Kirill Kondrashin in concert with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

• As before, these are live recordings made in Moscow during concerts by Pyotr Kondrashin, son of the conductor.

• Kondrasbin was as great a Sibelius conductor as he was in Russian repertoire and these are truly astounding performances, performed by one of the world's top orchestras at its prime and recorded in outstanding sound for live registrations.

 

Kirill Kondrashin, whose unexpected and tragic death from a heart attack in 1981 at the age of only 67, robbed the world of one of its greatest conductors, was principal conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra from 1960 to 1975. In those fifteen years he raised the standard of the orchestra to an international level.

Kondrashin enjoyed enormous prestige in the Soviet Union and abroad, with important composers dedicating works to him, and he also conducted a great many world premieres of works by among others Shostakovich. He moved to the West in 1978 for political as well as personal reasons, was given asylum in the Netherlands and appointed permanent guest conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, next to Bernard Haitink. Kondrashin had also been the first Soviet conductor to conduct after the War in the United States where his success has also been overwhelming. Especially his appearance in 1958 with Van Cliburn, the first American in history to win the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, brought him great international popularity.