Gavriil Popov (1904-1972) is one of the major composers of what I call "Russian Futurism." And a relatively new string quarter, Quartet Berlin-Tokyo, has performed a big service to classical music by releasing the world-premiere recording of Popov's "Quartet-Symphony," the 1951 String Quartet in C Major, Op . 61.
It's a long piece, about 57 minutes long. The album pairs it with a short piece by the interesting Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff, "Five Pieces for String Quartet." The album is getting excellent reviews, such as this one ("the rediscovery of the Popow Quartet is a very strong argument for this album.")
Popov is chiefly remembered for two early pieces, his 1935 First Symphony (banned after one performance) and, from 1927, his chamber symphony. Recordings of those two are not difficult to find, but the Quartet Berlin-Tokyo release is the only way to listen to the Quartet Symphony, which dates from 1951.
If you become interested in Popov, you may want to know that a Popov piano piece is included in this excellent album by Yury Favorin.
Thank you for sharing this.
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