Maybe this is nothing more than a strange combination of coincidences. Perhaps we’re dealing with delusions – or my own personal illusions! Nonetheless, when I first played this CD, something magical happened. I had long been asked to give it a spin, but never got around to it. It seems that a faint beam has appeared in these twilight years, when – we’re informed – an age of composers is concluding. A breath of air transpires in an otherwise stuffy atmosphere of modern music. I couldn’t believe my ears or first impressions. So I got ready to play the disk again in order to confirm – or deny – my suspicions. Then I said to myself ”Stop! I won’t listen to this again!” I recalled something from my early childhood. I always admired little stones collected from the bottom of the Moscow River. They always looked so beautiful… but, once they dried out in my hands they became colorless and dull. And so a question arose: which were the true stones? The ones on the river bed or the ones in my hand? I don’t want to repeat those mistakes of my childhood. I don’t want to remove the stones from the water. I don’t want to ruin a first impression; I just hope it wasn’t incorrect. I hope somebody will feel something similar, if they play this same CD.Enjoy listening! Vladimir Martynov Credits: Nikita Samarin – drums & percussion Andrey Silin – keyboards, theremin Artem Litvakoskiy – cello Nick Samarin – keyboards, bass Alexandra Ramazanova – cello Ksenia Pluzhnikova – violin Ramil Mulikov – trumpet, trombone Ekaterina Voronkova – french horn Anton Ponomarev – saxophones Konstantin Podgorbunskiy – tuba Gnesin State Musical College Choir: Alexandra Zotova Pavel Zotov Evgenia Mazur Vera Nikshetchieva Design by Olga Yakovleva/Design Group ESH Executive producer: Lyudmila Dmitrieva Recorded in Moscow and Kiev. 2013-2014 Recorded by Denis Yambor, Yuriy Vodolzhanskiy, Nick Samarin Mixed and mastered by Vladislav Ponomarenko Translated by David MacFadyen