After two stylistically diverse anthologies - In Motion and Renewal - the United Strings of Europe and their director Julian Azkoul have chosen to devote their latest project to a single composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. They open with the composer's Serenade, a tribute to Mozart's divertimentos, but infused with Tchaikovsky's characteristic pathos and melancholy. It is one of his most popular works, with the especially beloved Waltz as it's second movement, and a finale featuring Russian folk songs. The other works included on this recording are arrangements tailor-made for the ensemble by Julian Azkoul.

This is the second installment in the Pacifica Quartet’s highly anticipated, four–volume CD survey of the complete Shostakovich string quartets: The Soviet Experience: String Quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich and his Contemporaries. The Soviet Experience is the first Shostakovich quartet cycle to include works by other important composers of the Soviet era, adding variety and perspective to the listening experience.

Though the origin of Bach’s sonatas for flute and harpsichord is uncertain there has also been considerable debate about their genre. The first three are often called ‘Sonaten auf Concertenart’—sonatas in concerto style—a hybrid genre that became popular between around 1720 and 1740, so Bach may have been deliberately experimenting with form in these works. All offer a fascinating insight into Bach’s use of the sonata genre and a wealth of inventive music.