CCMusic.com

The four works on this recording, Unexplored, offer a wide spectrum of musical styles and introduce listeners to new additions to the recorded cello oeuvre. Works by Tchaikovsky, Cassado, Rudnytsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov are presented by the dynamic and versatile cellist Nada Radulovich with Cullum Bryant, one of the most active chamber and collaborative pianists in New York City. Tchaikovsky composed Six French Songs, opus 65', to the original French text by three French poets. Although this is a fully instrumental program, Radulovich provides the first English translation of these songs sonata. The four movements of Cassadó, written by composer and cellist Gaspar Cassado (1897-1966), represent various moods and dances. At times poignant, dramatic, playful, or uplifting, this compelling work, recorded here for the first time, is an effective synthesis of tradition cast in striking, harmonic terms. Romantic Fantasie for Cello and Piano, Op 43, by Ukrainian composer Antin Rudnytsky (1902-1975), displays a conservative 20th-century harmonic language, while exploring the folk idioms of the composer's native land. The intricate dialogue between the instruments illustrates the composer's skill at evoking a variety of moods within a single composition. One of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's best-known works, Flight of the Bumblebee, evokes the erratic path of the tiny insect. The unique transcription of this work was created by pianist Bryant and inspired by his collaboration with Radulovich.