Lera Auerbach’s 24 Preludes for violoncello and piano (1999) receives its world-premiere recording on Celloquy in a performance by Ani Aznavoorian, an award-winning American cellist of international stature, and Auerbach, a Russian-born virtuoso pianist and one of the most widely-performed composers of the new generation.

Auerbach is the youngest composer on the roster of Hamburg’s prestigious international music publishing company Hans Sikorski, home to Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and Schnittke. “Her music is lyrical, passionate, and often seems to straddle the past and present,” observed the host of a recent Canadian Broadcasting Corporation program devoted to Auerbach’s multi-faceted career.

Celloquy is cellist Aznavoorian’s first recording as featured soloist. Her previous recordings, as a member of New York-based string orchestra Sejong Soloists, include the Mendelssohn Octet with violinist Gil Shaham on Canary Classics. She is principal cellist of Southern California’s Camerata Pacifica.