If you like russian composers, and who doesn't, after all so much good music comes from there, then you will like Bortkiewicz. Born in the Ukraine, he lived between 1877 and 1952, an extremely fertile period in music history. His music is sort of a mix between Tchaikovsky, for his orchestration, and Kalinnikov, for his melodic sense. Symphony No. 1 is a collage of images from his homeland with strong slavonic and cossack influences. Symphony No. 2, written in the late 1930's is darker in tone, due to the political atmosphere at the time, and is reminiscent of Tchaikovsky's 6th. Because his reputation was established by then, many important European conductors were anxious to be the ones to conduct the première performance. Highly recommended. Very strong, colorful music!

Jean-Yves Duperron