Shostakovich 5 Symphony

Prokofiev sends an urgent musical bulletin from Stalin’s Russia with his Symphony No. 5—music of iron and steel, forged in a time of war and tyranny.

Paavo Berglund (1929-2012) was recognised as a father-figure in modern Sibelius conducting. He notably recorded no less than 3 times his complete symphonies, with the Bournemouth Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic and later with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Besides much music of his homeland and Scandinavia in general he was able to demonstrate his prowess in Russian music, particularly Shostakovich, and flair for British music including Vaughan Williams and Bliss. After his time in Bournemouth and Helsinki he conducted all the major British orchestras as well as the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Staatskapelle Dresden and the New York Philharmonic and Cleveland Orchestras.

Recorded live at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, London on 24 November 2004 (Symphony No. 3) and 27 November 2004 (Symphony No. 5). This recording features former Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Kurt Masur, who conducted more than 150 performances in London and internationally during his tenure.

Maximilian Steinberg studied at the St Petersburg Conservatory from 1901 – simultaneously with studying natural sciences at the city’s university. At the conservatory, where he was a contemporary of Stravinsky, initially a friend, Steinberg’s teachers included Glazunov – the dedicatee of his First Symphony – and Rimsky-Korsakov. The latter took a shine to Steinberg, recognising him as a significant talent and took opportunities to further his career, to the chagrin of Stravinsky. In due course, Steinberg married Rimsky’s daughter. He remained in St Petersburg (later Leningrad) for the rest of his life, becoming director of the conservatory in 1934. Among his pupils at the conservatory was Shostakovich.

Kalevi Aho (b. 1949) has stated that his works have an "abstract plot" driving his music from behind the scenes. His series of (so far) eleven symphonies certainly testifies to this statement; each of his symphonies seems to set out from a fixed point, always to confront the impassable, and always trying to reconcile that conflict in the most poignant and personal of ways.

Solti's interpretations held more than surface excitement. In conducting Beethoven, for example, he long held that the symphonies should be played with all their repeats to maintain their structural integrity, and he carefully rethought his approach to tempo, rhythm, and balance in those works toward the end of his life. Solti began as a pianist, commencing his studies at age six and making his first public appearance at 12. When he was 13 he enrolled at Budapest's Franz Liszt Academy of Music, studying piano mainly with Dohnányi and, for a very short time, Bartók. He also took composition courses with Kodály.

Finnish composer Kalevi Aho’s Fourth Symphony (1972) contains, in its three movements, elements both typical of his early work and prophetic of things to come. The first movement’s fugal exposition reveals a continuation of that concern with musical shape and form already quite evident in Aho’s previous symphonies. His skillful use of counterpoint to convey an impression of sadness or dread echoes that great master of creepy fugue writing, Bartók. The second movement unleashes a violent whirlwind of sound very much in the spirit of Mahler’s or Shostakovich’s more nihilistic moments, and its instrumental virtuosity very much anticipates the composer’s most recent, concertante-style symphonic writing.

Kirill Petrovich Kondrashin was born on March 6, 1914, in Russia. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1936, and worked as conductor at the Maly Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Leningrad from 1936-1943. He moved to Moscow in 1943 and worked as the conductor at the Bolshoi Theatre for 16 years. In 1960 Kondrashin was appointed the Artistic Director of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. He conducted the premiere of the Symphony No. 13 "Baby Yar" by Dmitri Shostakovich and Yevgeniy Yevtushenko in 1961. He left the Soviet Union in 1975 and took a post of principal conductor of Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1979. Kondrashin is known for his numerous recordings of the music of Soviet composers for Melodiya label during the 60's and 70's.

Kirill Petrovich Kondrashin was born on March 6, 1914, in Russia. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1936, and worked as conductor at the Maly Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Leningrad from 1936-1943. He moved to Moscow in 1943 and worked as the conductor at the Bolshoi Theatre for 16 years. In 1960 Kondrashin was appointed the Artistic Director of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. He conducted the premiere of the Symphony No. 13 "Baby Yar" by Dmitri Shostakovich and Yevgeniy Yevtushenko in 1961. He left the Soviet Union in 1975 and took a post of principal conductor of Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1979. Kondrashin is known for his numerous recordings of the music of Soviet composers for Melodiya label during the 60's and 70's.