俄羅斯的假面舞會(改編自柴可夫斯基/史克里亞賓/阿倫斯基/普羅高菲夫)
錄音地點 芬蘭科科拉的宴會廳

Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra / Sakari Oramo

Arrangements old and new for string orchestra

Composed in Russia between 1884 and 1917, the four works appearing on this disc all do so in some
kind of disguise. Prokofiev and Scriabin both conceived their respective collections for the piano,
and it is later arrangers that have adapted them for string orchestra. Rudolf Barshai took on Prokofiev’s
Visions Fugitivesin 1962, selecting 15 of the 20 brief pieces and arranging them for his own
ensemble, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. Scriabin’s Preludes received a similar treatment in
1999 when the Finnish composer Jouni Kaipainen chose 13 from the original 24, rearranging the
order they appear in and in some cases transposing them.
As for Anton Arensky (1861—1909), he composed his set of variations as the third movement of a
string quartet, taking the theme from a song by Tchaikovsky and letting it undergo a series of
transformations. Cheered by the success of the piece, he made his own arrangement for larger
forces, a version which remains one of his bestknown works. Tchaikovsky’s Elegy, finally, is
actually heard here as it was composed, in 1884, but the piece saw the light of day as ‘A Thankful
Greeting’ and was renamed ‘Elegy’ only at the time of publication, before making a final reappearance,
as part of the composer’s music to Hamlet. The four works are performed by the Ostrobothnian
Chamber Orchestra, one of Finland’s finest ensembles, conducted by its artistic director Sakari Oramo.