Sunday, May 13, 2012

Shostakovich - Symphonies n.2,3 & 4 - Rozhdestvensky

Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony n.2 Op.14 "Dedication to October"
Symphony n.3 Op.20 "The First of May"
Symphony n.4 Op.43
Hamlet Suite Op.32
Ouverture to "Poor Columbus" Op.23


USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra (Symphonies)
Moscow Philarmonic Orchestra (Hamlet Suite)
Leningrad Philarmonic Orchestra (Poor Columbus)
dir. Gennady Rozhdestvensky

Melodiya Twofer 74321 63462 2


Here presented are three early symphonies of Shostakovich, together with some of the lighter music for theatrical plays and opera.
Starting with the [rarely heard] second and third symphonies (commemorating the October Revolution and The First of May) both in one movement, including choral sections and more thematic-based, to the powerful fourth (following shortly the banning in a Pravda article in 1936), with its much more pessimistic vision, brief motifs, fragmentary ideas, and looking back to Mahler in the handling of the musical materials and orchestration.

The authoritative and  precise view of Rozhdestvensky's direction (he premiered some of his symphonies in the UK) and his skill in catching the many mood's changes of these works is a guarantee  for the listener.
Enjoy!


[Flacs and Cover only, sorry but my scanner is out]

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