Akhunov: Cello Concerto "Actus tragicus" Boris Andrianov, State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia, Evgeny Svetlanov, Timur Zangiev

• Sergey Akhunov (b. 1967): Cello Concerto "Actus tragicus":
• 1Akhunov: Cello Concerto "Actus tragicus": I. Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit07:07
• 2Akhunov: Cello Concerto "Actus tragicus": II. Bestelle dein house04:32
• 3Akhunov: Cello Concerto "Actus tragicus": III. Ja, komm, Herr Jesu, komm!07:08
• 4Akhunov: Cello Concerto "Actus tragicus": IV. In diene Hände befehl ich meinen Geist…03:38
• 5Akhunov: Cello Concerto "Actus tragicus": V. Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin in Gottes Willen05:02
• Total Runtime27:27

Info for Akhunov: Cello Concerto "Actus tragicus"

The titles of the musical movements of “Actus tragicus” are taken from various passages of the Bible, as well as texts by Martin Luther, used in the cantata of the same name by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 106, also known as “Actus tragicus”). This is one of his earliest cantatas, written when Bach was only 22 years old. The bright, almost joyful nature of the music delights me, as well as the attitude to death it expresses, hence I decided to write my “own” Actus tragicus.

Following the structural logic of Bach’s music, I wrote a piece that reflects my own philosophy – the philosophy of a person living in the 21st century who at the same time, deep within, has much in common with a man of the 18th. The work is chiastic in form. Movements 1 and 5 as well as 2 and 4 are based on the same musical themes. The central third movement “Ja, komm, Herr Jesu, komm!” is the core of the entire piece and has a special theme.

Boris Andrianov, cello
State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia "Evgeny Svetlanov"
Timur Zangiev, conductor

Boris Andrianov
a renowned Russian cellist, performs in the world's top venues and at most prestigious festivals. While having an extensive touring schedule, the artist is also keen on performing in Russia, whether in big cities, small towns or remote villages that had never seen any concerts at all. He has also participated in many international and national projects aimed at expanding the country’s musical landscapes, especially in Russian provinces. Invariably enjoying great success with the public, those projects bring together internationally renowned performers along with Boris Andrianov himself.

Boris Andrianov was born in Moscow in 1976. He studied at the Gnessin Moscow Special School of Music (class of Vera Birina), Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (class of Professor Natalia Shakhovskaya) and Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin (class of Professor David Geringas).

He was the winner of Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition in Zagreb as well as competitions in Johannesburg, Hanover (Classica Nova – In Memoriam Dmitri Shostakovich, as part of a duo with Alexey Goribol), Paris (Concours de violoncelle Rostropovitch), and South Korea (Isang Yun Competition). He was also a prize-winner at the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Triumph Youth Award, and was titled Honored Artist of Russia in 2016.

Boris Andrianov has performed with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, including Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Fedoseev, Yury Simonov, Pavel Kogan, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alexander Vedernikov, Gianandrea Noseda, Dmitry Liss, Roman Kofman, Vasily Petrenko, Stefan Vladar, Dmitri Jurowski, and Alexander Sladkovsky. In chamber performances, he has played alongside Yury Bashmet, Menahem Pressler, Akiko Suwanai, Janine Jansen, Julian Rachlin, Itamar Golan, Denis Matsuev, Sergey Nakaryakov, Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Alexey Lyubimov, Tatiana Grindenko, to name a few.

The musician has participated in the Royal Swedish Festival, as well as festivals in Ludwigsburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Edinburgh, Dubrovnik, Colmar, Davos, Irkutsk (Stars on Baikal), Trans-Siberian Art Festival and others. He is also a regular guest of the Homecoming Chamber Music Festival in Moscow.

Boris Andrianov heads The Generation of Stars, a nation-wide project that has been awarded the Prize for culture of the Government of Russia (2009). He also initiated Vivacello and Vivarte international festivals in Moscow and has been artistic director for both. In addition, he is the artistic director of Musical Expedition festival, that was founded in the Vladimir region and has been expanding every year. In 2021, the festival covered six Russian regions, including Udmurtia, Vologda and Novosibirsk regions, Crimea and Kamchatka.

Widely collaborating with contemporary composers, Boris Andrianov has repeatedly presented premieres of new works, including those by Giya Kancheli, Krzysztof Penderecki, Efrem Podgaits, Michael Berkeley, Richard Dubugnon, Alexander Rosenblatt, Giovanni Sollima, Vangelis, Alexey Rybnikov, Pavel Karmanov, Samuel Strouk, Alexey Shor and others.

The artist's discography includes a joint recording with guitarist Dmitry Illarionov, released by Delos (in 2003 the record was included in the long list of Grammy nominees in Chamber Ensemble category); Sonatas by Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff with pianist Rem Urasin (named the best chamber disc of the month by Gramophone in September 2007), and sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord by J. S. Bach transcribed for cello and button accordion, recorded with Yuri Medianik (released by Melodiya, 2015). In 2020–2021 he recorded Variations on Rococo Theme by Tchaikovsky with the State Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan under Alexander Sladkovsky (Sony Classics), Gabriel Prokofiev's Cello Concerto with the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra under Alexey Bogorad (world premiere of the recording) as well as the Jazz Reflections of Bach Suites with Leonid and Niсk Vintskevich, as well as all cello suites by J.S. Bach (the release is scheduled for 2022). Since 2009 Boris Andrianov has been teaching at the Moscow Conservatory. The artist plays a cello made by Carlo Bergonzi from the State Collection of Unique Musical Instruments.

Sergey Akhunov
Russian composer Sergey Akhunov was born in Kiev in 1967.

A graduate of the Kiev State Conservatory, Sergey started as an oboe player before moving on to other genres, including electronic music and Rock 'n roll. He made a decisive break from this style of music in 2005 to exclusively concentrate on orchestral and chamber music.

"It has taken me almost 40 years to understand what kind of music I really want to write," Sergey says.

His musical works include a wide range of compositions for chamber ensembles and symphony orchestras.

His prizes and awards include the 1st International Classical Music Award "Pure Sound" for his "Victor Hugo's Blank Page" (2019) and "White balance" Divertissement orchestra (2021), Gramophone critic's choice for CD Maxim Rysanov "In Schubert's Company" (2017), Ksenija Sidorova "Piazzolla reflections" (2021), a nomination for his CD "Sketches" in the prestigious International Classical Music Awards, 2017.

Sergey Akhunov's music is distributed by Aparte music, Fancymusic, Alfa classics, Onyx and Glossa.

Booklet for Akhunov: Cello Concerto "Actus tragicus"