Celebrating Slava!
27 March 1927 - 27 April 2007 'Mstislav Rostropovich’s life as a musician was one of incredible creativepower. And now 27 works on four CDs - all of them inspired by the artist and human being Mstislav Rostropovich, dedicated to him or once premiered by him have been recorded on these four CDs as a lasting homage to the maestro.
The recordings were made live at the eighth Kronberg Cello Festival “in remembrance - celebrating Slava”, where friends, former students and companions ofMstislav Rostropovich gathered in the year of his death to honour his memory and to bear witness to all that the unique artist bestowed on the world, to what he pioneered in the world of music and to what he has left behind.
I am deeply grateful to the artists for waiving their fees to use the recordings of the concerts that they gave as part of the densely packed Cello Festival programme, thus making it possible to produce this unique, living testimony.
It is a tribute to Slava and bears witness to all that Mstislav Rostropovich has bequeathed future generations of musicians and to the fact that he lives on through them.
During his lifetimeMstislav Rostropovich was guided by the thought that we are in this world to pave the way for the next generation.
For many years that common goal united him with Kronberg Academy as a motivating und inspiring partner in the task of providing support and encouragement for young artists.
The proceeds from the sale of this set of CDs will go to the Rostropovich Cello Foundation, which Mstislav Rostropovich set up in Kronberg, his “world capital of the cello”, in order to provide support for young cellists.
Raimund Trenkler
Artistic Director Kronberg Academy
CD1
Sir William Walton
Passacaglia for solo cello C 98, dedicated to and premiered byMstislav Rostropovich
(1) (05’34)
Sebastian Hess violoncello
Giya Kancheli
“Nach demWeinen” for solo cello, dedicated to and premiered byMstislav Rostropovich
(2) (10’11)
Julius Berger violoncello
Henri Dutilleux
3 Strophes sur le nom de Paul Sacher, dedicated to and premiered byMstislav Rostropovich
(3) I Un poco indeciso (03’43)
(4) II Andante sostenuto (03’02)
(5) III Vivace (03’13)
Laszlo Fenyo violoncello
Alfred Schnittke
Improvisation for solo cello, dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich, work commissioned for the Rostropovich Cello Competition, Paris
(6) (10’50)
Eun-Sun Hong violoncello
(Concert by young artists)
Witold Lutoslawski
Sacher Variations, premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich
(7) (03’48)
Leonard Elschenbroich violoncello
(Concert by young artists)
Benjamin Britten
Cello Suite No 2 in DMajor Op. 80, dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich
(8) I Declamato: Largo (02’53)
(9) II Fuga:Andante (03’07)
(10) III Scherzo:Allegro molto (01’36)
(11) IV Andante Lento (04’03)
(12) V Ciaccona:Allegro (05’48)
Miklos Perenyi violoncello
CD2
Alfred Schnittke
Minuet for String Trio, premiered by Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet and Mstislav Rostropovich
(1) (03’13)
Gidon Kremer violine
Ula Ulijona Zebriunaite viola
David Geringas violoncello
Sergei Prokofiev
Valse from “Cinderella” arranged for violoncello and piano by Mstislav Rostropovich
(2) (03’07)
Lynn Harrell violoncello
Pavel Gililov piano
Sergei Prokofiev
March from “The Love for three Oranges” arranged
for violoncello and piano byMstislav Rostropovich
(3) (01’54)
Lynn Harrell violoncello
Pavel Gililov piano
Mstislav Rostropovich
Humoresque Op. 5
(4) (02’13)
Gabriel Schwabe violoncello
Pavel Gililov piano
Mstislav Rostropovich
Etude for solo cello
(5) (04’30)
Young-Chang Cho violoncello
Claude Debussy
Nocturne et Scherzo, premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich
(6) (05’19)
Gary Hoffman violoncello
David Selig piano
Astor Piazzolla
Grand Tango, dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich
(7) (11’18)
Young-Chang Cho violoncello
Pavel Gililov piano
Giya Kancheli
With a Smile for Slava, dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich
(8) (03’51)
Mischa Maisky violoncello
Pavel Gililov piano
Yuri Shaporin
The Russian Song and Scherzo, dedicated to and premiered byMstislav Rostropovich
(9) (03’02)
(10) (01’57)
Andreas Brantelid violoncello
Pavel Gililov piano
Alfred Schnittke
Musica Nostalgica, dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich
(11) (04’17)
Arto Noras violoncello
Ralf Gothoni piano
Benjamin Britten
Sonata for violoncello and piano in CMajor Op. 65, dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich
(12) I Dialogo - Allegro (07’19)
(13) II Scherzo.pizzicato - Allegretto (02’20)
(14) III Elegia - Lento (05’40)
(15) IV Marcia - Energico (02’12)
(16) V Moto perpetuo - Presto (02’49)
Natalia Gutman violoncello
Viacheslav Poprugin piano
CD3
Alfred Schnittke
Epilogue from the ballet “Peer Gynt”, arranged by Alfred Schnittke for piano, cello and tape-recorder, dedicated to and premiered byMstislav Rostropovich
(1) (20’33)
David Geringas violoncello
Jascha Nemtsov piano
Nikolai Miaskovsky
Cello Sonata No 2, dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich
(2) I Allegro moderato (08’39)
(3) II Andante cantabile (06’43)
(4) III Allegro con spirito (05’44)
Natalia Gutman violoncello
Viacheslav Poprugin piano
Sergei Prokofiev
Cello Sonata in CMajor Op. 119, premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich
(5) I Andante grave (11’12)
(6) II Moderato (04’51)
(7) III Allegro ma non tropo (07’42)
Andreas Brantelid violoncello
Pavel Gililov piano
CD4
Rodion Shchedrin
Slava! Slava! Ein festliches Glockengelaut, dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich on his 70th birthday
(1) (06’30)
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Neeme Jarvi conductor
Hans-Werner Henze
Trauerode f・Margret Geddes, for cello sextet, premiered byMstislav Rostropovich and Cellissimo in 1997
(2) (08’59)
Cellissimo*
Sergei Prokofiev
Second Movement of the Concertino in G Minor, arranged for cello sextet and dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich, premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich and Cellissimo in 1999
(3) (06’46)
Cellissimo*
Rodion Shchedrin
Na pososhok (One for the road) in remembrance of Slava, for six violoncelli and treble recorder
・World Premiere
(4) (05’43)
Cellissimo*
Sabine Ambos recorder
Romualds Kalsons
Aluzija for two solo celli, cello ensemble, harp and percussion, dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich
(5) Andante con moto (06’04)
Monika Leskovar violoncello
Giovanni Sollima violoncello
Cellissimo**
Lucianne Brady harp
Andrei Pushkarev percussion
David Geringas conductor
Leonard Bernstein
Three Meditations from Mass for cello, dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich
(6) Lento assai,molto sostenuto (04’24)
(7) Andante sostenuto (03’51)
(8) Presto (08’00)
Gary Hoffman violoncello
Kremerata Baltica
David Geringas conductor
Giya Kancheli
Silent Prayer, dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich on his 80th birthday and to Gidon Kremer on his 60th birthday ・World Premiere
(9) (23’47)
Gidon Kremer violin
Marie-Elisabeth Hecker violoncello
Kremerata Baltica
