Georges Catoire was a pioneer of modern Russian music - and yet today he has fallen into obscurity.

This new recording by the Utrecht String Quartet comes at just the right time: together with pianist Anna Zassimova, a renowned expert on the composer, the Dutch musicians play Catoire's Piano Quintet, as well as the String Quartet, op.23. This is music of the fin de siècle, which is pervaded by an air of farewell that could hardly be more beautiful.

Anna Zassimova has not only recorded several of Catoire's works, she is also the author of the only biography on the composer to date. The pianist's passion has also unmistakably inspired the Utrecht String Quartet: one could not wish for a more accomplished and enthusiastic rediscovery!

About the same age as Strauss and Mahler, Catoire was a child of his time. Widely educated, he spoke several languages fluently and also felt at home in mathematics. His music has its roots in the 19th century: expressive harmonies are joined by finely developed rhythmic structures. His phrases, which are hardly ever symmetrical, always seem to hang in the air time and time again.

The works are exciting for performers and audiences alike: the writing is unpredictable. There is a sorrowful, sweet melancholy that seems to wistfully nod at Russia of old - which the early Soviet Union couldn't deal with. Nevertheless, the fact that he was allowed to teach at the Moscow Conservatory until his untimely death in 1926 bordered on a miracle.