In This Moonlit Night Dmitri Hvorostovsky

• Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Six Songs, Op. 73
• 1No. 1. Mi sideli s toboy (We Sat Together)02:42
• 2No. 2. Noch' (Night)04:09
• 3No. 3. V etu lunnuyu noch' (On this Moonlit Night)02:02
• 4No. 4. Zakatilos solntse (The Sun has Set)01:54
• 5No. 5. Sred' mrachnikh dney (Amid Sombre Days)01:51
• 6No. 6. Snova, kak prezhde, odin (Again, as Before, Alone)02:54
• Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839-1881): Songs and Dances of Death
• 7No. 1. Lullaby (Kolybel'naja)05:27
• 8No. 2. Serenade (Serenada)05:01
• 9No. 3. Trepak05:20
• 10No. 4. The Field-Marshal (Polkovodec)06:14
• Sergei Taneyev (1856–1915)
• 1110 Romances, Op. 17 No. 10. Ljudi spjat (All are Asleep)03:38
• 1210 Romances from Ellis's Immortelles, Op. 26 No. 9. Menu'et (Menuet)04:48
• 1310 Romances, Op. 17 No. 5. Ne veter veja s vysoty (Not the wind from on high)02:19
• 144 Songs, Op. 32 No. 4. Zimniy put' (The Winter Road)03:05
• 1510 Romances from Ellis's Immortelles, Op. 26 No. 6. Stalaktity (Stalactites)04:24
• 1610 Romances, Op. 17 No. 9. B'jotsja serdce bespokojnoje (Anxiously beats the heart)02:14
• Total Runtime58:02

Info for In This Moonlit Night

This second release of star baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky for Ondine features Russian Lieder by Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Taneyev. Dmitri Hvorostovsky is recognized as one of the leading and most charismatic baritones of our time, performing internationally at such opera houses as the New York Met, and partnering regularly with singers Renée Fleming and Jonas Kaufmann. Together with his longstanding duo partner, Estonian pianist Ivari Ilja, they have frequently performed to great critical acclaim.

“Time has preserved his instrument remarkably well; his baritone retains its burnt umber colouring and his almost legendary ability to spin out long phrases on a single breath is still there...Hvorostovsky fans need not hesitate for an instant, but anyone interested in Russian song will want to investigate this inventively programmed, and stylishly performed, recital.” (Opera Britannia)

“Hvorostovsky sings [the Tchaikovsky songs] with passionate expression...Hvorostovsky's elegant approach makes a good case for hearing more [Taneyev]...against the original piano accompaniment [of the Mussorgsky] his command is absolute...with Ivari Ilja's spirited playing, this is one of the finest performances I've heard” (BBC Music Magazine)

“Hvorostovsky was born to sing these songs...he brings to his interpretations a new richness and darkness of timbre, beautifully polished as it always was but enhanced with an even deeper understanding of how to project the subtleties of Mussorgsky's vocal writing...This is a top-choice version of the Songs and Dances of Death and it is rendered even more valuable through being set in the context of equally persuasive performances of Tchaikovsky and Taneyev.” (Gramophone)

Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone
Ivari Ilja, piano

Dmitri Hvorostovsky
was born and studied in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. In 1989, he won the prestigious Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. From the start, audiences were bowled over by his cultivated voice, innate sense of musical line and natural legato. After his Western operatic debut at the Nice Opera in Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame, his career exploded to take in regular engagements at the world’s major opera houses and appearances at renowned international festivals, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, the Teatro alla Scala Milan, the Vienna State Opera, and the Chicago Lyric Opera.

A celebrated recitalist in demand in every corner of the globe — from the Far East to the Middle East, from Australia to South America — Hvorostovsky has appeared at such venues as Wigmore Hall, London; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh; Carnegie Hall, New York; the Teatro alla Scala, Milan; the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, Moscow; the Liceu, Barcelona; the Suntory Hall, Tokyo; and the Musikverein, Vienna. The singer regularly performs in concert with top orchestras like the New York Philharmonic and the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and conductors, including James Levine, Bernard Haitink, Claudio Abbado, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Yuri Termikanov and Valery Gergiev.

Dmitri retains a strong musical and personal contact with Russia. He became the first opera singer to give a solo concert with orchestra and chorus on Red Square in Moscow; this concert was televised in over 25 countries. Dmitri has gone on to sing a number of prestigious concerts in Moscow as a part of his own special series, ‘Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Friends.’ He has invited such celebrated artists as Renée Fleming, Sumi Jo and Sondra Radvonosky. In 2005 he gave an historic tour throughout the cities of Russia at the invitation of President Putin, singing to crowds of hundreds of thousands of people to commemorate the soldiers of the Second World War. Dmitri now tours the cities of Russia and Eastern Europe on an annual basis.

Constantine Orbelian, Conductor
The brilliant pianist and conductor Constantine Orbelian is the first American ever to become music director of an ensemble in Russia. His appointment in 1991 as Music Director of the celebrated Moscow Chamber Orchestra was a breakthrough event, and came in the midst of Orbelian's successful career as a concert pianist. In September, 2000, Orbelian was named Permanent Guest Conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic, putting him in a unique leadership position with not only Moscow's outstanding chamber orchestra but also its most illustrious symphony orchestra. In January, 2004 President Putin awarded Orbelian the coveted title 'Honored Artist of Russia,' a title never before bestowed on a non-Russian citizen.

Booklet for In This Moonlit Night