Russian Music

Celibidache was without question one of the most important and original conductors in recent memory. He was a perfectionist who disliked what he perceived to be the synthetic sounds created in the modern recording studio, preferring the immediacy of the concert platform and the interaction with a live audience.

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.

In October 2023, Vanessa Bernardi will obtain her two-year second-level diploma in classical guitar at the A. Buzzolla Conservatory in Adria under the guidance of Maestro Giulio Tampalini. This follows her achievement of a three-year first-level diploma with the highest grades and honours in October 2021. That same year, she also earned a bachelor's degree in History and Protection of Musical Artistic Heritage from the University of Padua (thesis title: "Music in the Time of Covid-19: Musical Initiatives and Distance Education").

Pure enjoyment is provided by this delightful new recording of popular Russian music arranged for clarinet and orchestra by Robin White. From Rimsky-Korsakov’s Clarinet Concerto – originally scored for military band – to the Andante Cantabile from Tchaikovsky’s first string quartet (a staple for arrangers for decades) this is a beautifully played album by one of Britain’s busiest orchestras. An interloper (but a welcome one) from Italy (but of Eastern European style) provides a superb finale. Ian Scott is the principal clarinet of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and has been guest principal with several top London orchestras. He has previously made premiere recordings of Clarinet Concertos for ASV and Dutton.

Following the success of his solo release of the Complete Late Piano Music of Scriabin, James Kreiling returns to Odradek with cellist Liubov Ulybysheva in RISE, a recording of Russian music for cello and piano that represents revolutionary Russian voices whose music rose from the ruins of conflict to create powerful testimonies of hope and peace.

For the casual fan of cello music, this four-disc set of Russian works for cello and piano may seem like far too much of a good thing. After all, the cello sonatas of Rubinstein, Myaskovsky, and Borodin are anything but standard repertoire. For the dedicated fan of cello music, this set may not seem up to the level of the great performances of the past. After all, Rostropovich has already recorded Prokofiev's Cello Sonata accompanied by Richter in the presence of the composer and Shostakovich's Cello Sonata accompanied by the composer and these performances are understandably hard to top for expressivity and authenticity.