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Rodion Azarkhin, double-bass
Rodion Azarkhin
"Double bassist Rodion Azarkhin is a brilliant virtuoso. Apart from high technical quality his artistic performance is distinguished by its grand culture and great expressiveness." — Dmitri Shostakovich said about Rodion Azarkhin's art.
Rodion Mikhailovich Azarkhin was born in 1931 in Kharkov. He started to practise the double bass in 1945 at the ten year music school attached to Leningrad Conservatoire (class of S. Buyanovsky and P. Weinblat), later he was a pupil of RSFSR Honored Artist M.M. Kurbatov at Leningrad Conservatoire from which he graduated with honors in 1954. He perfected his skill as a postgraduate student at Moscow Conservatoire under S.N. Knushevitsky.
Rodion Azarkhin worked with the most various musical ensembles, including Moscow Chamber Orchestra under the direction of conductor Rudolf Barshai, Leningrad Radio Variety Orchestra, Leningrad Philharmony Symphony Orchestra, Leningrad Academic Maliy Opera Theatre Orchestra, and USSR State Academic Symphony Orchestra.
"...Double-bassist Rodion Azarkhin has already gained renown in musical circles of Moscow. His enthusiasm, tireless search for new creative ways, and assertive propaganda of double bass as a solo concert instrument, arouse profound respect. Azarkhin possesses a brilliant, truly virtuoso technique of his left hand, beautiful tone, melodiousness, perfect self-control on stage. He can be regarded as a successor of the solo double bass performing created by S. Kussevitsky and I. Gertovich", — wrote the "Soviet Music" magazine (№12, 1963)
The artist's repertoire of over 200 works is unique. It features numerous arrangements of his own and transpositions of instrumental pieces as well as rarely performed original compositions for double bass. These include: concertos by L. Boccherini,J. Haydn,J.S. Bach,G.F. Haendel, K. Dittersdorf, R. Schumann, A. Dvorak, C. Saint-Saens, E. Tubin, "Variations on a Rococo theme" by P. Tchaikovsky, Partita No2 by J.S. Bach (with Chaconne), sonatas by L. Boccherini, L. van Beethoven ("Kreutzer-Sonate"), F.Schubert, J.Brahms, C. Franck, E. Grieg, S. Rachmaninov, D.'Kabalevsky, P. Hindemith, "Moses" by Paga-nini, "Introduction and rondo-capriccio" by С Saint-Saens. Performance of these works, use of new performing techniques, new timbre colors allowed the musician to extend considerably the conventional idea about the artistic potentialities of the double bass as a solo instrument.
The program featured on this CD was performed on a double bass created by a master of the Guarneri family (1732), tuned "in D", which belongs to the Russian State Collection of Musical Instruments.
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"Art of Rodion Azarkhin" Vol. 1
MEL CD 10 00883
1. G.F.Haendel (1685-1759)
Aria
2. Z.Fibich (1850-1900)
Poem, op.41 №4
3. F.Liszt (1811-1886)
Hungarian Rhapsody №2
4. E.Lalo (1823-1892)
Andante from “Symphonie espagnole”, op.21
5. G.Faure (1845-1924)
Apres un reve, op.7 №1
6. S.V.Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Melodie, op.3 №3
7. P.I.Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Valse Sentimentale, op.15 №6
8. N.A.Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
Flight of the bumblebee the “Tale of Tsar Saltan”
9. K.K.Kalinenko (1919-1980)
Elegiac poem
10. V.S.Kosenko (1896-1938)
Scherzino
11. A.N.Aleksandrov (1888-1982)
Canzona difirambica
12. D.D.Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Adagio from “Limpid stream”
13. D.D.Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Romance from “The Gadfly”
14. A.S.Aivazian (1902-1975)
Georgian dance,op.1 №2
Rodion Azarkhin, double-bass
H.Aleksandrova (1,5-8,13), A.Dediukhin (3,4,14), G.Singer (10,12), N.Kalinenko (9), An.Aleksandrov (11), G.Shirinskaya (2), piano
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"Art of Rodion Azarkhin" Vol. 2
MEL CD 10 00921
J.S.Bach (1685 – 1750)
1. Chaconne From Partita No. 2, BWV. 1004
C.Saint-Saens (1835 – 1921)
2. The Swan From "Carnival Of The Animals"
F.Mendelssohn (1809 – 1947)
3. Scherzo From Music To Shakespeare's Comedy "Midsummer's Night Dream"
P.Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893)
4. None, But The Weary Heart
G.Rossini (1792 – 1868)
5. Figaro's Cavatina ("The Barber Of Seville", Act 1)
J.Massenet (1842 – 1912)
6. Elegy
R.Gliere (1875 – 1956)
7. Tarantella, Op. 9, No. 2
8. Romance For Violin And Piano In D minor, Op. 6 No. 1
9. Prelude, Op. 23 No. 10
P.de Sarasate (1844 – 1908)
10. Ziguenerweisen, Op. 20 No. 1
Yu.Levitin (1912-1993)
Sonata for double-bass solo, Op. 58
11. 1. Moderato (Sonata For Double-Bass Solo, Op. 58)
12. 2. Allegretto (Sonata For Double-Bass Solo, Op. 58)
13. 3. Allegro (Sonata For Double-Bass Solo, Op. 58)
Recorded in 1961-1970.
Arr: R.Azarkhin (1-10)
RODION AZARKHIN, double bass
Piano: H.Aleksandrova (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10), G.Singer (4, 8), A.Dediukhin (9)
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