“… a strong and individual artist whose depth of feeling and technical control are never in doubt” (Gramophone)

This lush and lovely album offers beguiling masterpieces for cello and orchestra by Russia’s most revered composer—played to perfection by the musical team of renowned Russian-American cellist Nina Kotova, with the legendary Russian maestro Vladimir Fedoseyev leading Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra: all musicians who have these soulful pieces in their very bones.

Kotova and company begin with Tchaikovsky’s lively Pezzo capriccioso before serving listeners the main course: one of the world’s most beloved works for cello and orchestra, the gorgeous Variations on a Rococo Theme. Then the cellist bows out as we are treated to one of the composer’s greatest orchestral pieces of smaller scale, the shimmering Serenade for Strings. In all, it’s a program filled with soaring melodies and sheer musical delight.