Album

While it's important to point out that nothing in this collection will be new to Shostakovich fans, this is nevertheless one of the most impressive compilations of the composer's works to be released in recent memory. Many of the performances featured in this nine-disc set have long been accepted as the authoritative interpretations of their respective works. With the exception of the composer's Symphonies, the collection includes nearly every important orchestral work that is worth a listen, with a few small exceptions—the Suite from King Lear would have made for a nice inclusion, for instance. Part of the big appeal for this set is that until now many of these performances have been out of print for some time.

The first three discs, all previously released on London, feature both the Royal Concertgebouw and the Philadelphia Orchestras, both conducted by Riccardo Chailly. The set begins light-heartedly enough, with the Jazz Suites and First Piano Concerto, and continues with the suites from his lesser-known stage music Cheryomushki and the more familiar Bolt. On the darker side, fans will appreciate the inclusion of both his 1964 film music from Hamlet as well as the earlier 1932 suite.

Previously released as two separate discs on Deutsche Grammophon, Decca includes Rudolf Barshai conducting his own powerful arrangements (sanctified by the composer) of the Third, Fourth, Eighth and Tenth string quartets. The former two are orchestrated for strings and woodwinds, the latter two for strings alone: any elucidation of the emotional power of these works, especially the Eighth (and the lesser-known Tenth) is most likely unnecessary (especially after only a brief hearing). Shostakovich's heart was truly in his chamber music.

Some of Vladimir Ashkenazy's efforts, showcased for London long ago, are also included. His spirited rendition of the propaganda-ridden choral masterpiece Song of the Forests is included, as are the mysteriously experimental Five Fragments and the more accessible Second Piano Concerto. For the Concerto, Ashkenazy confines himself to the conducting alone: Cristina Ortiz is the piano soloist.

The final two discs contain the Violin and Celli Concerti. Violinist Viktoria Mullova and conductor André Previn deliver a passionate performance of the First Violin Concerto; Gidon Kremer and Seiji Ozawa produce an energetic account of the Second. Appropriately, the composer's son Maxim, an unreserved, enthusiastic and emotional conductor, delivers both the Celli Concerti in high drama with cellist Heinrich Schiff, bringing the set to an emotionally piercing conclusion.

Although many Shostakovich fans prefer to pick and choose their favorites, that is no reason to avoid this set: there is not a performance here that is not in some way illuminating. Unfortunately, all nine discs come slotted in individual paper sleeves, an absurd way to preserve this otherwise unbeatable set. Plastic next time, please!

© C. Ryan Hill, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 9
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Jazz Suite No.1 Work Recorded 1990 7:54 Peter Masseurs Trumpet, Ronald Brautigam Piano, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
1	1.Waltz	2:36			$0.99
2	2.Polka	1:40			$0.49
3	3.Foxtrot	3:38			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Piano Concerto No.1 in C-, for piano, trumpet, and strings, Op.35 Work Recorded 1990 21:48 Peter Masseurs Trumpet, Ronald Brautigam Piano, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
4	1.Allegretto	5:35			$0.99
5	2.Lento	8:03			$1.49
6	3.Moderato	1:43			$0.49
7	4.Allegro con brio	6:27			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Jazz Suite No.2 Work Recorded 1991 23:57 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
8	1.March	3:04			$0.99
9	2.Lyric Waltz	2:34			$0.99
10	3.Dance 1	2:57			$0.99
11	4.Waltz 1	3:18			$0.99
12	5.Little Polka	2:31			$0.99
13	6.Waltz 2	3:40			$0.99
14	7.Dance 2	3:34			$0.99
15	8.Finale	2:19			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Tahiti Trot (arr. of Youman's 'Tea for Two'), Op.16 Work Recorded 1991 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
16	Tahiti Trot (arr. of Youman's 'Tea for Two'), Op.16	3:32			$0.99
CD 2 of 9
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Cherry Trees (suite from the operetta), Op.105 Work Recorded 1996 19:46 Riccardo Chailly Conductor, Philadelphia Orchestra Orchestra
1	1.A Spin through Moscow	3:31			$0.99
2	2.Waltz	5:10			$0.99
3	3.Dances: Polka. Galop	5:04			$0.99
4	4.Ballet	6:01			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer The Bolt (suite from the ballet), Op.27a Work Recorded 1996-1999 20:57 Riccardo Chailly Conductor, Philadelphia Orchestra Orchestra
5	1.Overture: Adagio. Allegro	5:21			$0.99
6	2.Bureaucrat's Dance: Allegretto	2:42			$0.99
7	3.Drayman's Dance: Moderato non troppo	1:39			$0.49
8	4.Tango: Allegro	5:25			$0.99
9	5.Intermezzo: Allegretto	3:35			$0.99
10	8.General Dance and Apotheosis	2:15			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer The Gadfly, Op.97 Work Recorded 1998 31:07 Riccardo Chailly Conductor, Philadelphia Orchestra Orchestra
11	1.Overture	2:52			$0.99
12	2.The Cliff	1:57			$0.49
13	3.Youth (Romance)	2:57			$0.99
14	4.The Slap in the Face	2:34			$0.99
15	5.Barrel Organ Waltz: Allegretto	1:06			$0.49
16	6.Contredanse	1:36			$0.49
17	7.Galop	2:13			$0.99
18	8.The Marketplace	2:34			$0.99
19	9.Escape	2:32			$0.99
20	10.Montanelli	2:10			$0.99
21	11.Finale	2:00			$0.99
22	12.The Austrians	3:18			$0.99
23	13.Gemma's Room	3:18			$0.99
CD 3 of 9
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Counterplan, Op.33 Work Recorded 1998 8:10 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
1	1.Presto	2:08			$0.99
2	2.Andante	2:55			$0.99
3	3.The Song of the Counterplan	3:07			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Alone, Op.26...Reel 1: Kuzmina in Leningrad Work Recorded 1998 5:47 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
4	5.March. The Street. Allegro	0:27			$0.49
5	7.Galop and song. How good life will be!. Allegro	3:14			$0.99
6	6.Barrel-Organ. Kuzmina waits for Sobolevsky. Andantino	1:24			$0.49
7	8.March. Allegretto	0:42			$0.49
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Alone, Op.26...Reel 3: Kuzmina arrives 'alone' in the Altai Steppes. The Altai people at work Work Recorded 1998 6:49 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
8	3.The Altai	2:56			$0.99
9	5.Kuzmina in her peasant clothes	3:53			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Alone, Op.26...Reel 5: Kuzmina teaches in the open air while the sheep are being tended Work Recorded 1998 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
10	1.The children play	2:31			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Alone, Op.26...Reel 6: Attempted murder of Kuzmina as she is abandoned in the snow Work Recorded 1998 4:56 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
11	2.A snowstorm starts to build	1:00			$0.49
12	3.Snowstorm. Presto	2:22			$0.99
13	4.Kuzmina almost freezes to death 1	1:34			$0.49
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer The Silly Little Mouse, Op.56 Work Recorded 1998 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
14	The Silly Little Mouse, Op.56	12:13			$1.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Hamlet, Op.116 Work Recorded 1998 16:54 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
15	1.Overture	2:28			$0.99
16	9.Palace Music	1:03			$0.49
17	6.The Ball	2:57			$0.99
18	6.The Ball	0:57			$0.49
19	14.In the Garden	2:16			$0.99
20	2.Military Music	0:41			$0.49
21	16.Poisoning Scene	6:32			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer The Great Citizen, Part 2, Op.55 Work Recorded 1998 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
22	Funeral march	6:49			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Sofia Perovskaya, Op.132 Work Recorded 1998 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
23	4.Waltz: Allegretto	2:31			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Pirogov, Op.76 Work Recorded 1998 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
24	4.Scherzo	2:26			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer The Gadfly, Op.97 Work Recorded 1998 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
25	3.Youth (Romance)	3:47			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Pirogov, Op.76 Work Recorded 1998 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
26	5.Finale	4:11			$0.99
CD 4 of 9
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Chamber Symphony in C-, Op.110a (arr. of String Quartet No.8) Work Recorded 1989 22:11 Rudolf Barshai Conductor, Chamber Orchestra of Europe Orchestra
1	1.Largo	4:49			$0.99
2	2.Allegro molto	3:25			$0.99
3	3.Allegretto	4:17			$0.99
4	4.Largo	5:30			$0.99
5	5.Largo	4:10			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Chamber Symphony in Ab, Op.118a (arr. of String Quartet No.10) Work Recorded 1989 26:09 Rudolf Barshai Conductor, Chamber Orchestra of Europe Orchestra
6	1.Andante	5:16			$0.99
7	2.Allegretto furioso	4:10			$0.99
8	3.Adagio	5:52			$0.99
9	4.Allegretto	10:51			$1.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Chamber Symphony in D, Op.83a (arr. of String Quartet No.4) Work Recorded 1991 26:55 Rudolf Barshai Conductor, Chamber Orchestra of Europe Orchestra
10	1.Allegretto	3:51			$0.99
11	2.Andantino	7:15			$1.49
12	3.Allegretto	5:10			$0.99
13	4.Allegretto	10:39			$1.99
CD 5 of 9
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Hamlet (suite from incidental music), Op.32a Work Recorded 1989 21:41 Neeme Järvi Conductor, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
1	1.Introduction and Night Patrol	2:30			$0.99
2	2.Funeral March	1:46			$0.49
3	3.Flourish and Dance Music	2:20			$0.99
4	4.The Hunt	1:54			$0.49
5	5.Pantomime of the Actors	1:38			$0.49
6	6.Procession	1:03			$0.49
7	7.Musical Pantomime	1:10			$0.49
8	8.Banquet	1:11			$0.49
9	9.Ophelia's Song	1:45			$0.49
10	10.Cradle Song	2:13			$0.99
11	11.Requiem	1:21			$0.49
12	12.Tounament	1:02			$0.49
13	13.Fortinbras's March	1:48			$0.49
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer The Age of Gold (suite from the ballet), Op.22a Work Recorded 1989 15:46 Neeme Järvi Conductor, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
14	1.Introduction: Allegro non troppo	3:40			$0.99
15	2.Adagio	8:05			$1.49
16	3.Polka	1:57			$0.49
17	4.Danse	2:04			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer The Bolt (suite from the ballet), Op.27a Work Recorded 1999 29:08 Neeme Järvi Conductor, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
18	1.Overture: Adagio. Allegro	5:32			$0.99
19	2.Bureaucrat's Dance: Allegretto	2:56			$0.99
20	3.Drayman's Dance: Moderato non troppo	1:32			$0.49
21	4.Tango: Allegro	5:12			$0.99
22	5.Intermezzo: Allegretto	4:36			$0.99
23	6.The Colonial Slave Girl's Dance: Andante. Presto	3:23			$0.99
24	7.The Appeaser: Andantino	2:47			$0.99
25	8.General Dance and Apotheosis	3:10			$0.99
CD 6 of 9
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Overture on Russian and Khirghiz Folksongs, Op.115 Work Recorded 1982 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Orchestra, Bernard Haitink Conductor
1	Overture on Russian and Khirghiz Folksongs, Op.115	9:41			$1.49
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer The Song of the Forests (oratorio after Dolmatovsky), for tenor, bassso, mixed and boys' chorus, and orchestra, Op.81 Work Recorded 1991 36:20 Vladimir Ashkenazy Conductor, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Mikhail Kotliarov Tenor, Nikita Storojev Bass, New London Children's Choir Chorus/Choir, Brighton Festival Chorus Chorus/Choir
2	1.When the War Ended	5:27			$0.99
3	2.We will Clothe our Homeland with Forests	2:40			$0.99
4	3.Memories of the Past	5:41			$0.99
5	4.The Pioneers Plant the Forests	1:42			$0.49
6	5.The Young Communists Go Forth	3:22			$0.99
7	6.A Walk in the Future	6:07			$0.99
8	7.Glory	11:21			$1.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Mournful-Triumphal Prelude in Memory of the Heroes of Stalingrad, Op.130 Work Recorded 1992 Vladimir Ashkenazy Conductor, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
9	Mournful-Triumphal Prelude in Memory of the Heroes of Stalingrad, Op.130	2:46			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer The Execution of Stepan Razin (cantata, after Yevtushenko), for bass, mixed chorus, and orchestra, Op.119 Work Recorded 1967 Siegfried Vogel Bass, Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Leipziger Rundfunkchor (Leipzig Radio Choir) Chorus/Choir, Herbert Kegel Conductor
10	The Execution of Stepan Razin (cantata, after Yevtushenko), for bass, mixed chorus, and orchestra, Op.119	31:26			$4.99
CD 7 of 9
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Festive Overture, Op.96 Work Recorded 1990 Vladimir Ashkenazy Conductor, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
1	Festive Overture, Op.96	5:56			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Piano Concerto No.2 in F, Op.102 Work Recorded 1989 20:01 Vladimir Ashkenazy Conductor, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
2	1.Allegro	6:59			$0.99
3	2.Andante	7:29			$1.49
4	3.Allegro	5:33			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer 5 Fragments, Op.42 Work Recorded 1987 8:52 Vladimir Ashkenazy Conductor, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
5	1.Moderato	1:05			$0.49
6	2.Andante	1:03			$0.49
7	3.Largo	2:55			$0.99
8	4.Moderato	2:08			$0.99
9	5.Allegretto	1:41			$0.49
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Chamber Symphony in F, Op.73a (arr. of String Quartet No.3) Work Recorded 1989 33:11 Rudolf Barshai Conductor, Chamber Orchestra of Europe Orchestra
10	1.Allegretto	7:41			$1.49
11	2.Moderato con moto	5:29			$0.99
12	3.Allegro non troppo	4:34			$0.99
13	4.Adagio	5:16			$0.99
14	5.Moderato	10:11			$1.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer October, Op.131 Work Recorded 1992 Vladimir Ashkenazy Conductor, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
15	October, Op.131	12:44			$1.99
CD 8 of 9
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Violin Concerto No.1 in A-, Op.77 Work Recorded 1988 33:57 André Previn Conductor, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Viktoria Mullova Violin
1	1.Nocturne: Moderato	10:56			$1.99
2	2.Scherzo: Allegro	6:29			$0.99
3	3.Passacaglia: Andante. Cadenza	11:47			$1.99
4	4.Burlesque: Allegro con brio	4:45			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Violin Concerto No.2 in C#-, Op.129 Work Recorded 1992 31:52 Seiji Ozawa Conductor, Gidon Kremer Violin, Boston Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
5	1.Moderato	13:56			$2.49
6	2.Adagio	9:33			$1.49
7	3.Adagio. Allegro	8:23			$1.49
CD 9 of 9
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Cello Concerto No.1 in Eb, Op.107 Work Recorded 1984 27:34 Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Heinrich Schiff Cello, Maxim Shostakovich Conductor
1	1.Allegretto	5:59			$0.99
2	2.Moderato	11:02			$1.99
3	3.Cadenza	6:05			$0.99
4	4.Allegro con moto	4:28			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Cello Concerto No.2 in G, Op.126 Work Recorded 1984 33:29 Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Heinrich Schiff Cello, Maxim Shostakovich Conductor
5	1.Largo	14:04			$2.49
6	2.Scherzo: Allegretto	4:06			$0.99
7	3.Allegretto	15:19			$2.49