Giya Kancheli, one of Georgia’s most eminent composers, became increasingly famous after the advent of glasnost in the Soviet Union, when his works, not least his seven symphonies, were heard internationally. Around the year 2000 Kancheli shifted away from the opulence of these pieces and moved towards a more restrained, introspective vein, which is exemplified by the three works on this album. Elements of folk and traditional music can be glimpsed in the abstract Ex contrario, while Middelheim is striking for its overlapping succession of episodes. Tsutisopeli was Kancheli’s final score.

At the age of ten, violinist Svetlana Makarova won First Prize at the Moscow International Youth Tchaikovsky Competition. In 2008 she was invited by conductor Lorin Maazel to join the orchestra of Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofía, Spain.

Cellist Jing Zhao has performed with numerous prestigious conductors such as Yuri Bashmet, Myung-whun Chung, Jean Fournet, Eliahu Inbal, Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi, Lorin Maazel, Ricardo Muti, Andris Nelsons, Seiji Ozawa, Mikhail Pletnev, Muhai Tang, and Jaap van Zweden, among others.

Born in 1973 in Chelyabinsk, Lera Auerbach is a composer, concert pianist and conductor. Raised in a musical family, she began composing at an early age and later studied at the Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School and the Hochschule für Musik Hannover. Auerbach has since established a renowned international career, composing for major orchestras, ensembles and films, performing as a pianist, and conducting her own works. Her output spans concert works, chamber music and vocal pieces, often exploring profound human themes with a distinctive contemporary voice.