Turn back the hands of time to October, 2002, when four cellists in St. Petersburg got together and formed the Rastrelli Cello Quartet, naming themselves after an 18th century architect from that city. They quickly discovered that there wasn’t a lot of music available for that instrumentation, so they followed the golden rule of survival: adapt or die. And adapt they did, arranging works from Bach to the Beatles, with some of their own compositions in the mix as well.
It's twenty years down the line, and the Rastrelli Cello Quartet, now living in Germany, is throwing an anniversary party with a special CD entirely of their own works. The Rastrelli Effect is a charming, tuneful collection of songs – from the snappy “String on 16 Strings,” to the heartfelt “Vocalise,” and all of them pleasing to the ear. Much of the music is written by Sergio Drabkins, one of the founding members, but each of the members makes a musical contribution to the set list.
Said one Rastelli, “This is why we dare to present our listeners with such an eclectic collection of music. May they find as much enjoyment in it as we do!” With the news of long-time string quartets disbanding, it’s a delight to mark the vicentennial of the Rastrelli Cello Quartet. Hoping you’ll be equally delighted by this CD celebration.
