Borodin: Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances 1957 Radio France National Orch. & Chorus Igor Markevitch

               In the Steppes of Central Asia 1954 RIAS Symphony Orchestra, Ferenc Fricsay

               Prince Igor Overture 1957 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski

Glazunov: Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 82 1949 Nathan Milstein (violin) RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg

Gliere: The Red Poppy, Op. 70: suite 1959 Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Carmen Dragon

Glinka: Ruslan & Lyudmila Overture 1959 Berliner Philharmoniker, Georg Solti

Kabalevsky: Violin Concerto in C major, Op. 48 1956 David Oistrakh (violin) USSR Symphony Orchestra, Dmitry Kabalevsky

Khachaturian: Violin Concerto in D minor 1955 (?) David Oistrakh (violin) USSR State Philharmonic Orchestra, Aram Khatchaturian

                        Sabre Dance from Gayane 1959 Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Carmen Dragon

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (piano version) 1958 Sviatoslav Richter (piano)

                    A Night on the Bare Mountain 1959 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti

                    Pictures at an Exhibition 1959 Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan

                    Khovanshchina: Prelude & Dance of the Persian Slaves 1957 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski

Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 19 1954 David Oistrakh (violin) London Symphony Orchestra, Lovro von Matacic

                  Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major, Op. 55 1959 Sviatoslav Richter (piano) Warsaw National Symphony Orchestra, Witold Rowicki

                  Masks from ‘Romeo and Juliet' 1993 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Yuri Simonov

Rachmaninov: Prelude Op. 32 No. 5 in G major Geza Anda (piano)

                       Prelude Op. 23 No. 5 in G minor Geza Anda (piano)

                       Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 1960 Sviatoslav Richter (piano) Warsaw National Symphony Orchestra, Stanislaw Wislocki

                       Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 1951 Vladimir Horowitz (piano) RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner

                       Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40 Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (piano) Philharmonia Orchestra, Ettore Gracis

Rimsky Korsakov: Flight of the Bumble Bee 1959 Michael Rabin (violin) Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra, Felix Slatkin

Scriabin: Piano Concerto in F sharp minor, Op. 20 Solomon (piano) Philharmonia Orchestra, Issay Dobrowen

               Etude Op. 8 No. 11 in B flat minor 1958 Wladimir Sofronitzky (piano)

               Vers la flamme, Op. 72 1958 Wladimir Sofronitzky (piano)

Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor for piano, trumpet & strings, Op. 35 1955 Dimitri Shostakovich (piano), Iwan Wolownik (trumpet) Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra, Samuil Samosud

                       Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102 1958 Dimitri Shostakovich (piano) USSR Radio Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Gauck

                       Concertino for two pianos, Op. 94 1956 Maxim Shostakovich, Dimitri Shostakovich (pianos)

Stravinsky: Danse Russe (from Petrouchka) 1957 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski

                   Mavra: Chanson de Paracha 1960 Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), Alexander Dedyukhin (piano)

                   Le Baiser de la Fee 1960 Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), Alexander Dedyukhin (piano)

                   Circus Polka 1951 Andor Foldes (piano)

Tchaikovsky: Serenade for strings in C major, Op. 48: II. Waltz 1957 Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch

                     Capriccio italien, Op. 45 1954 Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati

                     Marche slave, Op. 31 1994 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Yehudi Menuhin

                    1812 Overture, Op. 49 1954 Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota University Brass band /, Antal Dorati

                    Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17 'Little Russian' 1956 Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire Paris, Georg Solti

                    Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23 1958 Clifford Curzon (piano) Vienna Philharmonic, Georg Solti

                    Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major, Op. 44 1955 Shura Cherkassky (piano) Berlin Philharmonic, Richard Kraus

                    Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 'Pathetique' 1956 Leningrad Philharmonic, Evgeny Mravinsky

                    Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 351957 Jascha Heifetz (violin) Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner

                    Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 331960 Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) USSR Symphony Orchestra, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky

                    Miniature March (The Nutcracker)1957 Leopold Stokowski and his Symphony Orchestra

                    The Nutcracker: Waltz of the Flowers 1957 Leopold Stokowski and his Symphony Orchestra

                    The Nutcracker: Trepak 1957 Leopold Stokowski and his Symphony Orchestra

                    Waltz from Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 1959 Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet

                    Swan Lake: Scene (Swan Theme) 1959 Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan

                    Dance of the Little Swans (Swan Lake) 1959 Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet

                    Waltz from Eugene Onegin, Op. 24 1958 Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Felix Slatkin

The 10 CDs that make up this collection present major works by great Russian composers of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev. Amongst the featured performers are the legendary performers Mstislav Rostropovich, Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh and Vladimir Horowitz. Khatchaturian and Kabalevsky are also heard conducting their own works, whilst Shostakovich appears as pianist in both of his Piano Concertos and with his son Maxim in the Concertino for 2 Pianos.
During the Tsarist years leading up to the revolution of 1917, Russian musical life was dominated by figures like Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov, composers who had developed a style steeped in Russian folk tradition. The period after this was dominated by the music of Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky, who took elements of that tradition and fused them with contemporary innovation. In this set, Shostakovich, Kabalevsky and Khachaturian can be heard conducting or performing their own works, alongside legendary performers such as David Oistrakh and Mstislav Rostropovich, Sviatoslav Richter, Vladimir Horowitz, Jascha Heifetz, Arthur Rubinstein. Other composers featured include Scriabin, Glinka, Gliere, Kabalevsky, and Khachaturian.