Renowned Russian cellist Marina Tarasova makes her debut on Challenge Classics with a disc centred on two great Sonatas: Kabalevsky's (composed in 1962) and Shebalin's (composed in 1960).

The Shebalin Sonata is a world premiere recording and a work of remarkable architectural complexity.

For many years, Marina Tarasova has been one of the most renowned Russian cellists; a winner of international competitions in Prague, Florence and Paris and a laureate of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Marina Tarasova: These three brilliant compositions, rarely recorded, were all dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich. Kabalevsky?s sonata is the composer's revelation and one of the best compositions in 20th Century cello repertoire. The depth of its philosophical thought is an invitation to meditate. Prokofiev's Concertino is the most beautiful example of a rare combination in him of lyricism and Russian 'soil'. In Shebalin's sonata we experience program music: images of old Moscow, peal of church bells, dances of buffoons. According to me, the freedom of will which philosophers haven?t found yet lies in the music of such geniuses!