O'brien / Kalnits / Poliansky - Complete Chamber Music 1 - Music CD

The rediscovery of the music of the Edinburgh composer Charles O'Brien (1882-1968) continues with this first recording of his chamber music. These two stately 'Sonatas for Pianoforte, Violin and 'Cello' (as O'Brien styled them), with echoes of both Brahms and Elgar, cover a wide range of moods, from broad and sweeping melody, via introspective lyricism, to elegant good humor. Two salon waltzes combine effortless charm with surprising depth of feeling to bring the album to a gentle close. Born in Moscow to a musical family, Yuri Kalnits became a pupil at the Central Music School in Moscow and later at the Gnessin Music School for Gifted Children. At the age of sixteen he began studying at the Royal College of Music in London with Itzhak Rashkovsky, winning several major college awards. Alexander Volpov started playing cello at an early age at the Yekaterinburg School for Musically Gifted Children and went on to train at the Rachmaninov Conservatoire in Rostov-on-Don and the Gnessin Institute in Moscow. Oleg Poliansky, began studying piano at the Lysenko Music School and has since been the prize-winner of several international competitions.