Symphonies Shostakovich Sladkovsky

Alain Altinoglu and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra have begun to record the complete symphonies of Shostakovich, starting with his Fourth and Fifth symphonies. Shostakovich dared to express human suffering, passion, fear and catastrophe in his music, but always asking the same nagging question: what is man? In this sense, these two symphonies open with a question — an idea of martyrdom that was to become one of the central ideas of his later symphonies and, of course, of his Lady Macbeth of Mzensk. Both symphonies are dated between 1935-1937 when Shostakovich was in his thirties; this was one of the darkest and most difficult phases of his life, marked as it was by the repercussions of some of his writings and the arrest of many people close to him, including members of his family.

Nobody is better suited to undertake such a challenge than Valery Gergiev and his Mariinsky Orchestra. Over a period of a year all 15 Symphonies and 6 Concertos have been recorded at Salle Pleyel in Paris. What an adventure for the artists and the big production team! Never before in the history of television has something like this been undertaken including the very first "Ring" for television at Bayreuth.

Born in 1943 in the Latvian capital of Riga, Mariss Jansons grew up in the Soviet Union as the son of conductor Arvid Jansons, studying violin, viola and piano and completing his musical education in conducting with high honours at the Leningrad Conservatory. Further studies followed with Hans Swarovsky in Vienna and Herbert von Karajan in Salzburg. In 1971 he won the conducting competition sponsored by the Karajan Foundation in Berlin. His work was also significantly influenced by the legendary Russian conductor Yevgeny Mravinsky, who engaged Mariss Jansons as his assistant at the Leningrad Philharmonic in 1972. Over the succeeding years Mariss Jansons remained loyal to this orchestra, today renamed the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, as a regular conductor until 1999, conducting the orchestra during that period on tours throughout the world. From 1971 to 2000 he was also professor of conducting at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire.

Shostakovich - The War Symphonies (2001) {Gergiev - 5CD Box Set Philips 470 841-2}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.24 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 730 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 77 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2001 Philips | 470 841-2
Classical / Symphony / 20th Century

While this set of Shostakovich's Fourth through Ninth symphonies is billed as his "War" symphonies, these six works could be more aptly identified as his "Terror and War" symphonies. After all, the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth were composed in the years before the "Great Patriotic War" during the period called the "Great Terror," that period of Soviet history in which Stalin attempted to liquidate everyone he ever remotely suspected of having an unkind thought about him. Still, these six symphonies do form a cogent group of works that describe with extremely painful exactitude the horror of living through one of the most horrific decades in twentieth century history, qualities that Russian conductor Valery Gergiev captures with excruciating effectiveness.

Mark Wigglesworth continues his Shostakovich cycle on BIS, performing with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir Symphonies Nos. 1 to 3. The First Symphony was in fact the graduation piece that completed his studies at the Leningrad Conservatory, but to quote Mark Wigglesworth, ‘Shostakovich’s trade-mark musical gestures are all immediately obvious’ and was an immediate success.

Shostakovich is not a composer the Berlin Philharmonic has regularly recorded, so this new album of Symphonies Nos 8, 9 and 10 is warmly welcome. Taped with a limited audience during the Covid pandemic, the Philharmonic’s chief conductor Kirill Petrenko combines a riveting precision with expressive intensity in his interpretation of the expansive Eighth Symphony. The succinct Ninth has plenty of crisply sardonic woodwind commentary, as in the brilliantly played third movement while the Tenth packs a formidably powerful punch, especially in a highly charged account of the second movement “Allegro.” In truth, it’s doubtful if there are better played performances of any of these symphonies on record, and Petrenko’s consistently cogent view of the music compels attention.

To celebrate the 100th birthday of the great Soviet composer Dmitry Shostakovich, Mariss Jansons assembled eight of the world's finest orchestras to determine which is the best of his 15 symphonies. There is no doubt that Jansons is the man for the job. Trained under Mravinsky and long steeped in Shostakovich's music, Jansons brings a lifetimes' love and intimacy to his interpretations - not to mention a terrific baton technique and an unfailing sense of tempo.

This cycle of Shostakovich’s Symphonies has constantly offered interesting and thought-provoking interpretations alongside striking performances. Wigglesworth started his traversal with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, recording Symphonies Nos. 5, 6, 7, 10 and 14 with that orchestra, and in 2005 continued the project with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.

Valery Gergiev continues his Shostakovich symphony cycle with the release of the Eighth Symphony. The work, imbued with a deep sense of sorrow and fear, is considered to be one of the composer’s finest scores. The authorities expected a victorious anthem in light of the Nazi retreat, but Shostakovich appeared too affected by the casualties and ruin of the war.

Shostakovich: The Symphonies (complete) - Dmitri Kitajenko
Classical | EAC (ape, image), cue, no log | 3.1 GB, RS
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Dmitri Kitajenko, conductor
Label: Capriccio | 12 CDs | September, 2005

Capriccio label presents all 15 symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich. This ambitious project was realised between 2002 and 2004 with the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln under Dmitri Kitajenko. No other conductor is as capable as Dmitri Kitajenko of perpetuating the authentic performance tradition of Shostakovich's music in the present. With the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Kitajenko had an ensemble which combines brilliance and virtuosity with enthusiasm and passion. The result is a complete benchmark recording in which the use of multi-channel technology brings Shostakovich's tonal visions to life for the first time ever.