Kalinnikov died before his 35^th birthday. He heard the first of his two symphonies performed but missed the first performance of his second, and did not live to hear another. Both works are beautiful, very Russian in feeling, superbly orchestrated, and musically inventive.

As the booklet accompanying the Opus 20 quartets puts it: “With op. 20 the historical development of Haydn’s quartets reaches its goal; and further progress is not progress in any historical sense, but simply the difference between one masterpiece and the next.” The six string quartets of Opus 33, also performed here, amply demonstrate the truth of this statement.

The great Norwegian pianist, Leif Ove Andsnes, here performs a selection of Edvard Grieg’s Lyric Pieces, playing the composer’s own piano at Troldhaugen, his home, now a museum, on the outskirts of Bergen. Most of these pieces were composed here, certainly at this piano, an instrument, made in 1892, whose intimate tone ideally suits them.

This performance of Beethoven’s fifth and seventh symphonies thrilled the classical music world when it appeared. Listeners were amazed that such a young conductor, still in his twenties, and an orchestra entirely of young people from Venezuela could perform with such maturity, subtlety and style.