VVCD-00068
DDD - 72.01

Aleksander Zagorinsky
Cello
Alexei Schmitov
Piano
Cesar
Frank. Sonata for cello and piano A-Dur
Ottorino Respighi. Adagio with variations for cello and piano H-Dur
Max Reger. Suite for cello a-moll
Claude Debussy. Sonata for cello and piano d-moll
Total: 72.01
Recorded: 1993 (1-8), 1994 (9-11)
Sound Engineer: G.Karetnikov (1-4, 9-11); A.Volkov (5-8)
Alexander Zagorinsky was born in 1962 in Moscow. Graduated from
the Moscow Conservatoire in 1986. Did his post graduate studies
with Natalia Shakhovskaya. Winner of several international competitions.
Soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. Honoured Artist of the
Russian Federation. Teaches at the Gnesins' Academy of Music. Tours
extensively in Russia and abroad. Recorded over a dozen of discs.
Alexei Shmitov gained
graduate and postgraduate qualifications at the Moscow Conservatoire
where Professor Tatiana Nikolayeva was his tutor. He also took organ
classes by Professor Roizman. Winner of the International competition.
Professor of the Damascus Consevatoire where he teaches organ and
harpsichord.. Recorded several discs of the organ music.
Ceasar Franck's Sonata conveys his style that combines "French"
elegance and "German profundity". Classical four movement
Sonata is presented here as a larger two-movements work with lighter
first and third movements serving like preludes to more solid second
and forth movements. All this looks like a romantic transformation
of the Bach's principles of the cyclic form. The musical language
is strongly influenced by Brahms, Wagner, and Liszt. Typical for
the music of romanticism is a monothematic principle with through
themes getting over the frontiers of the movements. Finally, a song
theme of the finale that is entirely written in the form of canon,
and this is a very rare case, looks like a tribute to the traditions
of the old masters.
Adagio with Variations by Ottorino Respighi and Suite for Cello
Solo by Max Reger as well as Cello Sonata by Claude Debussy reflect
another significant tradition of the late XIX - early XX centuries,
and that is retrospective view, reminiscences of the past of the
national culture.
Reger's Suite (1915) revives the tradition of compositions for solo
instruments with its apotheosis in the Bach's works. The harmony
of the intellectual and emotional sides of the Reger's music as
well as strong emphasis on the traditional genres of the instrumental
music make one recall of his great predecessor.
Ottorino Respighi chooses similar methods. His Adagio is sort of
projection of the Italian Middle Ages and Renascence on the arts
of the XX century. The so-called Modal Harmony based on the natural
modes of scales adds a somewhat cold and alienated "ancient"
colour. It represents a striking contrast with the music of Fountains
of Rome
Cello Sonata by Claude Debussy, a masterpiece of the great composer
written in 1915, also reflects a clear retrospective idea. The composition
was first intended to be a part of a large cycle of six sonatas
for various instruments (only three of them were concluded). Music
by Fransua Kuperen "the Great" and Michele Ramo became
a source of inspiration for Debussy. The Sonata is notable by its
laconic and aphoristic expressive means. It consists of Prologue,
Serenade, and Finale.
Mikhail Segelman
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