Parnassus is pleased to return to international availability early stereo recordings of Daniil Shafran, including the Haydn Cello Concerto conducted by Neeme Järvi, one of the most recorded conductors of all time, in one of his earliest commercial recordings, transferred from a pristine analog source by Paul Arden-Taylor. Also included are Shafran’s American recordings of sonatas by Schubert and Shostakovich, transferred from master tapes by Harold Tichenor and available for the first time in high-definition sound.
While Soviet cellist Daniil Shafran did not enjoy the widespread international success of his colleague Mstislav Rostropovich, he enjoyed a superb reputation among cellists and string enthusiasts, due in large part to the handful of recordings he made for labels outside the Soviet Union. Shafran did not enjoy the level of support from the Soviet music establishment given to Rostropovich before the latter defected to the West, yet enjoyed a busy career as a concert and recording artist in his native Russia. Shafran worked closely with many soviet composers including Dmitri Shostakovich and Dmitri Kabalevsky, who dedicated his Second Cello Concerto to Shafran.
“I love his playing. Sebastian Comberti came up with the best description. It was like finding the last member of a lost tribe of cellists. His playing takes you right back to a different era.”
– Steven Isserlis
“Shafran[‘s Schubert] emerges as very able… not as rhythmically wayward as Rostropovich. … The finale has an irresistible rhythmic lilt. [The Shostakovich Sonata] presents a fuller picture of Shafran’s artistry. He plays with very serious commitment, considerable tonal variety and technical ease, and has a splendid partner in Lydia Pecherskaya, a very perceptive musician throughout the Schubert too. The charm of the Allegretto is very well caught by both artists. … Shafran claimed that his affinity with the [Haydn] Concerto began before birth: his father was practicing it when his mother went into labour and was reluctant to take her to the hospital until it was perfect!”
– Gramophone
