Hyperions record of the month for June is an intense and enthralling musical journey of powerful Russian twentieth-century music performed by the charismatic cellist, Alban Gerhardt and highly acclaimed pianist Steven Osborne. Shostakovichs Cello Sonata Op 40 received its premiere in December 1934, in a period of great personal turmoil. Its return to a much more conservative style did not fade his imagedue to the impact of his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtenskas the Soviet Unions enfant terrible which had created a difficult situation against a furious Stalin and the regime. The impact of censorship on Shostakovichs musical progress resulted in works with deeply personal and powerful statements which can be heard on this disc. His Eleven pieces for cello and pianoeight of which are recorded hereare a collection of arrangements of Shostakovichs ballet and film compositions, the best known being the Nocturne from the film The Gadfly. Also on this disc is Alfred Schnittkes First Cello Sonata, in which he takes the basic major/minor third and the perfect cadence and subjects them to extreme magnification resulting in an exploration of harmony, atmosphere, drama and anguished searching.