Brandukov - Collection of 10 Pieces for Cello and Piano

Anatoly Brandukov was a Russian virtuoso cellist and composer, remembered today especially as the dedicatee of Tchaikovsky’s Pezzo capriccioso, Rachmaninoff’s Two Pieces, Op. 2, and Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata, Op. 19. During his lifetime, Brandukov published around a dozen compositions, most of them short works for cello and piano. He also composed several cello concertos and piano works that remained unpublished.

This edition brings together ten of Brandukov’s published pieces for cello and piano. The collection includes works from the Six Pieces published by Jurgenson in 1885, including the especially beautiful Nocturne, along with the Elegie published by Durand in 1887 and three later works published by A. Noël in Paris in 1901: Opp. 8-10.

The early pieces show the influence of Russian Romantic composers such as Anton Rubinstein and Karl Davydov, while the later works reveal a more mature and atmospheric style. The Nocturne and Sur l’Eau deserve special attention. Sur l’Eau, dedicated to Countess Emanuela Potocka, has an evocative water-like character reminiscent of Anatoly Lyadov’s The Enchanted Lake, though Brandukov’s piece predates Lyadov’s work by eight years.

Many of the pieces carry dedications connected to Brandukov’s musical and social world, including his teacher Guillaume Fitzenhagen, Alfred Fallot, Vera Khludova, Edgar Jacot des Combes, Jules Gallay, Countess Olga Chertkova, and Countess Emanuela Potocka.

These short character pieces offer cellists a valuable addition to the Romantic recital repertoire: lyrical, elegant, varied, and still largely unfamiliar. They are well-suited for recitals, teaching, and performers interested in rediscovering neglected nineteenth-century cello music.

ASTA level: 3-3.5