Aural histories, the next gen

It might seem sheer folly for young artists to make new recordings of well-known concertos. They are competing with the great soloists of the past 100 years in a marketplace glutted with standard repertory. Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” to take but one example, has been recorded more than 200 times. Still, we count on each new crop of musicians to keep music alive.

*

Tchaikovsky: “Rococo” Variations,

other works

Alexander Kniazev, cello. Moscow Chamber Orchestra. Constantine Orbelian, conductor. (Warner Classics)

* * *

MOSCOW cellist Kniazev plays the “Rococo” Variations with warmth, grace, nuance and poise, knowing how to shade a phrase expressively or let a tone blossom. He also manages to keep his integrity and create distinct dramatic characters in Evgeni Stetsuk’s pumped-up orchestrations of 10 Tchaikovsky songs, here called Romances. Orbelian, a San Francisco native and the first American to become music director of a Russian ensemble, provides distinguished support.

-- C.P.