Vladimir Malinin - Violin ( MFSL MFCD905 1981 )

The main interest of this disc will be the opportunity to hear unknown works by hardly known composers from the ex-Soviet block: the Latvian Jurgis Juozapaitis (birth date not provided), the Russians Vladimir Kobekin (b. 1947) and Leonid Bobylev (b. 1931). I can't say I've found them entirely remarkable. Juozapaitis' Sonata is imbued with an intense and gnawed lyricism, Bobylev's five short "Foreshortenings" for Violin and Piano is a mixture of Webern terseness, Shostakovich wry humor and Bartok raw brutality, but none break any grounds in their use of the instrument. It is also the case with Kobekin's Double Variations, but I found it more interesting, with its enigmatic mood and, when the suspended cymbals enter at 8:03, its mysteriously ritualistic character. But Schnittke's Moz-art, even if it little more than an elaborate pastiche, is more innovative in its language and use of the instrument