The combination of violin and guitar is not so uncommon today, partly due to the appeal of the instruments' complementary timbres. However, it is still quite challenging to find works for the duo where the roles are equally demanding and virtuosic, not only musically and technically, but most importantly, tonally and dynamically. With the present recording, we wanted to demonstrate music which displays this equal balance, through brand new arrangements of finely crafted selections of popular classical works.

Our collaboration began over a decade ago, when we met during our studies at the Royal Academy of Music, London. During this time, and since, we have arranged and transcribed a considerable amount of diverse repertoire from different periods and genres. With a few exceptions, the majority of the material on ‘Carnival', our second album, is entirely arranged/ composed by ourselves. Nazrin Rashidova and Stanislav Hvartchilkov