Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Emil Gilels has been a leading light of the extraordinary Russian piano school. These 1959 live recordings from Turin and Lenningrad feature Tchaikovsky’s First and Second Piano Concertos

The Modern Mandolin Quartet presents a delightful alternative to a Christmas classic with the Dorian Sono Luminus release of Nutcracker Suite, an enchanting collection of music reinvisioned with instruments from the mandolin family: two mandolins, a mandola and mandocello.

The Modern Mandolin Quartet was formed in 1985 to give a new voice to that most American of musical instruments, the mandolin. Following the tradition of the mandolin orchestras and chamber groups from the early twentieth century, the MMQ uses the instruments of the mandolin family which correspond to the conventional string quartet (two mandolins, mandola, and mandocello). To date the Quartet has arranged and performed over 90 works originally written for orchestra, chamber ensemble, piano, guitar, and string quartet.

Miguel Llobet’s most popular works are the arrangements of Catalan folk songs (Canciones populares Catalanas). Llobet’s original solo guitar melodies have been re-arranged for mandolin quartet. The interesting, often strange harmonies he chose and the delicate texture of the guitar music made these pieces quite fun and natural for the MMQ.

MMQ has been performing their own fun version of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece since 1991. Influenced by Mstislav Rostropovich’s extraordinary Berlin Philharmonic recording, MMQ brings its own other-worldly magic to this perennial musical favorite. Fauré’s haunting Pavane is bathed in harmonies which are quite rich and reminded the MMQ of jazz chords, and through improvisation the members of MMQ decided to include two solos in the finished product.

The Vivaldi Concerto in D Major is MMQ’s nod to the traditional plucked string repertoire. Its joyful energy and the quieter evocative quality of the second movement made this concerto a pleasure to play.

Léo Delibes composed his operatic masterpiece Lakme in 1883. This gorgeous musical selection (originally for soprano and mezzosoprano) translates beautifully in MMQ’s treatment and is a fitting close to the program. Lovers of traditional classical music, fans of plucked instruments, as well as fans of modern crossover arrangements are sure to flock to this intriguing re-imagination of these classical favorites.

Five years after first conducting the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra in their Venezuelan home, Claudio Abbado continues his commitment to this stunning ensemble in this first joint audiovisual concert recording.

Prokofiev’s extrovert Scythian Suite is a gift for the boundless energy of these young players, while the intricacy and anguish of Berg’s Lulu-Suite are an Abbado speciality, with soprano Anna Prohaska, in her Lucerne Festival debut, singing the heroine’s dazzling statement of self-justification.

The concert ends with an impassioned account of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique, his final symphony, one of the most moving works in music history.

Picture Format Blu-Ray: HDCAM 1080/59,94

Sound Formats Blu-Ray: DTS HD Master Audio PCM Stereo

Region Code: 0 (worldwide)

Booklet notes: Songtexts in German

Running Time: 111:45

Disc Format: BD 25

FSK: 0

Bjarke Mogensen is a rising star in his native Denmark, much in demand as soloist, having made his debut aged 13 in a live TV broadcast with the Munich Symphony Orchestra. Concerts for 2011 include a solo recital at Carnegie Hall.

The repertoire on this disc is taken from a rich repertoire of accordion music, much of it based on folk music of Russia, and includes Mogensen’s own transcriptions for the instrument of works by Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky.

Reissue Producer and Restoration Engineer: Mark Obert-Thorn

The recordings on this album come from the second part of Jascha Heifetz’s extraordinary career. Heifetz’s strong command of structure and attention to sensuous detail are evident in each of the recordings heard here, the music’s technical difficulties dispatched with consummate ease.

Signum’s fourth disc with the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra continues their survey of the core Russian repertoire in which they excel.

This recording follows their January 2010 releases of Verdi’s Requiem (SIGCD184), Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 'Leningrad' (SIGCD194) and Prokofiev’s ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Romeo & Juliet’ Orchestral Suites (SIGCD214).

A stunning 2CD of Russian music from Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra that includes a mix of the familiar and the not so familiar. Liadov’s exquisite miniature tone poems and Glinka’s effervescent overture to Ruslan and Ludmila rub shoulders with a rare Tchaikovsky overture and two preludes by Tcherepnin. All the composers here had a deep knowledge and respect for the traditional music of Mother Russia, and every work on these discs has the unmistakable sound of Russia irrespective of whether it was composed under the Tsarist or Soviet regime.

Recordings made in 1993/94