Rostropovich - Cellist of the Century - The Complete Warner Recordings - Box Set 40CDs

Label : Warner
Format : Flac track
Cover : Yes

Tracklist :

Although Mstislav Rostropovich died 10 years ago, on April 27th 2007, he remains a powerful presence on the world’s cultural scene through his legacy as the greatest cellist of his time, as a brave advocate of human rights, and as a man of proverbial generosity and charisma, often known simply by his nickname, Slava. He would have celebrated his 90th birthday in 2017.

The phenomenal richness of his life and art is expressed in a magnificent 43-disc set to be released by Warner Classics on March 24th 2017: Mstislav Rostropovich: Cellist of the Century. It forms the centrepiece of the label’s Rostropovich programme for 2017, which also includes: eight releases of individual CDs taken from the set and a double LP of the Dvořák Cello Concerto and Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 1 (Giulini/London Philharmonic Orchestra).

Mstislav Rostropovich: Cellist of the Century has been curated by Warner Classics in close collaboration with Rostropovich’s daughters Elena and Olga Rostropovich, whose mother was the celebrated soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, Rostropovich’s wife from 1955 until his death. The label was given unprecedented access to Rostropovich’s personal archive; as a result, many rare photos and documents – including a letter of support for dissident Soviet writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn – enrich the 200-page hardback book that forms part of the box set. It also includes a comprehensive chronology and fascinating articles by Elizabeth Wilson, one of Rostropovich’s students, and by Claude Samuel, a former head of Radio France and a close friend of Rostropovich.

The set, conceived as a deluxe edition, comprises 40 CDs and 3 DVDs and contains an even balance of studio and live recordings. The range and variety of music it offers is nothing short of extraordinary, embracing works by more than 60 composers. For solo cello, cello and piano, cello and chamber group, and cello and orchestra, they extend from the Baroque to the latter part of the 20th century and from essential repertoire to rarities. They also reflect both Rostropovich’s mastery of the traditional cello repertoire and his commitment to new music: the dedicatee of over 120 new works, he numbered such composers as Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Britten among his close friends. A number of the live performances featured originate from Russian tapes saved from destruction by resourceful Soviet archivists when Rostropovich was exiled from the USSR (1974-1990), and which came back to light in the late 1990s. Another highlight is the complete Bach Cello Suites, presented here in both audio and video versions. In many senses these represent the culmination of Rostropovich’s recording career; he waited until 1991 to set them down the studio. The box also contains a substantial and previously unpublished audio interview, dating from 2006, in which Rostropovich discusses Shostakovich with the journalist Jon Tolansky.

1.Saint-Saens: Cellokonzert Nr. 1; Miaskowsky: Cellokonzert op. 66 (Philharmonia Orchestra, Malcolm Sargent / 1956)

2.Dvorak: Cellokonzert op. 104 (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Boult / 1957)

3.Prokofieff: Sinfonia concertante op. 125; Rachmaninoff: Vocalise für Cello & Klavier (Alexander Dedyukin, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Malcolm Sargent)

4.Brahms: Cellosonate Nr. 2; Werke von Popper, Debussy, Scriabin (Alexander Dedyukin / 1957)

5.Beethoven: Tripelkonzert op. 56 (Svjatoslav Richter, David Oistrach, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan / 1969)

6.Brahms: Konzert op. 102 für Violine, Cello, Orchester (David Oistrach, Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell / 1969)

7.Dutilleux: Cellokonzert "Tout un monde lointain"; Lutoslawski: Cellokonzert;
Jolivet: Cellokonzert Nr. 2 (Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de l'ORTF, Serge Baudo, Witold Lutoslawski, Andre Jolivet / 1974 / 69)

8.Strauss: Cellosonate; Beethoven: Variationen op. 66 & WoO 45 für Cello & Klavier (Vasso Devetzi / 1974)

9.Strauss: Don Quixote (Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan / 1975)

10.Haydn: Cellokonzerte Nr. 1 & 2 (Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Iona Brown / 1975)

11.Schumann: Cellokonzert op. 129; Bloch: Schelomo (Orchestre National de France, Leonard Bernstein / 1976)

12.Dvorak: Cellokonzert op. 104; Saint-Saens: Cellokonzert Nr. 1 (London Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini / 1977)

13.Brahms: Konzert op. 102 für Violine, Cello, Orchester (Itzhak Perlman, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink / 1979)

14.Landowski: Un enfant appelle; La Prison (Galina Vishnevskaya, Orchestre National de Paris, Orchestre National de Lille, Marcel Landowski / 1982 / 83)

15.Dvorak: Cellokonzert op. 104; Tschaikowsky: Rokoko-Variationen (Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa / 1985)

16.Penderecki: Cellokonzert Nr. 2; Halffter: Cellokonzert Nr. 2 (Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Krzysztof Penderecki, Cristobal Halffter / 1986 / 85)

17.Prokofieff: Sinfonia concertante op. 125; Schostakowitsch: Cellokonzert Nr. 1 (London Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa / 1987)

18.Milhaud: Cellokonzert Nr. 1; Honegger: Cellokonzert (London Symphony Orchestra, Collegium Musicum Zürich, Kent Nagano, Paul Sacher / 1989)

19./20.Bach: Cellosuiten BWV 1007-1012 (1991)

21.Barocke Cellokonzerte von Vivaldi, Tartini, CPE Bach (Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Hugh Wolff / 1992)

22.Musik für Cello & Orgel von Frescobaldi, Marcello, Bach, Händel, d'Hervelois, Rheinberger, Saint-Saens (Herbert Tachezi / 1993)

23.Gagneux: Triptyque; Schtschedrin: Sotto voce (London Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa / 1994)

24.Schnittke: Konzert für Streichtrio & Orchester; Streichtrio; Menuett (Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Mstislav Rostropovich, Moscow Soloists, Yuri Bashmet / 1995)

25.Knaifel: Make me drunk with your kisses; Matthews: Romanza (Washington National Cathedral Choristers, Choral Arts Society of Washington, English Chamber Orchestra, Norman Scribner, Raymond Leppard / 1995 / 90)

26.Gubaidulina: The Canticle of the Sun; Schostakowitsch: 7 Romanzen nach Blok (Galina Vishnevskaya, Ulf Hoelscher, London Voices, London Symphony Orchestra, Ryusuke Numajiri / 1999 / 74)

27.Schumann: Cellokonzert op. 129; Tschaikowsky: Rokoko-Variationen; Beethoven: Tripelkonzert op. 56 (1.Satz) (David Oistrach, Svjatoslav Richter, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Gennady Roshdestvensy, Kirill Kondrashin / 1960 / 70)

28.Villa-Lobos: Preludio; Honegger: Cellokonzert; Respighi: Adagio con variazioni; Strauss: Don Quixote (Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin, Victor Dubrovsky / 1962 / 64)

29.Miaskowsky: Cellokonzert; Glasunow: Concerto ballata; Taneyev: Canzona (USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Evgeny Svetlanov, Gennady Roshdestvensky / 1964)

30.Prokofieff: Sinfonia concertante op. 125; Concertino für Cello & Orchester; Cellosonate (Svjatoslav Richter, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Radio & Television Orchestra, Israel Gusman, Gennady Roshdestvensky / 1964 / 50)

31.Schostakowitsch: Cellokonzerte Nr. 1 & 2 (Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Gennady Roshdestvensky, Evgeny Svetlanov / 1961 / 66)

32.Britten: Cellosuiten Nr. 1 & 2; Cello-Symphonie (Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Benjamin Britten / 1964-68)

33.Boris Tschaikowsky: Cellokonzert; Cellosuite; Partita (Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin / 1961-67)

34.Khachaturian: Konzert-Rhapsodie für Cello & Orchester; Tishchenko; Cellokonzert Nr. 1; Toyama: Cellokonzert (Ana Amintayeva, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow Radio & Television Orchestra, Igor Blazhov, Yuzo Toyama / 1964-67)

35.Knipper: Konzert-Monolog für Cello & Orchester; Weinberg: Cellokonzert; Lopes-Graca: Concerto da camera (USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestram Gennady Roshdestvensky, Kirill Kondrashin / 1964 / 67)

36. Kabalewsky: Cellosonate; Karen Khachaturian: Cellosonate; Schostakowitsch: Cellosonate (Dmitry Kabalewsky, Karen Khachaturian, Dimitri Schostakowitsch / 1962 / 67)

37.Recital of short Pieces & Transcriptions - Werke von Debussy, Dvorak, Falla, Faure, Händel, Milhaud, Popper, Prokofieff, Schubert, Scriabin, Shaporin, Sinding, Strauss, Strawinsky (Alexander Dedyushkin, Vladimir Yampolsky, Ana Amintayeva / 1960)

38.Miaskowsky: Cellosonate; Chopin: Cellosonate; Introduction & Polonaise brillante; Shaporin: 25 Stücke
(Alexander Dedyukhin / 1967)
39.Piazzolla: Le Grand Tango; Ustvolskaya: Grand Duet; Schnittke: Cellosonate Nr. 2; Epilog zum Ballett Peer Gynt (Igor Uriash, Alexei Lubimov / 1996)

40.Mstislav Rostropovich & Dmitry Schostakowitsch - The Last Audio Interview 2006

Complete tracklist : Rostropovich - Cellist of the Century