Originally composed for and premiered by Rostropovich (in 1959 and 1966 respectively), the solo cello parts of Shostakovich’s two concertos are performed here by the exquisite French virtuoso Marc Coppey, first prize winner of the Leipzig International Bach Competition. Derived largely from an earlier choral cycle called Les Quatre Éléments, Liszt’s 1854 Les Préludes was a landmark in classical music history, as it was the earliest orchestral work to be entitled “symphonic poem”. Premiered the same year, Orpheus is one of 12 symphonic poems Liszt composed to honor men of great heroism, creative genius, or mythology. 

Photo: Marc Coppey © Kyoko Homma