From his student days at the Leningrad Conservatory (now St. Petersburg), Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) developed a strong connection to cinema and earned his living as a silent film pianist in the 1920s. Over the course of his career, he wrote the music for dozens of sound films, including Alexander Faintsimmer's "The Gadfly" (1955), which was popular in the Soviet Union because of its themes of revolution and atheism. The composition with its varied contours combines austere accents and romantic outbursts of a purely Russian style with an atmosphere of Mediterranean character in an extraordinary way. Vadim Borisovsky's arrangement for viola and piano is based on the orchestral suite that Lev Atovmyan composed from Shostakovich's score. The late 1960s marked the beginning of the composer's last, dark and haunting stylistic period. His Sonata for Viola and Piano was his last composition and the only piece he never heard. Its premiere took place just a few weeks after his death. Dedicated to Fyodor Druzhinin, the violist of the Moscow Beethoven Quartet, it is one of the most unique and most frequently performed sonatas in the viola repertoire.

The three-movement sonata sequence has neither a tonal center nor tonality.

Igor Stravinsky's Suite Italienne has its origins in the composer's ballet music Pulcinella and is based on music newly discovered at the time, which is believed to have been penned by the Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (some pieces were later attributed to other Baroque composers such as Domenico Gallo and Carlo Monza).

The resulting "neoclassical" style gave Stravinsky an objectivity and emotional distance, far removed from late Romantic sentimentality or the dramatic, allusive style of the music of his earlier Russian period. With the help of his concert partner, the violinist Samuel Dushkin, he composed the Suite Italienne for violin and piano from the ballet music Pulcinella. In Leonardo Tiao's own viola arrangement, based on the Boosey & Hawkes edition of 1947 (ed. Dushkin), the piano part remains unchanged, while the viola part has been adapted to fully exploit the instrument's tonal potential.

At the turn of the 20th century, Alexander Glazunov was widely regarded as the greatest living Russian composer. His Elégie in G minor op. 44 is an original work for viola and piano dedicated to his friend Franz Hildebrand.

In this charming piece, Glazunov succeeds in reconciling Russian nationalism and cosmopolitanism. Although he was a direct descendant of Balakirev's nationalism, he took his cue from Borodin's epic grandeur and at the same time absorbed a range of other influences, including Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestral virtuosity, Tchaikovsky's lyricism and Taneyev's contrapuntal skill.

Further information:
- The English booklet contains liner notes by violist Leonardo Taio.
- Italian liner notes are available on brilliantclassics. com.

- Shostakovich's Viola Sonata, his last composition, is a profound reflection on mortality. Composed in 1975, it consists of three movements that combine poignant lyricism with sharp dissonance, evoking themes of introspection and farewell. The rich, melancholy timbre of the viola perfectly matches the sombre tone of this work, which ends with a touching homage to Beethoven.
Stravinsky's Suite Italienne, adapted from his ballet Pulcinella, captures a playful, neoclassical elegance. Inspired by 18th century composers such as Pergolesi, the suite reinterprets baroque dance forms with modern rhythmic vitality and harmonic freshness. Its six movements, ranging from spirited marches to tender arias, bear witness to Stravinsky's ingenuity and wit. On this CD, the suite is arranged for viola and piano by Leonardo Taio.

This CD also includes five pieces from "The Stinging Fly", a popular film score by Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) (arr. Vadim Borisovsky), and "Elegy" by Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936).

Played by Duo Phoné: Leonardo Taio (viola), Sofia Adinolfi (piano).