Variations and Epilogue for Cello and Orchestra

• Lopatnikoff, Nicolai

Nikolai Lopatnikoff composed Variations and Epilogue as a memorial to his first wife who died in 1945. That original score, bearing the opus number 31, was a chamber work for cello and piano. The lyricism and subtle communicative quality of the music attracted immediate attention. It was first performed by Raya Garbousova and Erich Itor Kahn in New York on January 17, 1947. It was subsequently recorded by Nikolai and Joanna Graudan for Columbia Records, reissued later under the Orion label. In 1973, Lopatnikoff completed a new version of the work in which he replaced the piano part with full orchestra, keeping the cello part essentially intact. Mindful of the concertante character of the new version (identified as Op. 31a), the composer added a cadenza for the cello. The premiere of this version was given by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under William Steinberg, with Michael Grebanier the cellist, on December 14 & 16, 1973. Local music critics raved about both the work and soloist. The form of the work is Theme, 5 Variations, Cadenza, and Epilogue. The theme is original, revealing the composer’s Russian melodic heritage.

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