TRACKLISTING

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840–1893)
Violin Concerto in D major, op.35
1 I Allegro moderato
2 II Canzonetta
3 III Finale: Allegro vivacissimo

NIKOLAI MYASKOVSKY (1881–1950)
Violin Concerto in D minor, op.44
4 I Allegro
5 II Adagio e molto cantabile
6 III Allegro molto — Allegro scherzoso

RECORDING INFORMATION

“Simply the best, the most perfect violinist I have ever heard”, Yehudi Menuhin.

The perfect combination of Russian orchestra, conductor and soloist in an electric new Philips recording of two great Russian violin concertos.
Vadim Repin is, without doubt, among the greatest violinists in the world today. His international career began with winning the prestigious Reine Elisabeth Concours prize when he was seventeen years old. Since then he has appeared with all the world's greatest orchestras including the Boston Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, La Scala in Milan and the Royal Concertgebouw, and is part of that small musical elite who are always in great demand.

Repin makes a stunning debut on Philips, performing Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto, one of the greatest and most popular of all romantic violin concertos. The “live” recording was made in Mikkeli in Finland in July 2002 and captures all the drama and fire of a live performance from a soloist, conductor and orchestra known for their intensely passionate commitment to Russian music.

This most popular of works is coupled with a real rarity, the violin concerto by Nikolai Myaskovsky. This concerto, written at the height of Stalin’s terror, is a work of great integrity and beauty. The slow movement is in much the same lyrical tradition as the Tchaikovsky. The final movement includes a huge, breathtaking cadenza which shows Repin at his most technically stunning. A friend of Prokofiev, Myaskovsky was Professor of Composition at the Moscow Conservatory where his pupils included Khatchaturian and Kabalevsky. The concerto was first performed in 1939 by David Oistrakh.