Nimbus: NI5831

The Ancient Melodies of Russian Folk-songs (2007) is a setting for cello and piano of five melodies from Rimsky-Korsakov’s famous anthology of 100 Russian Folk Songs published in 1877. The Ancient Melodies of Russian Folk-songs is dedicated to Raphael Wallfisch, who premiered the cycle on 24 May 2007 in London with the composer at the piano and this is the premiere recording of this work.

Shchedrin wrote his Sonata for cello and piano in 1996 for his great friend Mstislav Rostropovich, who had already been the dedicatee of his Cello Concerto ‘Sotto Voce’ of 1994 and would later have the Parabola Concertante for cello, strings and timpani (2001 – recorded on Nimbus NI5816) written for him. There are three movements which in their character and disposition are reminiscent of the late string works of Shostakovich.

In the Style of Albeniz is a short early piece written in 1952 when he was twenty. One of Shchedrin’s bestknown short pieces, it was originally composed for piano solo and incorporated in his set of 10 Piano Pieces which are widely used as teaching material.

The Quadrille, one of its best-known numbers, was arranged for cello and piano by Grigory Singer. Opening with an ardent, romantic cello solo, the piece opens up into a virtuosically- presented parade of folklike tunes over repeated ostinato rhythms which both seem to satirize Russian sentimentality and display how much Shchedrin owed to the music of Stravinsky in his early period.