Gavrilin: Russian Notebook & Anyuta (Excerpts) Mila Shkirtil, St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra & Yuri Serov

• Valery Aleksandrovich Gavrilin (1939 - 1999): Russian Notebook (Arr. L. Rezetdinov for Voice & Orchestra):
• 1 Russian Notebook (Arr. L. Rezetdinov for Voice & Orchestra): No. 1, Cranberry O'er the River 02:35
• 2 Russian Notebook (Arr. L. Rezetdinov for Voice & Orchestra): No. 2, Lament 02:20
• 3 Russian Notebook (Arr. L. Rezetdinov for Voice & Orchestra): No. 3, Lament 04:45
• 4 Russian Notebook (Arr. L. Rezetdinov for Voice & Orchestra): No. 4, Winter 06:46
• 5 Russian Notebook (Arr. L. Rezetdinov for Voice & Orchestra): No. 5, Sowing Flowers 03:13
• 6 Russian Notebook (Arr. L. Rezetdinov for Voice & Orchestra): No. 6, It All Started 03:10
• 7 Russian Notebook (Arr. L. Rezetdinov for Voice & Orchestra): No. 7, Laments 06:22
• 8 Russian Notebook (Arr. L. Rezetdinov for Voice & Orchestra): No. 8, In the Loveliest Month O' May 06:17
• Anyuta (Excerpts):
• 9 Anyuta (Excerpts): Grand Waltz 04:29
• 10 Anyuta (Excerpts): Department 03:32
• 11 Anyuta (Excerpts): Organ-Grinder 01:19
• 12 Anyuta (Excerpts): Adagio 06:32
• 13 Anyuta (Excerpts): In the Bedroom 03:40
• 14 Anyuta (Excerpts): Quadrille 03:14
• 15 Anyuta (Excerpts): Gypsies Dance 01:49
• 16 Anyuta (Excerpts): His Excellency 04:35
• 17 Anyuta (Excerpts): Tarantella 02:30
• 18 Anyuta (Excerpts): Postlude 02:34
• Total Runtime 01:09:42

Info for Gavrilin: Russian Notebook & Anyuta (Excerpts)

Valery Gavrilin was one of the most colourful and significant Russian composers of the second half of the 20th century. He was only 25 when he composed The Russian Notebook, a poem of love and death crafted in a new musical language that doesnt employ folk melodies but does use folkloric texts, and with a virtuosic vocal part. These stylised tunes are combined with rich melodies to form a haunting cycle heard here in a 2018 orchestration. The ten numbers from the ballet Anyuta are lively, melodious and touchingly beautiful.

"Born in the north of Russia in 1939, Valery Alexandrovich Gavrilin was educated in Leningrad where he was to spend much of his life in various musical occupations. As a composer he was to offer a wide range of music including three operas, four ballets, and a significant symphonic portfolio. Russkaya (The Russian Notebook) dates from 1965 and was originally for female voice and piano accompaniment, and later orchestrated in 1961. In eight ‘songs’, it relates the story of the young, and very clever boy who died from a disease before he had chance to see and savour life, and that included the love of a girl. In this score the imaginary girl relates what it would have been like to love that boy had he lived. It is of necessity a sad score, the mezzo, Mila Shkirtil, using a child-like voice at the work’s opening, then quickly matures. From therein it is a colourful score as she goes through trials, tribulations, but mostly sorrow, the words, and English translations, included in the disc’s booklet. The work is continuous and in a traditional melodic style with nothing related to the modern Russian era of Shostakovich. Its length, that of a major song-cycle from the late 20th century, does not require any substantial demand on the soloist, the whole work, with a degree of irony, ends, In the loveliest month o’May. The origination of his ballet, Anyuta, is unusual, the choreography being designed for use in a film before it was seen on the stage, the story being that of Chekhov’s Anna on the neck. Gavrilin’s attitude towards ballet was so unenthusiastic, that he largely built his score from music he had used elsewhere, the result becoming a patchwork quilt. The story was of the girl from a poor background who savoured the riches that a marriage to a wealthy man brought her. The excerpts on this release offering just ten of the numbers from the twenty-odd of the total score. In content it rather pre-dates Prokofiev, but seems intent on an audience pleasing offering. Gavrilin died aged sixty, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, with conductor, Yuri Serov, doing all they can to engender interest for both scores." (David’s Review Corner)

Mila Shkirtil, mezzo-soprano
St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Yuri Serov, conductor

Мila Shkirtil
She graduated from the Rimsky-Korsakov Music College in Choir Conducting and Solo Singing, and from the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire of St. Petersburg in Solo Singing (2000, with Prof. E. Perlasova). She made her debut in Vivaldi’s “Gloria” in 1994 at the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall. Since 1997, Ms. Shkirtil was engaged in performances of the Opera and Ballet Theater of St. Petersburg Conservatoire and she made her Opera debut abroad in 2001 in “Don Carlos” production (Eboli) of the Stadttheter Klagenfurt, Austria.

Mila Shkirtil concertizes much, performing opera parts, cantatas and oratorios with orchestras of several cities of Russia and Europe. She has appeared with chamber programs at the best venues of St. Petersburg and abroad (in France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Norway, Ireland, Portugal, Eastland, Italy, Brazil, the United States and Japan).

Mila Shkirtil has recorded several CDs for Delos (USA, Complete Vocal Compositions by D. Shostakovich and Complete Songs and Romances by M. Glinka) and Northern Flowers (Russia, Complete Songs and Romances by A. Glazunov, Our Lady’s Rejoicing in Sorrow by D.Smirnov, vocal cycles by G. Sviridov and B. Tchaikovsky, Songs by Russian composers of the first half of the 19th century, Vocal works by V. Gavrilin and collected songs by A. Rubinstein).

Booklet for Gavrilin: Russian Notebook & Anyuta (Excerpts)