Two stunning works of deep melancholy paint portraits of remembrance. First, a selection from Rachmaninoff’s Vespers is presented in an arrangement for twelve cellos. Then later, we hear the piano trio Tchaikovsky wrote in honor of his departed friend and mentor, Nikolai Rubinstein.
A Russian Requiem
Interior of a Russian Orthodox Church in Aachen (Photo: Gerda Arendt, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Playlist
Sergei Rachmaninoff: “Lord, Now Lettest Thou Thy Servant Depart in Peace” (from Vespers, Op. 37, arr. for 12 Cellos)
Dmitri Atapine, David Finckel, James Jeonghwan Kim, Richard Aaron, Jerry Grossman, Sarina Zhang, Sumire Kudo, Yi Qun Xu, Timothy Eddy, Rafael Figueroa, Carter Brey, Kevin Mills, cellos
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Trio in A minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 50 (“In memory of a great artist”)
Gilles Vonsattel, Piano; Chad Hoopes, Violin; Clive Greensmith, Cello
