Slovenian-born pianist/composer Marko Churnchetz presents an ambitious suite for fifteen musicians: essentially his jazz quartet accompanied by a small orchestra of winds and strings. He pays tribute to the great Russian composers of the 20th Century: Shostakovich, Scriabin, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Rachmaninoff (the title "Ruthenia" is a Latin name for the Russian border provinces and their inhabitants, a metaphor for connecting with the great Russian musical tradition).

Even if a listener did not know about the focus, the sound of the opening "Ouverture" would be a dead giveaway. After a lengthy rubato orchestral introduction, a very Russian-sounding theme (accompanied by rhapsodic Rachmaninoff-style piano) leads into a piano cadenza. "Cantabile" shifts attention to the quartet, the theme given to Mike Moreno's guitar and the leader's piano. Churnchetz takes a much more jazz-flavored solo, with the band joined by the strings, before Moreno has a lyrical turn.