Ask any music lover to name a few of the most obvious traits of Russian music, and you'll immediately get an answer: "emotionally intense, melodically rich, often dark in sound and melancholic in mood." It is such music that you are about to hear, even though the 13 compositions recorded by the Moscow Chamber Orchestra embrace more than half a century of Russian art music and many more years of Russian folk tradition. Some of these pieces were written by composers of great international fame (Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Shostakovich), some by those not so popular in the Western world (Scriabin, Glière), and some by those who are virtually unknown outside of Russia (Gedike). Many compositions are long-standing popular favorites (Tchaikovsky's Méditation or Élégie from the Serenade for Strings), others (although written by the same composer) are new to non-Russian listeners (for instance, Melodrama from Tchaikovsky's incidental music for "The Snow Maiden" - a play by Alexander Ostrovsky produced by Moscow's Maly Dramatic Theater in the 1870s). Nevertheless, the notion that all of these works belong to the same musical tradition is quite clear.

And who better to interpret this tradition than the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and its Music Director, Constantine Orbelian, who have just finished an impressive tour of the U.S. and abroad, garnering rave reviews from every stop. In fact, the orchestra will be on tour again in 1999, with dates that include Carnegie Hall.

Complete Contents

• The Rush Light (Russian Folk Song): arr. S. Aslamazian
• Méditation: P. Tchaikovsky, arr. Glazunov
• Folk Song: R. Glière, arr. I. Mortensena
• Andante: A. Scriabin
• Nocturne: D. Shostakovich
• Sérénade Mélancolique: Tchaikovsky
• Elegie: Tchaikovsky
• Miniature: A. Gedike, arr. S. Aslamazian
• Melodie: Tchaikovsky, arr. Glazunov
• Tears: M. Mussorgsky, arr. N. Sokolova
• Andante Cantabile: Tchaikovsky, arr. Tchaikovsky
• Chorus of the Peasants: A. Borodin, arr. L. Gosman
• Melodrama: Tchaikovsky