Schnittke: Cello Concertos and Sonatas
Russian State Symphony Orchestra
Irina Schnittke
Tatiana Grindenko
Solo cello
Alexander Ivashkin
Valeri Polyansky
Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory
Mosfilm Studio, Moscow
Producer (Sonatas Nos 1 & 2)
Vadim Ivanov
Producer (Cello Concerto No. 2)
Igor Veprintsev
Engineer (Sonatas Nos 1 & 2)
Farida Uzbekova
Engineer and Vladimir Kisselev (Cello Concerto No. 1)
Elena Buneeva
Cello Concerto No. 1
Pesante -
Largo -
Allegro vivace
Orchestra: Russian State Symphony Orchestra
Cello Sonata No. 1
Solo: Irina Schnittke piano
Allegro -
Moderato -
Lento -
Allegretto mino -
Concerto grosso No. 2
for violin, cello and orchestra
Dedicated to Oleg Kagan and Natalia Gutman
Andantino - Allegro
Solo: Tatiana Grindenko violin
Recorded in memory of Alfred Schnittke by soloists Tatiana Grindenko, the co-dedicatee of Schnittke's Concerti grossi Nos 1 & 3, and Alexander Ivashkin
Solo: Alexander Ivashkin cello
Conductor: Valeri Polyansky
16 January 1998 (Cello Concerto No. 2) and 22-25 April 1998 (Sonatas Nos 1 & 2)
24 March 1999 (Cello Concerto No. 1) and 24 & 26 December 2001 (Concerto grosso)
This two-CD set is compiled from four back catalogue CDs and features the distinguished cellist Alexander Ivashkin. Ivashkin was a personal friend of Schnittke as well as his biographer and here he teams up with Schnittke's widow, Irina, for the Cello Sonatas Nos 1 and 2. He is the soloist in the two Cello Concertos and is joined by Tatiana Grindenko in the Concerto Grosso No. 2. In all three concertos Valeri Polyansky conducts the Russian State Symphony Orchestra. Chandos has produced an important recorded survey of Schnittke's music and the works for cello hold a significant place in the composer's output. This set of two CDs sells for the price of one.
Alfre Schnittke's biographer and passionate advocate Ivashkin is a completely reliable exponent of this intense music, joined by the composer' widow in the sonatas and by violinist Tatiana Gridenko in the nostalgic Concerto Grosso.
…here's the definitive document of Schnittke's relationship with the Cello