Soviet Soviet Flac (tracks) 24 Bit

John Storgards's acclaimed series of Shostakovich symphonies continues with this recording of Symphony No. 13. The BBC Philharmonic is joined by the bass-baritone Albert Dohmen and the Estonian National Male Choir. The symphony, subtitled 'Babiy Yar', caused a great deal of tension and controversy in the lead-up to its premiere, in December 1962 - not because of the music, but the poetry.

Manuscripts Don’t Burn is a famous line in Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita – the retelling of Faust, the 20th century cult novel of an artist surviving in a Totalitarian regime, the love story, the burlesque with giant, vodka drinking cats and vampiric theater administrators.

“ESSR” in the “Groove of ESSR II” stands for Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. Yet for Estonia, there was nothing really “republic” about the situation of being occupied by Soviet Russia. So escaping the oppression through music is a running theme for the Groove of ESSR compilation. Funk Embassy Recs returns with the second volume of tracks that hide meaning between lines or offer solace on the dancefloor.

Sergei Prokofiev wrote his Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100, in Soviet Russia in one month in the summer of 1944. Fourteen years had passed since Prokofiev wrote the first version of his Symphony No. 4 in C major. World War II was still raging during the symphony's gestation, and Prokofiev composed it in the Soviet Union. He gave out in a statement at the time that he intended it as "a hymn to free and happy Man, to his mighty powers, his pure and noble spirit." He added "I cannot say that I deliberately chose this theme. It was born in me and clamoured for expression. The music matured within me. It filled my soul.

The early 20th century saw the Ukrainian region suffer considerable political instability and oppression. Following the long and bitterly fought war of independence (1917 to 1921), the Soviet government introduced a new policy of korenizatsiya (‘putting down roots’) which allowed the Soviet republics much greater freedom. This resulted in a vibrant yet short-lived cultural renaissance, and the emergence of a new generation of artists, writers, and musicians who drew variously on Eastern and Western models while looking to their national heritage.

The ARC Ensemble (Artists of The Royal Conservatory) is among Canada’s most distinguished cultural ambassadors. It focuses on researching and recovering music suppressed under the totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century and marginalised thereafter.

Cellist Ani Aznavoorian and pianist Marta Aznavoorian, each a renowned soloist and chamber musician in her own right, together celebrate the sounds of their ancestral homeland on Gems from Armenia.

Emil Grigoryevich Gilels[a] (19 October 1916 – 14 October 1985) was a Russian pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time.

Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter was a Soviet and Russian classical pianist. He is regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, and has been praised for the "depth of his interpretations, his virtuoso technique, and his vast repertoire".

For decades now, Elisabeth Leonskaja has been among the most celebrated pianists of our time. In a world dominated by the media, Elisabeth Leonskaja has remained true to herself and to her music, and in doing so, is following in the footsteps of the great Russian musicians of the Soviet era, such as David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels, who never wavered in their focus on the quintessence of music despite working in a very difficult political environment.