Shchedrin

Rodion Shchedrin, widely hailed as the most prolific Russian composer of his generation, marks two major milestones in 2022: his 90th birthday, and his 25th year as composer-in-residence at the Verbier Festival. This dynamic collection of recordings celebrates a partnership of mutual inspiration. Shchedrin first visited Verbier in 1997, when Maxim Vengerov and Antonio Pappano performed his new Violin Concerto. Since then, the Festival’s community of iconic soloists has embraced him as a cherished family member, welcoming collaboration and sparking inspiration. Many of Shchedrin’s new works, as showcased by this release, were composed in the heart of the Swiss Alps.

Shchedrin was born in Moscow into a musical family—his father was a composer and teacher of music theory. He studied at the Moscow Choral School and Moscow Conservatory (graduating in 1955) under Yuri Shaporin (composition) and Yakov Flier (piano). He was married to the well-known ballerina Maya Plisetskaya from 1958 until her death in 2015.

Rodion Shchedrin's “Carmen Suite” is well-known in the world of theater und of the opera. Its popularity is altogether unique in the history of modern music – but only a small part of his multifaceted oeuvre notable for its unmistakably Russian character and, at the same time, its international aura. A brilliant pianist and organist, Shchedrin has appeared throughout the entire world as a successful performer of his own works.

The Mariinsky label was launched in May 2009 with a ground-breaking recording of Shostakovich’s early opera The Nose, which received much praise and many awards. Gergiev continues to work his way through the Shostakovich oeuvre with the Mariinsky and here adds the two piano concertos, plus the fifth piano concerto by the popular Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin.

This new CD from BR-KLASSIK features the ballet music 'Carmen Suite', based on the famous melodies from George Bizet's eponymous opera and masterfully arranged and adapted by the composer Rodion Shchedrin in 1968, and Ottorino Respighi's well-known symphonic poem 'Pini di Roma' (The Pines of Rome), written in 1924. The name of the Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin is primarily associated in the West with his 'Carmen Suite', which has been highly popular ever since its first performance.

Shchedrin's early music is tonal, colourfully orchestrated and often includes snatches of folk music, while some later pieces use aleatoric and serial techniques. In the west the music of Shchedrin has won popularity mainly through the work of Mstislav Rostropovich who has made several successful recordings. Among his works are the ballets The Little Hump-backed Horse (1955), Carmen Suite (1967), an arrangement by Tony Vernon, Anna Karenina (1971, on the novel by Leo Tolstoy), and Lady with a Lapdog (1985); the operas Not Only Love (1961), and Dead Souls (1976, after Nikolai Gogol's novel); piano concertos, symphonies, chamber and piano music and other works. He composed 24 Preludes and Fugues after he heard those of Shostakovich.