Poems

The Russian composer Sergey Akhunov (b. 1967) was educated at the Kiev State Conservatory, before he started his career as an oboe player. He subsequently gained experience in various musical styles and genres such as electronic music and rock. In the mid-2000s, he consistently turned to composing orchestral, chamber and vocal music, but also film music. This recording presents vocal music by Akhunov, including "Songs", which he wrote as a commission for La Voce Strumentale. Dmitry Sinkovsky as the spiritus rector of the recording - he is at the same time singer (countertenor) and conductor - succeeds in an impressive way, among others seconded by soprano Julia Lezhneva in three songs, in combining tonal contemporary music with the sound of an early music ensemble.

Despite the fact that there are multiple recordings of Shostakovich's deeply moving Symphony No. 14, this rather old but remastered recording is unique in the quality of performance: Bernard Haitink conducts his Concertgebouw Orchestra and elected to use non-Slavic singers Julia Varady and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau who in turn sing the poems in their original languages rather than the Russian translations used in the original premiere. The effect is staggeringly beautiful and if one must choose a single recording of this symphony, this would be the one that captures the essence of Shostakovich's vision.