Khachaturian composed his 1963 Concerto Rhapsody for Rostropovich. It’s a sprawling, aptly named work that undergoes a series of colorful and fantastical gyrations that Rostropovich tackles with his typical technical mastery and passionate intensity, matched by George Hurst’s energetic performance with the London Symphony. However, as with the same composer’s wildly discursive Symphony No. 3, it begins to wear on your nerves a good bit before it’s over. (The CD booklet lists the concert as taking place on December 21, 1963, but this would have been two weeks before the world premiere on January 4, 1964.)
Shostakovich’s Second Cello Concerto also was written for Rostropovich, but this is unquestionably a great work–as the cellist makes abundantly clear in this ardent, involving performance with Colin Davis and the BBC Symphony from October, 1966. Rostropovich is particularly brilliant in the finale’s exploratory ruminations (he provided needed assistance to the composer for this movement), and his performance as a whole is an especially gripping experience.
After this, I was expecting Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations (not one of his more inspired outpourings) to be a distinct letdown, but Rostropovich’s genius gives shape even to this facile (and in the wrong hands, flaccid-sounding) work. He is fully invested in the character of each of the individual variations and maintains the musical tension throughout (Variations III and V are particularly fine). Colin Davis expertly conducts the London Symphony in this performance from June, 1964. The sound is decent stereo for the Khachaturian and Tchaikovsky and good mono for the Shostakovich.
