Stepan Arman and I Music de Montréal under Yuli Turovsky perform three modern Russian works for string orchestra.

This premiere recording of Denisov’s Paganini Capriccios showcases the violin virtuosity of Stepan Arman.

There are only two competing recordings of Myaskovsky’s Sinfonietta in the international catalogues.


Myaskovsky was the son of a Russian military engineer stationed in Poland. Initially he planned to follow the same career path as his father and joined the cadet corps. After studying with Glière and Krizhanovsky and entering the Conservatory at St Petersburg in 1906 to pursue his musical education with Rimsky-Korsakov and Liadov, he resigned his position in the military. He was seriously wounded in World War I and this experience compounded with the 1917 Revolution, inspired him to compose his Fifth Symphony, a work hailed as the first truly Soviet and pacifist symphony. The Sinfonietta No. 2 was composed in 1928-9 and is dedicated to the pianist, teacher and composer Aleksander Gedike.

Alfred Schnittke was internationally recognised as one of the leading composers of his generation. In many respects his musical style mirrors the multi-faceted character of his personal identity. His parents were of Jewish and Volga German origin, but he became a devout Catholic who worshipped at the Russian Orthodox churches, even though he possessed no ethnic Russian background. During World War II, most Volga-Germans were banished to Siberia, but because of their Jewish origins Schnittke and his family were spared that exile. He was sent to Vienna after the War and his interest in music dates from his sojourn there.

Edison Denisov was born in Tomsk, Siberia. He began early piano studies in his native city, at the Tomsk Music College, studying mechanics and mathematics at the university there. To these formal studies Denisov added personal research into Russian folk music, journeying to Altay and Siberia to accomplish the required fieldwork. This particular interest in folk music, evident from his childhood years when he taught himself to play folk instruments, was to prove a determining factor in his mature musical style.

‘This is a nicely contrasted programme of twentieth century Russian music for small orchestra, strongly played and well-recorded… Arman is again a superb soloist here, creating a dazzling conclusion to a most enjoyable disc.’
‘Yuli Turovsky and his Montréal group… play superbly, with real feeling for the music and obvious pleasure in it… Turovsky directs with flair, and the engineers do a fine job. A thoroughly enjoyable disc.’
‘Performances are uniformally excellent.’
‘…another thoroughly persuasive disc.’
A trio of works with string orchestra reveals a wealth of invention and virtuosity.
‘I Musici de Montréal’s performances are impeccably played and beautifully recorded.’


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