Strasnoy - Orchestral Works - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Orchestral Works - Orchestral Works [COMPACT DISCS] date 08/07/2005

She was a great musical talent and a sensitive soul, the child of a socially aspiring family who forbid their daughter to marry the love of her life; instead she was forced into a utilitarian marriage with a respectable husband, but later had an affair with her first sweetheart after all - the stuff of a sentimental novel. Yet Mel Bonis (1858-1937) was no fictional character. She was one of the strongest composers of her time with a focus on piano, chamber music and art songs. She also enriched the repertoire of impressionism with numerous original gems and arrangements for orchestra. Her particularly modern Ophelia, her purring melodie of an enamoured tomcat on a roof at night, her Spanish gypsy waltz and her dances for orchestra are just some of the enchanting discoveries you will find here. Our recording pays a well-deserved tribute to this noble woman.

The music of Andrei Golovin (b. 1950, Moscow) lies in the Russian symphonic tradition downstream from Shostakovich and Boris Tchaikovsky. His music employs a somber lyricism to conjure up images of vast open spaces but can also flare up in outbursts of considerable power. This CD presents a conspectus of almost four decades of compositions, ranging from his first symphony to his most recent. This is the first appearance of any of Mr. Golovin's music on any western tag. These recordings also mark the first appearances of Messrs. Bereznitsky, Rudin and Levin on Toccata Classics.