IDAGIO | Shchedrin: Concertos for Orchestra Nos. 4 and 5

Featuring

Kirill Karabits
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Rodion Shchedrin

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Composer Biography

Rodion Shchedrin succeeded Shostakovich as president of the Composers' Union of the Russian Federation, holding the position from 1973 to 1990.

Recording & Production

All three works on this album are world premiere recordings, meaning the performers had no prior reference material to consult.

Instruments

Kristallene Gusli (Crystal Psaltery) evokes the sound of the gusli, an ancient Russian psaltery or hand-held harp, but interpreted through a 20th-century composer's ears.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Rodion Shchedrin's childhood memories of the "extinct musical atmosphere of a Russian province" — including choral songs, accordion, balalaika, and shepherd cries — are a nostalgic echo in all three compositions on this album.

Interpretation

Conductor Kirill Karabits found inspiration for the Concerto for Orchestra No. 5 'Four Russian Songs' in the composer's idea of a troika, a Russian horse-drawn vehicle, moving through different landscapes.

Compositional Technique

The Concerto for Orchestra No. 4 'Khorovody' (Roundelays) uses an alto recorder to create a pastoral, open-air quality and flutes blowing into their mouthpieces for an eerie, whistling effect.

Composer Biography

Rodion Shchedrin, the composer, was married to Maya Plisetskaya, a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet, and established his name with the ballet 'Carmen Suite' in 1967.