Schnittke Cello Concerto No.2 - Rostropovich (1991)

World Premiere Recording
Recorded at Henry Wood Hall, London, June 27 & 28, 1991 (Cello Concerto),
and at Abbey Road Studio, London, November 23, 1991 (In memoriam…)
For this recording 20-bit technology was used for "high definition sound".

Amazon.com essential recording
Schnittke (b. 1934) has been called a "magician" for his nearly magical evocation of this century's most advanced musical styles. As a polystylist, he employs any mode that suits the music. He can have stretches of atonality and harsh serialism, then launch into passages of utter tonal beauty. This is a good disc that contains those features. The Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra 2 (1990) is a tense, difficult work, very demanding for the soloist (it was written for Mstislav Rostropovich). In Memoriam (1979) was originally a piano quintet, but Gennady Rozhdestvensky wanted it orchestrated. It is one of Schnittke's greatest compositions. –Paul Cook

Track List:
Alfred Schnittke
Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra No. 2
01. I. Moderato
02. II. Allegro
03. III. Lento
04. IV. Allegretto vivo
05. V. Grave

Mstislav Rostropovich, Violoncello
London Symphony Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa


In Memoriam
06. I. Moderato
07. II. Tempo di Valse
08. III. Andante
09. IV. Lento
10. V. Moderato pastorale

London Symphony Orchestra
Mstislav Rostropovich