Kabalevsky was born in Saint Petersburg in 1904 and soon moved with his family to Moscow where he studied piano at the Scriabin Musical Institute. During his adolescence he already began teaching piano lessons, composing simple pieces for his students and for silent films. In 1925 he entered the Moscow Conservatory as a student of Ab Gol'denvejzera for piano and of N.Y. Mjaskoskij for composition. He graduated in 1930. By the 1930's Kabalevsky was appointed as an assistant instructor of composition at the Moscow Conservatory, and by 1939 he was a full professor. This period until 1942 is considered to be Kabalevsky's strongest. During this time he wrote much incidental music for radio and stage. On this new release, Italian pianist Maria Gabriella Bassi performs his 24 Preludes for Piano Op. 38.