Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No. 13, Op. 113 in 1962. The climax of his ‘Russian period’ and, in its scoring for bass soloist, male chorus and orchestra, among the most Mussorgskian of his works, it attracted controversy through its settings of poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko (the ‘Russian Bob Dylan’ of his day)—not least the first movement, where the poet underlines the plight of Jews in Soviet society. The other movements are no less pertinent in their observations on the relationship between society and the individual. This is the final release in Vasily Petrenko’s internationally acclaimed symphonic cycle.

This is the first orchestral release of the new SWR Symphonieorchester Stuttgart. Not without a reason one has decided to choose a symphony by Shostakovich. This live recording under the baton of the experienced conductor Eliahu Inbal shows the extraordinary level on which this orchestra operates after five years of existence. Shostakovich’s 11th Symphony focuses on the so-called “Petersburg Bloody Sunday”, which – according to the Julian calendar – took place on January 9, 1905. Just like the classical symphony the work has four movements that blend attacca into one another so as to create a continuous narrative flow. There’s no denying that the 11th Symphony is not a symphony in the classic sense but rather a symphonic poem or programme symphony. Shostakovich always needed an overriding subject for his compositions to express the “central idea” of his music.

“Increasingly, Shostakovich's music is captivating people all over the world and appealing to their deepest emotions. Almost like no other, it bears witness to a traumatic political epoch while remaining a timeless expression of existential human feeling and experience. For me personally,” said conductor Mariss Jansons, who died last year, “Shostakovich is one of the most serious and sincere composers of them all.” After the Sixth, Seventh, and Tenth Symphonies, BR-KLASSIK is now also releasing the Fifth Symphony by this important composer – performed live by the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under its long-time chief conductor Mariss Jansons. After accusations of formalism directed against Shostakovich in a critical Pravda article had forced the composer to withdraw his Fourth Symphony (it remained shelved until after Stalin's death), the Fifth, written in 1937, was a phenomenal success. It premiered on November 21, 1937 under the young conductor Yevgeny Mravinsky in the Great Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic. During the applause, which it seemed would never end, Mravinsky waved the score above his head for a good half hour - making it quite clear that the applause was for Shostakovich alone. Officially, the work was interpreted as the return of a prodigal son to the guidelines of Stalinist cultural policy. To this day the music has lost none of its fascination, and the Fifth Symphony ranks as one of Shostakovich’s best-known works.

Jean-Christophe Maillot’s inspired adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew won 3 Masques d’Ors (best choreographic show, best male dancer (Petruchio) and best female dancer (Katherine) and has toured the world to great acclaim since it was created for the Bolshoi in 2013. Now Maillot’s own Monte Carlo Ballet bring this “funny, fast-witted version” (The Guardian) to the screen, with a fresh and witty re-interpretation of the combative relationship between Katherine and Petruchio as they fight to find true love. Set against an inspired selection of some of Shostakovich’s most memorable music, this is one the finest “Shakespeare ballets” and not to be missed. "The Taming of the Shrew conveys the idea that there’s someone for everyone, irrespective of who or what you are. Who can judge a relationship with an outside eye? Love works in mysterious ways, and it isn’t for us to question it." (Jean-Christophe Maillot).

Pictures while listening to symphony no. 9: A joyful, almost boisterous opening movement. A dreamy, contemplative second followed by a sparkling presto. And then this short fourth movement, the helpless lament of a lonely bassoon, still showing signs of vitality against the stark, unbending, unison brass. A small, tormented individual under brutal state power. Nevertheless, still it laments. The dictator repeats his demand. But the bassoon does not totally lose heart. It starts the last movement with a shy, slightly mischievous dance that becomes gradually more light-hearted. Somewhere along the line, the timpani and horns give the signal to rise up, initially very softly. This is the announcement to the dictator: watch out, Stalin, this is it, now I'll make you think with pen and ink! The furious ascent peaks with a grotesque triumphal march that sounds like liberated laughter. The powerless one makes fun of the all-powerful – and then whistles in his face! Looking back, the question arises: who is the one lying as heavy as cold sheet metal in an eternal bottomless pit and who is the one who remains laughing in history? Judging by the music, by the 9th symphony Shostakovich had put the worst of times behind him. Quite different from in the 5th, but that's another story. Another story, by the way, that you can also find in this cinema.

The two "Chamber Symphonies" recorded here are in fact two of Dmitri Shostakovich's celebrated string quartets, orchestrated, with the composer's approval, by Rudolf Barshai, who as a member of the Borodin Quartet enjoyed a long collaboration with Shostakovich. A recurring element in Shostakovich’s œuvre is the use of "popular" music, such as themes reminiscent of the circus or cabaret and "Gypsy" tunes. It is also well known that Shostakovich was acquainted with, and deeply attracted to, Jewish folk music, which he described as "almost always laughter through tears" – a quality he found "close to my ideas of what music should be". The disc is part of a project called Essential Music initiated by the re:orchestra, a young and vibrant ensemble based in Rotterdam but with its members active in some of Europe’s foremost orchestras. Together with its artistic director, the Mexican-Dutch conductor Roberto Beltrán-Zavala, the ensemble regularly undertakes multidisciplinary projects attracting a rocketing audience of young people. For the present disc, the multi-instrumentalist Vasile Nedea, with a Romani background, has arranged a Russian klezmer dance, a group of folk melodies from Transylvania and Muntenia and two Romanian dances: Turceasca and Hora de la Goicea.