The works that appear on this 2-CD set are the result of research and performance into a particular era of Russian music. Although the musical distance between the Rubinstein Op.88 Variations and the other later Russian works is often vast, the chronological time is actually fairly short. Rubinstein represented the end of the romantic era in Russian piano music, but an era in which he personally chose to ignore the nationalistic school and the ethos of the Mighty Five group of composers, who wished for a truly patriotic school of composition based on Russian folk
music; Rubinstein, instead, used European models for his own work, moreover models who represented the more classical aspects of European art (Mendelssohn is a fine example) rather than the more progressive composers such as Liszt. The musical upheavals in Russian music began less than a decade after Rubinstein's death. Were it not for the eventual Stalinist suppression, the group of composers represented on these CDs could well have led and surpassed their European counterparts in their sheer audacity and exuberance. (Larry Sitsky)

“ONE of Australia's most neglected senior composers, mainly because of his long-time academic and performing concentration in the ACT, Larry Sitsky made a name for himself through controversy in the 1960s. His compositions have rarely travelled to Melbourne but his reputation as a pianist has, if
anything, grown over the past half-century. This double CD is dedicated to one of Sitsky's main areas of interest: Russian composers prior to and in the decades after the 1917 Revolution. The vast selection begins with Anton Rubinstein's substantial, late Romantic Variations Op. 88 and concludes with miniatures by Vladimir Rebikov and Nikolai Obukhov. In between, Sitsky gives expert and character-loaded interpretations of music by unknowns such as Vladimir Shcherbachev and Leonid Polovinkin, as well as more well-regarded composers such as Artur Lourie and Aleksandr Mosolov. Assisted by Sitsky's virtuosity and insights, these action-packed discs offer both bewildering variety and a surprisingly adventurous spirit of exploration and experiment”

— CLIVE O'CONNELL , THE AGE A2 SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 2010

CD 1
ANTON RUBINSTEIN (1829-1894) VARIATIONS Op. 88
1 Theme: Lento, Moderato
2 Variation I: Allegro Moderato
3 Variation II; Andante con moto, tempo rubato
4 Variation III: Tempo di Marcia
5 Variation IV; Andante con moto
6 Variation V; Moderato assai
7 Variation VI; Vivace
8 Variation VII; Moderato assai
9 Variation VIII; Moderato con moto
10 Variation IX; Moderato
11 Variation X; Moderato, patetico
12 Variation XI; Allegro
13 Variation XII: Allegro moderato

VLADIMIR SHCHERBACHEV (1887-1952)
14 SONATA No.2 in B flat minor, Op.7

VLADIMIR DESHEVOV (1889-1955)
15 REL'SY (1926)

ARTUR LOURIE (1892-1966) FORMS IN THE AIR
16 I
17 II
17 III

CD 2
SYNTHESES
1 I
2 II
3 III
4 IV
5 V

NIKOLAI ROSLAVETS (1881-1944)
6 SONATA No.2 (1916)

FIVE PRELUDES
7 No.1 Andante affettuoso (1919)
8 No.2 Allegretto con moto (1919)
9 No.3 Lento (1920)
10 No.4 Lento (1922)
11 No.5 Lento rubato (1922)

ALEKSANDR MOSOLOV (1900-1973)
12 SONATA NO.1 in C Minor, Op.3

3 PIECES & 2 DANCES, Op.23a
13 No.II 7
14 No.III

LEONID POLOVINKIN (1894-1949) EREIGNIS VII:
15 I: Pressentiment, Andante tranquillo
16 II: L'Action, moto tranquillo
17 III: Souvenir, Allegro

VLADIMIR REBIKOV (1866-1920)
MUSIC FOR CHILDREN
18 Preparing the Lesson
19 Strolling Musicians
20 Dance of the Little Ones
21 Cradle Song
22 The Lame Witch Roaming the Forest
23 The Bear
24 In the Forest

3 PIECES FROM MELOMIMIQUES, Op.15 (1889)
25 The Devil's Amusement
26 The Faun
27 In the Forest

NIKOLAI OBUKHOV (1892-1954)
REVELATION (1915)
28 The Tolling from Beyond
29 Death
30 The Void
31 Immortal
32 The Distress of Satan
33 Truth

TWO PIECES
34 The Temple is Measured: The Spirit is Incarnate
35 Peace for the Reconciled: Towards the Source of the Chalice