Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 for at least 8 cellos

Villa-Lobos was a composer of astonishingly prolific creativity, though most of his works are little-known and his discography is meagre. An autodidact, he developed a personal system of composition, inspired by Brazilian folk music (cf. Chôros VII which mixes winds and strings in a direct evocation of the streets of Rio), contemporary European music, and Bach (in the Bachiana brasileira nr. 1 which employs the special sound of an orchestra of cellos). The focal point of this record, Chôros XII, described by the composer as "strong, big and robust as an old elephant" is a monumental work that develops a structure based on variation form. Villa-Lobos displays an consummate art of orchestration. The publication Les indispensables du disque compact classique (Fayard) refers to this recording as "to be marked by a white stone: we had no idea these musicians from Ličge could pick up Brazilian rhythms so naturally. A success" - one that is updated for the greater pleasure of listeners.

Mstislav Rostropovich was born on 27th March 1927 and died from cancer a month after his 80th birthday. Whereas Pablo Casals was the leading cellist of the first half of the 20th century, Rostropovich took on this mantle for the second half. He was more than just a cellist however as he conducted and was an excellent piano accompanist to his wife, the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He also became a leading citizen of the world by his support for the Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn, then stripped of his Russian citizenship by the Communists after being granted a visa to work abroad in 1974 and flying back to assist Boris Yeltsin when the new Parliament was besieged by Communist renegades in 1991.

This collection brings together all the recordings with cello that he made for EMI Classics including both versions of the Brahms Double Concerto made with Oistrakh and Szell in 1969 and Perlman and Haitink in 1979; the Dvorák Concerto with Boult in 1957 and Giulini in 1977 and Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 1 with Sargent in 1956 and Giulini in 1977; the Bach Cello Suites both on CD and DVD and the 13CDs of recordings which Rostropovich brought to EMI entitled “The Russian Years”.

Such was his enthusiasm and remarkable playing he inspired numerous composers to write for him. He always expressed his view that the greatest were Sergei Prokofiev, who died on the same day as Stalin, 5th March 1953, Dmitri Shostakovich, died on 9th August 1975 and Benjamin Britten, died on 4th December 1976. Both Rostropovich and Shostakovich had lost their fathers whilst teenagers so when Shostakovich became his teacher he was more of a surrogate father and you may imagine his anguish at not being able to return to Moscow for the funeral (having been stripped of his citizenship); it was thus at Britten’s funeral service that he could give vent to his sadness at the loss of both great friends.

Slava, as he was universally known by his countless friends and colleagues, has left the world a matchless recorded legacy of his genius.

We should all listen and be grateful.