SKU: HL.48186482

Reynaldo Hahn: Works for cello and piano [AL 30 749] For quite some time, posterity remembered Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947) for just a handful of songs and the operetta Ciboulette, overlooking the incredible diversity of a catalogue as eclectic as it is appealing. Yet his chamber music contains many little-known treasures: thus, cellist Steven Isserlis, in his preface, hastens to hail the first modern edition of these two scores, which he regularly plays in recital, so much does their beauty enchant the audience. Published in 1911, the Two Improvisations on Irish Airs for cello and piano turn out to be the transcription of his first and third Preludes for piano four hands (1894). These folk themes come from the collection Songs of Old Ireland, published 12 years earlier by Charles Villiers Stanford: gracefully and tenderly, The Little Red Lark unfurls a melancholic tune of which the regular foundation respects the breadth of phrase typical of folk songs; in The Willow-Tree, the lover begs his beloved in vain to take him in her arms one last time before he lies down, lifeless, in the shade of the tree. Beyond this sensitive exploration of the Irish soul, Hahn offers us a journey into the past: the Variations chantantes sur un air ancien develop a theme borrowed from Cavalli?s opera Xerse. In this aria (1660 version: Act IV, sc. 6), Ambassador Periarco dreams of moving away from court intrigues to be able to taste the pleasures ?to which the gods have destined him?. Reynaldo Hahn?s variations succeed in maintaining the sweet simplicity of this theme, as noble as it is refined. Let us wager that this publication will delight cellists and pianists alike: it contains some nuggets. Deux improvisations sur des airs irlandais (The Little Red Lark, The Willow-Tree) Variations chantantes sur un air ancien.

SKU: FG.55011-903-1

ISBN 9790550119031.

Victoria Yagling's Suite for Cello and String Orchestra (1967) is one of her first successes as a composer. The movement layout of the Suite is fast-slow-fast-slow. The first movement, Toccata, is a perpetual motion with a brisk tempo of 100 per dotted half. The Aria is reminiscent of Rachmaninov's Vocalise melody and Prokofiev's tonal language. This movement is the centerpiece of the Suite. The Humoresque is closely connected in style and motives to the March and Aria movements from Boris Tchaikovsky's Suite for Cello Solo. Mostly homophonic Finale plays with bitonality and contains several circle-of-fifth sequences.

This product is is the reduction for violoncello and piano by prof. Yuriy Leonovich. Orchestral material available on hire from the publisher. Stydy score with solo part is available for sale (ISMN 9790550116436).

Victoria Yagling (1946?2011) was born in Russia and lived in Finland since 1990. Her long career as a cellist served as an excellent accompaniment to the composition she began at an early age. For 11 years she was a cello student of Mstislav Rostropovich at the Moscow Conservatory and Dmitry Kabalevsky and Tikhon Khrennikov taught her composition.

Yagling won the first prize in the Gaspar Cassadò Cello Competition and the following year the second prize in the Moscow Tchaikovsky Competition. Her solo engagements took her to countless countries. She has also taught at several international music courses and master classes and was often a jury member for international cello competitions.

Yagling left a profilic oeuvre, and the three cello concertos are her main works. Her other orchestral works include Finnish Notebook, Lyrical Preludes and the Suite for Cello and String Orchestra. She has also composed solo works (e.g. the Suite for Cello Solo No. 1 chosen as an obligatory piece for the 7th Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1982), chamber works, including two string quartets, and vocal music. Her expressive, romantically orientated style is Russian in spirit and has grown out of the soil provided by Prokofiev and Shostakovich.

SKU: M7.SAE-31-01

ISBN 9790707665824.

This is a unique arrangement for cello and piano, a work that preserves the beauty of the original work, an icon for classical music repertoire, but at the same time different in essence due to the creative and innovative flavour that was introduced in orchestration on this occasion. The piece has been carefully adapted to suit the technical needs of each instrument, being a smart choice for the players that want to achieve the acclaim from the audience. This piece of music is suitable both for concerts given by professionals and for auditions in schools, colleges, conservatories or can be used in various other private events.