Prokofiev maintained an interest in the cello as a solo instrument throughout much of his career. This, coupled with his close personal and professional association with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, resulted in a number of compositions for the instrument. Many of these works, however, remained somewhat fragmented at Prokofiev's death and have been subjected to various arrangements and orchestrations. The Concertino in G minor, for example, has been arranged no fewer than three times. The present version, completed by ...
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Prokofiev maintained an interest in the cello as a solo instrument throughout much of his career. This, coupled with his close personal and professional association with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, resulted in a number of compositions for the instrument. Many of these works, however, remained somewhat fragmented at Prokofiev's death and have been subjected to various arrangements and orchestrations. The Concertino in G minor, for example, has been arranged no fewer than three times. The present version, completed by Vladimir Blok, was finished as recently as 1996. The cadenza, which Prokofiev failed to write himself, is a compilation of unfinished sketches of Alfred Schnittke that were sewn together by cellist Alexander Ivashkin, heard on this album. The greatest culmination of these earlier works is the Sinfonia Concertante, Op. 125, written in collaboration with Rostropovich. Even here, Prokofiev left some of the orchestration duties to Rostropovich. This two-disc set features all of these...
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