Various - Revol Bunin, Mikhail Glinka, Vissarion Shebalin, Ivan Sokolov: Three Centuries of Russian Viola Sonatas

The Russian viola sonata is a rare bird, not least because the instrument itself was frowned upon by the Soviet authorities, and as a result Russian music for the viola has a rather patchy history. It begins in earnest in 1931, when the 1825 Sonata by Mikhail Glinka, �the father of Russian music�, was reconstructed from his sketches by Vadim Borisovsky, �the father of the Russian viola�. Thereafter, musicians and composers worked together to expand the repertoire. The relationship between the composer Revol Bunin and the violist Rudolf Barshai resulted in a sonata of 1955 which deserves wider currency. Although half a century apart, the Shebalin and Sokolov sonatas have something unusual in common: both were created as part of a tryptich, alongside sonatas for violin and cello. All four composers knew how to make the viola sing � though this lyricism is often animated by moments of drama and excitement.