Shostakovich Edition

If one function of art is to make us ponder difficult questions and thus risk causing offence, there could not be a more potent example than Shostakovich’s 13th Symphony. Setting Babi Yar, Yevtushenko’s blistering denunciation of Soviet antisemitism, in the 1960s was an act of political defiance for the composer. First heard in this country in Liverpool, it is highly appropriate that it forms the conclusion and climax of the RLPO’s riveting Shostakovich cycle. The power this performance accumulates at the climaxes of the second and third movement is lacerating; the men’s choruses may not sound totally Russian, but Alexander Vinogradov is a superb bass soloist, and Vasily Petrenko is as good at gloomy introspection as he is at brittle confrontation.

Delos continues its unparalleled Russian Romances Series with Dmitri Shostakovich: Vocal Cycles of the Last Years, the second release in a five-volume series encapsulating the first complete recorded survey of the songs of the great Russian composer. Two of the five works on Vocal Cycles of the Last Years are CD premieres. The five vocal cycles presented here were written during the last decade of Shostakovich's life when ……

This is the fourth volume of the complete edition of Shostakovich Songs: The Unknown Shostakovich, which includes songs from motion pictures, Satires to Words by Sasha Chorny and the soloist-with-chorus work Anti-Formalistic Raree Show. As with the previous series offerings, Volume Four: The Unknown Shostakovich features impressive and impassioned performances by Victoria Evtodieva, Fyodor Kuznetsov, Liudmila Shkirtil and the piano and direction of Yuri Serov. Volume Four is made up of pieces that are quite varied……….

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Symphonies: Symphonies 1-3
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln / Dmitrij Kitajenko
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,80 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 832 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # SACD71-030 | Country/Year: Germany 2005
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Contemporary

"Excellent performance and sound. Powerful trombone pedal tones in ii; piano sounds very naturally placed on the stage. Excellent timpani solo in iii. Coda of iv very exciting. Better than Fedoseev's performance/recording; I haven't heard Masur's yet." ~sa-cd.net

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Symphonies: Symphonies 2-5
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln / Dmitrij Kitajenko
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,87 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,14 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # SACD71-031 | Country/Year: Germany 2005
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Contemporary

"Amazing to hear this much detail in this densely polyphonic work. Factory siren overly centered but otherwise excellent sound. The orchestra holds back a little dynamically for the choral passages." ~SA-CD.net

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Symphonies: Symphony 8
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln / Dmitrij Kitajenko
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 4,00 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,08 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # SACD71-013 | Country/Year: Germany 2004 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Contemporary

"Icy cold I. II and III are powerful. Rostropovich's recording also has great sound, and perhaps a little more character. Sanderling's stereo SA-CD is a very good performance but no competition sonically." ~SA-CD.net

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Symphonies: Symphony 10
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln / Dmitrij Kitajenko
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,23 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 985 MB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # SACD71-035 | Country/Year: Germany 2005 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Contemporary

"Beautiful, full rich string sound, and great sound overall. I is fantastic. II is slightly slower than I prefer (about 4'30"), but Kitajenko does very well with it, sustaining tension throughout. III is terrific; you can hear and feel the soft percussion toward the end. IV again has a slightly slower basic tempo than usual, but tension is sustained throughout, and the playing responsive." ~SA-CD.net

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Symphonies: Symphony 4
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln / Dmitrij Kitajenko
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,80 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,12 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # SACD71-032 | Country/Year: Germany 2005
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Contemporary

"Rapidly shifting moods in I are captured well, and with great power when needed. II is great; the central fugue has never been this clear before, and the percussion at the end is appropriately chilling. III is powerful, and eerie at the end, better than Gergiev's." ~SA-CD.net