The performers, the David Oistrakh Quartet and their friends Alexander Buzlov and Daniel Austrich, had a long-cherished dream to perform and record these two works.
Composition History
Tchaikovsky revised his String Sextet 'Souvenir de Florence' extensively after its initial performance, stating it was "astonishingly bad in all respects," completing the final version in January 1892.
Compositional Technique
Tchaikovsky found composing his sextet difficult, feeling he was writing for an orchestra and then arranging it for six string instruments, rather than composing directly for the sextet form.
Composition History
Arnold Schoenberg composed 'Verklärte Nacht' in three weeks of intense creative activity in 1899, directly inspired by a poem by Richard Dehmel.
Composition History
Tchaikovsky's String Sextet 'Souvenir de Florence' was composed in response to his honorary membership of the Saint Petersburg Chamber Music Society, for which he pledged a chamber music work.
Performer Biography
This recording is the last testimony to the distinctive cello playing of Alexander Buzlov, an extraordinary musician who passed away too soon.
Composer Biography
Tchaikovsky had a very low opinion of Johannes Brahms's music, despite getting on well with him on a human level.
