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Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11 / Rozhdestvensky, Orchestras of the BBC
ICA Classics

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11 / Rozhdestvensky, Orchestras of the BBC

$26.99

Details

Composer
Dmitri Shostakovich
Artist
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky
Format
CD
Label
ICA Classics
Released
Sep 23, 2022
Catalog #
ICAC5169
UPC
5060244551695

About

Gennady Rozhdestvensky (1931-2018) was one of Russia’s greatest conductors along with Evgeny Mravinsky and Kirill Kondrashin. His close personal and musical relationship with Shostakovich began in the 1950s and continued until the composer’s death in 1975. Rozhdestvensky said at the time, ‘It would be difficult to overestimate the significance of my relations with Dmitri Shostakovich since he opened before me a musical universe like a gigantic magnifying glass reflecting our fragile world’.

Rozhdestvensky conducted the first western premiere of Shostakovich’s Symphony No.4 in Edinburgh in 1962 and after many subsequent performances internationally, it was also the inaugural piece in his tenure as chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1979-81). Composed in 1936 but condemned by the Soviet authorities, it did not receive its first performance until 1961 in Moscow. The epic Symphony No.11, given a dramatic performance by the BBC Philharmonic in 1997, is based on revolutionary folksongs relating to the 1905 Russian Revolution, and received the Lenin Prize in 1958. Despite this, questions arose as to whether Shostakovich was denouncing the Soviet regime’s brutal treatment of its opponents in it, specifically the 1956 invasion of Hungary or the Tsarist tyranny and oppression of 1905, to which there are no conclusive answers.

Tracklist 7 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 I. Allegretto poco moderato - Presto 26:29
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegretto poco moderato - Presto
    Duration
    26:29
    Composer
    Dmitri Shostakovich
    Ensemble
    BBC Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Gennady Rozhdestvensky
  3. 2 II. Moderato con moto 08:56
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Moderato con moto
    Duration
    08:56
    Composer
    Dmitri Shostakovich
    Ensemble
    BBC Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Gennady Rozhdestvensky
  4. 3 III. Largo - Allegro 26:32
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Largo - Allegro
    Duration
    26:32
    Composer
    Dmitri Shostakovich
    Ensemble
    BBC Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Gennady Rozhdestvensky
  5. Disc 2
  6. 1 I. The Palace Square 17:03
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. The Palace Square
    Duration
    17:03
    Composer
    Dmitri Shostakovich
    Ensemble
    BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Gennady Rozhdestvensky
  7. 2 II. The 9th of January 22:10
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. The 9th of January
    Duration
    22:10
    Composer
    Dmitri Shostakovich
    Ensemble
    BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Gennady Rozhdestvensky
  8. 3 III. In Memoriam 09:00
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. In Memoriam
    Duration
    09:00
    Composer
    Dmitri Shostakovich
    Ensemble
    BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Gennady Rozhdestvensky
  9. 4 IV. The Tocsin 15:35
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. The Tocsin
    Duration
    15:35
    Composer
    Dmitri Shostakovich
    Ensemble
    BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Gennady Rozhdestvensky