Nikolay Andreyevich Roslavets was viewed by his Russian colleagues as one of the most original, innovative and progressive composers of the 1920s, a period of extraordinary artistic experimentation between the Russian Revolution and the Soviet regime’s subsequent repression of the avant-garde. The early works heard on this recording are characterised by passion, drama, mystery, lyricism and a sheer beauty of sound underpinned by that lingering melancholy said to inhabit ‘the Russian soul’. Bulgarian cellist Lachezar Kostov and pianist Viktor Valkov, his long-time collaborator, are ideal interpreters of this brilliantly-crafted music.