Credits:

Vadim Repin, Murad Huseynov

Description:

This is a collection of works by Kalaev (also known as Galaev), a native of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. After graduating from the local conservatory, he studied at the Moscow Conservatory, where he continued his studies under Shostakovich, and after achieving great success as a composer, he became a professor at the Baku Conservatory and music director of the Philharmonic Hall, and has devoted himself to the development of Azerbaijani music. He has been called "the leading Azerbaijani composer of the 20th century. He has left many works that skillfully fuse Western music with traditional Azerbaijani music. The Violin Sonata has a neoclassical style reminiscent of Prokofiev, and has a unique atmosphere among Kalaev's works. In contrast, the "24 Preludes" is a collection of exotic pieces with an oriental atmosphere scattered among contemporary works. The violin sonata is performed by the virtuoso Wajim Repin. The video accompanying the album is a documentary produced by Svierczejewski, a filmmaker born in Paris in 1989. Svierczejewski was inspired by the changing seasons in Kalaev's "24 Preludes," and she attempted to "visually represent" the performances on this album.This experimental video carefully follows the violinist's left hand and the pianist's facial expressions as he or she expresses his or her mental images. Naxos Japan