Rostropovich Shostakovich

As the 15 symphonies of Dmitry Shostakovich grow in stature with the passage of time, the increasing number of complete recordings attests to their lasting significance. As a friend of the composer and a conductor of considerable artistic merit…Mstislav Rostropovich has been regarded as one of the most authoritative interpreters of the symphonies, and the set of his performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Academic Symphony Orchestra of Moscow is often recommended.

LSO, Rostropovich - Shostakovich - Symphony No. 11 (2017) {B&W Society of Sound no. 84 Digital Download 16-44.1}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44kHz - Official Digital Download (bowers-wilkins.com) -> 237 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 169 Mb
Full Artwork (jpg+pdf) -> 7 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2017 LSO / B&W Society of Sound | LSO89 / SoS no. 84
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Symphony

Shostakovich’s atmospheric Eleventh Symphony recounts the events surrounding the First Russian Revolution of 1905, while reflecting on the brutality of the later Soviet regime. Its cinematic depiction of winter cold and military might is utterly compelling, and never more so than under the baton of the composer’s friend Mstislav Rostropovich.

LSO, Rostropovich - Shostakovich - Symphony No. 8 (2017) {B&W Society of Sound no. 80 Digital Download 16-44.1}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44kHz - Official Digital Download (bowers-wilkins.com) -> 259 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 161 Mb
Full Artwork (jpg+pdf) -> 5 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2017 LSO / B&W Society of Sound | LSO85 / SoS no. 80
Classical / Early 20th Century / Symphony

Shostakovich wrote his Eighth Symphony (from a total of fifteen) in the summer of 1943, across a period of around ten weeks. It was given its first performance on 4 November that year by the USSR Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Evgeny Mravinsky, to whom the work is dedicated. Expectations were high, for Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, associated with the siege of Leningrad, had been adopted both in Russia and the West as a symbol of resistance to the Nazis. It was hoped that the Eighth would follow in its patriotic footsteps – earlier that year the German Sixth army had been annihilated at Stalingrad, the siege of Leningrad has been lifted, and the Nazis were in retreat.

Maxim Vengerov's splendiferous Strad pours reedy-rich tones from its lower register and sings the sweetest high notes this side of Jascha Heifetz, without the least hint of an undesirable sound or mistuned note. Vengerov's impeccable technique and mature musicianship consistently place him at the top of today's young generation of violinists. Here he plumbs Prokofiev's emotionally charged concerto and finds its unadorned essence–especially memorable in the sensuous slow movement and the exuberant finale.

This award-winning disc features the prodigious talent of 20-year-old Maxim Vengerov, the clarity of interpretation of 67-year-old Mstislav Rostropovich, and two brilliant concertos by the two greatest Russian composers of the 20th century. Vengerov plays a 1727 "Reynier" Stradivarius violin in both works, and the total effect is wondrous.

That the cello's repertoire has been so wonderfully enriched during the 20th century is due largely to Mstislav Rostropovich, the most influential cellist of his time, a champion of liberty, and also a noted conductor and pianist. Born In Baku on 27 March 1927 to a pianist mother and a cello-playing father who had studied with Pablo Casals, 'Slava' received early paternal grounding in his chosen instrument.

Whatever listeners may think of Mstislav Rostropovich's first recording of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 with the National Symphony Orchestra, it is a historical document of the utmost importance to anyone who claims to love the music of Shostakovich.