Dmitri Shostakovich is one of the indubitably great composers of the 20th century and left works of greatness in every genre, from the symphonies to opera, film- and light music, concertos, and, of course, chamber music. This collection offers a great overview of his contributions to that genre. It features a few favorites, like Rudolf Barshai's Chamber Symphony (arranged from String Quartet No.8), String Quartet No.1, and the Piano Quintet to lesser-known gems and rarely heard works for two pianos like the tiny, witty Tarantella or his dramatic, cinematic Concertino. It is capped with Alfred Schnittke's tribute to the master, the Prelude in Memory of Dmitri Shostakovich.

Re-Release of an important item of the back catalogue. The present recording shows the highly acclaimed premiere from 2009 of the original version of Shostakovitch's opera. It represents also the debut of conductor Ingo Metzmacher at the Vienna State Opera. The opera was premiered in 1934 in Leningrad. After Stalin visited a performance in 1936 and then published a scathing review about it, colleagues and critics, who had previously approved of the opera, turned against Shostakovich. It was only about 30 years later that the piece was performed again in the Soviet Union, however, in a toned-down version under the name "Katerina Ismailova". This version was also performed internationally. The original version came to Western Europe only in 1980. The Vienna State Opera performed the original version of Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk for the first time in 2009 - that premiere is to be heard on the present album.

Classical Music

The Asasello-Quartet continues their project: their complete recording of all string quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich enters it's second phase in honor of his 50th anniversary of death in 2025. On the program are the first six quartets by Shostakovich, marking the beginning of the most significant quartet oeuvre of the 20th century. In every note, one senses the profound familiarity of this award-winning and internationally highly regarded ensemble with the shimmering and moving works of the great Russian composer: important music, brilliantly performed!

An audiophile-grade LP transfer of a 2006 hit from the Brilliant Classics catalogue: stylish and exuberant accounts of some of Shostakovich's most popular orchestral music. Shostakovich's fluency in light music, and the sharp profile of his personality in an unexpected context, can still come as a shock. Yet he always sounded like himself, no less than Prokofiev or Stravinsky did, whether writing for string quartet or jazz band. And even in these suites of sly foxtrots and waltzes, a double-edged quality emerges, at once smoochy and sinister, depending as much on the mood of the listener as the intrinsic nature of the music. From 1934, the First Jazz Suite vividly brings a smoky Soviet jazz club to the mind's eye, with it's wailing solo trumpet and parody mandolin. At the same time, the distilled invention of the three brief movements sheds light on Shostakovich's early experience as a pianist accompanying silent films - capturing a scene or at atmosphere in sound almost at will. The Second Jazz Suite - also confusingly known as the First Suite for Variety Orchestra - is a later concoction by Gerard McBurney after the score of the original, composed in 1938, was lost during the war. While the Festive Overture is well known as a riotous concert-opener, it's later companion is still a rarity, at least in concert. Shostakovich wrote the Overture on Russian and Kirghiz Folk Songs in 1963, in honour of the centenary of Kirghizia's voluntary incorporation into the Russian State. As an occasional work, solemn and ceremonial, it has been overlooked alongside the Twelfth Symphony from two years earlier, but this Ukrainian recording colours it with an authentically sharp edge and steel gleam. Reviewing the Jazz Suites on their original release, Classics Today remarked that 'The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine achieves an authentic sound - lithe rather than lush - for this music and plays with excellent ensemble. Conductor Theodore Kuchar deserves credit for making the suite consistently entertaining. The listener at least gets to hear these chips from the master's workbench in friendly performances.'

Matthias Goerne, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Mikko Franck continue their series of recordings of Shostakovich's symphonic works with baritone with the Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti (1974), and the symphonic poem October (1967). These are two very different works: the first is one of Shostakovich's most deeply personal creations and has no connection to the ideological issues of Soviet power. The second was commissioned by the Soviet authorities to glorify the 1917 Revolution and is filled with irony. Goerne is the perfect interpreter for Shostakovich's great cycle of settings of verses by Michelangelo, in which intimate moments where the voice is almost a cappella alternate with powerfully dramatic passages with full orchestra.

Santtu conducts Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 is the fifth album from Philharmonia Records. Largely interpreted as depicting Stalin's regime in Russia, the orchestra delivers tragedy, violence and gloom before the brief but triumphant finale. Conducted by Santtu-Matias Rouvali, this performance was recorded at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall in April 2024.

Leonard Slatkin recorded only a handful of Shostakovich symphonies for RCA, of which this Fourth is the finest. Indeed, it's one of the best performances of this work on disc. Slatkin's highly idiomatic reading emphasizes musical values--propulsive rhythms, piercing accents, bold colors, fully fleshed-out textures, and perfectly gauged tempos--over exaggerated emotion, and the result is a powerfully affecting performance. The opening movement launches boldly: right away the first climax, with brazen brass, generates terrific energy, and it's all captured by RCA's vivid and detailed recording (which needs to be played at high volume to get its full impact). Even more impressive is the string fugato near the end of the development, which the St. Louis strings negotiate magnificently despite Slatkin's frantic pace.

In the sardonic scherzo Shostakovich's myriad instrumental effects express themselves with uncommon clarity; the woodwinds sound especially perky here, and also in the finale's rollicking dance episodes. Indeed, the entire St. Louis Symphony turns in a virtuoso performance, equaling if not surpassing the Chicago Symphony with Previn. Of course, such perfection and polish are not the only ways to do the Shostakovich Fourth--some listeners may prefer the raw, edgy playing style of Järvi and the Scottish National Orchestra, or the near-militaristic virtuosity of the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony for Rozhdestvensky. But for an experience of sheer orchestral opulence Slatkin's version can't be beat. Available through Arkivmusic.com's on-demand service.

--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

SHOSTAKOVICH: FILM MUSIC, VOL

"Natalia Gutman has been appearing with great success for some years outsideher native Russia, but until now we have heard few of her recordings in the West. This ideal coupling of the two Shostakovich cello concertos brings fresh, clean-cut readings, totally assured and marked by many moments of poetry. Well-recorded in Watford Town Hall."

-- Edward Greenfield, Gramophone [1/1991]

SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONY NO 10

Suffice to say these are done expertly...it can be purchased safely, secure in the knowledge that much enjoyment may be had from its contents. - MusicWeb International

Pianist Martha Argerich and her friends and associates join together for a disc marked by energetic, unbuttoned playing and by the excellent selections from Dmitri Shostakovich.

Dmitri Shostakovich was one of the most prominent musical figures of the 20th century. He is renowned not only as a groundbreaking composer but also as an outstanding performer. In honor of the 40th anniversary of his passing in 2015, Warner Classics is releasing this 2-CD set of the composer playing his own music, which includes material previously unreleased on CD.

The Symphony No. 11 in G minor by Dmitri Shostakovich was written in 1957 and premiered, by the USSR Symphony Orchestra under Natan Rakhlin, on 30 October 1957. The subtitle of the symphony refers to the events of the Russian Revolution of 1905. However, the music actually reflects the Soviet invasion of Hungary, as the symphony was composed in the aftermath of the events. Shostakovich himself was quoted saying "don't forget that I wrote the symphony in the aftermath of Hungarian Uprising". The first performance given outside the Soviet Union took place in London's Royal Festival Hall on 22 January 1958 when Sir Malcolm Sargent conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The symphony was conceived as a popular piece and proved an instant success in Russia—his greatest, in fact, since the Leningrad Symphony fifteen years earlier. The work's popular success, as well as its earning him a Lenin Prize in April 1958, marked the composer's formal rehabilitation from the Zhdanov Doctrine of 1948. On this new release, the BBC Philharmonic brilliantly interprets the work under the baton of John Storgards.