Composer Rodion Shchedrin was one of the leading figures of Soviet music in the post-war period. This album by the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Olli Mustonen brings together four of his works, including music from his ballet "Lady with a puppy" and a viola concerto, "Concerto dolce", performed by Lawrence Power, one of the greatest violists of our time. Rodion Shchedrin passed away while this album was being recorded, making it a memorial to the unique friendship and artistic collaboration between Olli Mustonen and Shchedrin that lasted approximately thirty years.

Shchedrin moved freely between different styles and combined influences and materials from various sources, describing himself as a "post-avant-gardist". Shchedrin's five ballets make him a legitimate heir to the Russian ballet tradition, which he simultaneously reformed. "Lady with a Puppy" was his final complete ballet and he wrote it for his wife's 60th birthday. The concert piece is just as theatrical as the original ballet.

"Shepherd's Pipes of Vologda" (1995) was written on commission for Hungarian radio and is a tribute to Hungarian master composer Béla Bartók – Shchedrin also traveled to Belarus and Vologda to study and record folk music.

The internationally renowned viola player Lawrence Power has performed regularly as a guest musician with orchestras of the highest caliber over the past ten years, but he is also a much sought-after chamber musician. The Turku Musical Society, the later Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, was founded in 1790 and is thus one of the oldest in the world. Olli Mustonen holds a unique position in the contemporary music scene. In the tradition of great masters such as Sergei Rachmaninoff, he combines the roles of composer, pianist, and conductor in perfect balance and often unites them in a fascinating threefold role.