Sofia

Alexander Ivashkin’s bold, confident cello-playing is the thread running through these works; he partners the organist Malcolm Hicks in the 1979 In croce, plays the Ten Preludes for the solo instrument from 1979, and leads a quartet of cellos in the remarkable Quaternion. Though many of Sofia Gubaidulina’s works have a religious dimension, In croce does not, despite its title; ‘On the cross’ refers to the way in which the two instruments exchange roles during the work, the cello beginning with microtones in the lowest register and gradually rising to a high diatonic end, while the organ starts off high in a pure A major and descends to the depths to a cluster that gradually collapses when the instrument’s blower is turned off. Though the Ten Preludes stretch the player’s capabilities to the maximum, they remain more or less within the conventional resources of the instrument. But Quaternion creates a whole new, ethereal, sound-world in which the cellos are tuned in pairs a quarter-tone apart, the players wear thimbles on their fingers in one section, and the music is persistently coloured by harmonics.

Prince Igor is an epic opera,with its wonderful crowd scenes and intimate love music and although it can at times appear more a patchwork of scenes than a coherent work it does contain wonderful music which moves along with great vigour and excitement. This version with mainly Bulgarian singers is most enjoyable with Tchakarov bringing out the dramatic tension,vivid melody and colour with finesse and passion,the orchestra responding admirably to all the nuances in the score,the chorus too so important in this work give an outstanding performance in the Polovtsian music.

The CD, unreleased as always, is dedicated to three rare masterpieces by the Taranto composer, of the "Neapolitan school", Giovanni Paisiello and his Concerti n. 6, 7 and 8 for piano and orchestra. They are interpreted by the great Catania pianist Francesco Nicolosi (2nd prize in Geneva, 1980, first not awarded) and the refined Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Sofia.