Launch of the St. Petersburg Classics series. All of these recordings were being made in the late 90s by Mazur Media in coproduction with Sony Classical, however, with a few exceptions, were never released. Technically these productions were far ahead of their time. For Sony it was a prestigious object to demonstrate the best recording technology possible at that time. Therefore all these recordings were being produced in 24 bit /96 hz High Definition Technology, which is still the ultimate of technical feasibility. By means of special High- Performance filters the masters were converted into the common CD standard 16 bit /44,1 hz almost without loss. The result is even today convincing by brilliant sound and incredible transparency, which projects the purity of the instruments as well as the acoustical background in the most natural way.
Tchaikovsky wrote only a few works for violin and cello. However, the artistic impact of his inheritance in this area is really significant. His concerto for violin is the first Russian violin concerto at all and belongs to the most difficult ones in this genre. His dedicatee Leopold Auer refused to accept it because he felt it was unplayable. Today it has its firm place in the concert halls as a classical masterpiece. With the Variations on a Rokoko Theme Tchaikovsky finally put an end to the shadowy existence, the cello had suffered from for quite a long time in concert life.
Stanislav Gorkovenko, born 1938, was educated at the Leningrad Conservatory. Amongst his teachers was the famous professor Nikolai Rabinovich. In 1978 he took over the Leningrad Radio Symphony Orchestra which he soon developed to international standards. Concert tours throughout the European metropolises as well as Asia were the rewards for this advancement. Gorkovenko established his reputation as an interpreter of Tchaikovsky while at the same time he is an advocate of contemporary Russian composers.
