Mstislav Rostropovich - Rostropovich - The Complete EMI Recordings (28 CDs)
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CD Details
Artist: Mstislav RostropovichEdition: Music CD
Format: Box set
CD Release Date: 2009-01-13
Music Label: EMI Classics
Music reviews of Rostropovich - The Complete EMI Recordings (28 CDs)
Music Review: A Treasure Trove of Recordings
Rating: 5 Stars
I have purchased symphonic cycles before but never a set with so many CDs. My collection contained other recordings - the Shostakovich cello concerti and the Prokofiev cello works - but most of the EMI recordings in this set are new to me. This is an impressive tribute to Mstislav Rostropovich but what convinced me to buy it are the 13 CDs that were originally issued as "The Russian Years." These recordings just managed to survive after Slava went into exile (because his name was removed from the tape reels) and they contain some priceless performances. For example, we can hear the world premiere of Benjamin Britten's Cello Symphony conducted by the composer with the Moscow Philharmonic and the world premiere of Shostakovich's Second Cello Concerto. Among other gems is the world premiere of Prokofiev's Cello Sonata with Sviatoslav Richter, the world premiere of Boris Chiakovsky's Cello Concerto and a disc where Slava performs sonatas by Shostakovich, Kabalevsky and Karen Khachaturian with the composers playing the piano. And this is just a sampling of the treasures recorded during Slava's years in Russia.
There are some duplicated performances. Just to mention three: the Dvorak Concerto conducted by Sir Adrian Boult and Carlo Maria Guilini, the Brahms Double Concerto conducted by George Szell (with David Oistrahk) and Bernard Haitink (with Itzhak Perlman) and two of Richard Strauss' Don Quixote with Herbert von Karajan and Kyrill Kondrashin. I found the two different readings of the Dvorak interesting as Guilini adopts a broader tempo than Boult producing an interesting contrast of interpretation.
Aside from familiar works, like the Dvorak Concerto, there is music that is not so familiar such as the Glazunov Concerto balata, Respighi's Adagio con variazioni, Gubaidulina's Canticle of the Sun and Schnittke's Concerto for Three. One of the most interesting and delightful discs consists of short pieces for cello that Rostropovich played as encores and many times when visiting small villages where a cello had never been seen much less actually played. The selections include a transcription of Clair de lune, Stravinsky's Mavra and Le Baiser de la fee and de Falla's Ritual Fire Dance. These short works make interesting listening and attest to the eloquence Rostropovich brought to these short-and sweet pieces.
The actual make up of this set is 25 music CDs, two DVDs of Slava playing the Bach Cello Suites and a CD with a conversation with Mstislav Rostropovich where he recounts his life. The recordings have been beautifully re-mastered. The cost of this set (currently less than 3 dollars per disc) is certainly a bargain for so many extraordinary performances and world premieres. It is a pleasure to get lost playing these discs.
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Description of Rostropovich - The Complete EMI Recordings (28 CDs)
This collection brings together all the recordings with cello that he made for EMI Classics, including both versions of the Brahms Double Concerto made with Oistrakh & Szell in 1969 and Perlman & Haitink in 1979, the Dvor?ák Concerto with Boult in 1957 and Giulini in 1977, Saint-Saëns Concerto No.1 with Sargent in 1956 and Giulini in 1977, the Bach Cello Suites both on CD and DVD, the 13 CDs of recordings which Rostropovich brought to EMI entitled The Russian Years, and a special documentary DVD.Classical CDs
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