GIJA KANCHELI (1935-2019) A Little Daneliade (2000) for piano, strings and percussion. Valse Boston (1996) for piano and strings. 18 Miniatures for violin and piano (Excerpts). Largo and Allegro (1963) for piano, strings and timpani. Hartmut Schill, violin; Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie, Elisaveta Blumina, piano and conductor. C5488 (Capriccio) 19.98

Description: It was never even an unofficial club of composers like the Russian “Mighty Handful” or the French “Les Six”. And yet, there are striking commonalities among a group of Soviet composers all born in the 1930s. They were hailed from ethnic minorities in the Russia-dominated Soviet Union and they defied the cultural-political directives which eventually led them to find a post-ideological musical language – guided by a personal faith – that enchants listeners to this day with its unique beauty. Giya Kancheli, born in Tbilisi in 1935, is one of them. A fellow composer called him “an ascetic with the temperament of a maximalist – a restrained Vesuvius.” The works on this disc – for and with the piano – display exactly that side of his: To be able to make time seemingly stand still… while continuing to dance.