Search Results for "Artamonova"
Sergei Vasilenko: Complete Music for Viola and Piano
The Russian composer Sergei Vasilenko (1872-1956) was influenced by the nineteenth-century nationalist school, by his teacher Taneyev and by Scriabin, adding an interest in Symbolism and hints of early modernism. The discovery of the seven viola compositions on this CD — most of them unknown before now — not only expands the repertoire of the instrument; it also points to the courage of a composer who spent his life treading the tight-rope between his own musical interests and the demands of Soviet 'socialist realism'.
Elena Artamonova, viola
Nicholas Walker, piano
Alexander Grechaninov: Complete Music for Viola and Piano
Alexander Grechaninov saw much change in the course of his long life (1864-1956), fleeing Revolutionary Russia into exile, first in Paris and then the United States. A member of the second generation of nationalist composers — he was a student of Rimsky-Korsakov and Taneyev — he never abandoned an essentially Russian lyricism, as these attractive but largely unknown viola works make clear.
Elena Artamonova, viola
Nicholas Walker, piano
Grigori Frid: Complete Music for Viola and Piano
The Russian composer Grigori Frid (1915–2012), whose long life encompassed the entire existence of the Soviet Union, is best known for his 1969 chamber opera The Diary of Anne Frank. His sizable output, which has yet to be properly explored, includes three major works for viola and piano, their dignified restraint and emotional honesty taking the late works of Shostakovich as their stylistic starting point. They are followed by In Memoriam Grigori Frid, a touching tribute by Alexander Vustin (b. 1943) to his former teacher.
Elena Artamonova, viola
Christopher Guild, piano