirill Maximov in soloist mode – want to tell you some fabulous stories. There can be few other orchestral pieces that capture the imagination as directly as Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s musical tales from the «Thousand and One Nights». Violin concerto? Symphonic poem? Or suite? «Scheherazade», written in the summer of 1888, has a little of each, or even better: everything in one! The four movements have names like «The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship» and «Festival at Baghdad»; the musical bor- rowings come from Persia, India and the Caucasus. Emmanuel Tjeknavorian chose this work for his first ever CD production as conductor of a full symphony orchestra because he has an emo- tional connection to it. He explains why in his deeply personal message in the booklet. The young violinist, now increasingly making a name for himself as a conductor, has complemented «Scheherazade» with other showpieces of the Russian orchestral repertoire by Mikhail Glinka and Aleksandr Borodin.

I wouldn’t have thought the world was anxiously waiting for a historically informed performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade . Written in 1888 and a masterpiece of orchestration, it would seem that this was one work that really cries out for the full resources of a modern symphony orchestra. So I was surprised when I saw a listing for this new recording with the Bruges-based period-instrument ensemble, Anima Eterna. Despite all the heat generated in some quarters, I remain fairly neutral regarding H.I.P., seeing it neither as the salvation of music from 20th-century excesses nor as the death of music through formalism. At their best, H.I.P. performances throw a different light on the overly familiar.

Since it was founded, the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra has worked to develop not only as a symphony orchestra but as a showcase for music from different traditions – a multicultural mosaic where each little stone is carefully placed with the utmost respect for its neighbour, making a unique contribution to its surroundings. Our first two CDs have reflected this, combining music of composers from different backgrounds with a similar musical language. We now embark on another exploration of the eastern musical roots of Europe in the late 19th and first half of the 20th century, identifying elements of the eastern side of the Bosphorus which have influenced the Western cultural background of most of these composers.