Album

Let's say you don't know a thing about Dmitry Shostakovich, but you've heard people say he was the greatest composer of the 20th century and you're curious to find out what all the fuss is about. Where should you start? Should you start with the Fifth Symphony or the Tenth Symphony, with the Eighth Quartet or the Fifteenth Quartet, with Laurel Faye's "Shostakovich: A Life" or Elizabeth Wilson's "Shostakovich: A Life Remembered?" Or should you start with this package called "Dmitry Shostakovich—A Portrait." Musically, it's got two discs of excerpts from many of symphonies and string quartets plus several of his ballets, a few of his film scores and a handful of his piano works. Some of the performances are absolutely first-rate—the Éder Quartet's razor-wire quartets are arguably be the finest non-Russian recordings of the works—some of the performances are more or less third-rate—Ladislav Slovák and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra's lumpy symphonies are more than adequate but less than thrilling—and some of the performances are just this side of definitive—Shostakovich's performances of the first and last of his Preludes and Fugues for piano are almost unbearably poignant and overwhelming dramatic. But, as important as the recordings, it's got an excellent 78 page biography of the composer which is fair, balanced and extremely enthusiastic. The book will give you a good idea of what all the fuss is about and the excerpts will give you a good idea of where to go next. Plus, the discs include a minute long radio address from 1941 by Shostakovich himself—a wonderful bonus even for those who already know the composer's music and his biography.



© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 2
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op.87 Work Recorded 1951 Dmitri Shostakovich Piano
1	1.Prelude and Fugue No.1 in C	4:46			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer 3 Danses fantastiques, Op.5 Work Konstantin Scherbakov Piano
2	3.Polka: Allegretto	1:07			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Symphony No.1 in F-, Op.10 Work Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic Chorus Chorus/Choir, Ladislav Slovak Conductor
3	1.Allegretto. Allegro non troppo	8:11			$1.49
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer The Age of Gold (suite from the ballet), Op.22a Work New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Christopher Lyndon-Gee Conductor
4	2.Adagio	9:07			$1.49
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer The Bolt (suite from the ballet), Op.27a Work Dmitry Yablonsky Conductor, Russian State Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
5	8.General Dance and Apotheosis	3:25			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer 24 Preludes, Op.34 Work Konstantin Scherbakov Piano
6	14.Adagio in Eb ('Zoya Prelude')	2:12			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Symphony No.4 in C-, Op.43 Work Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava Orchestra, Ladislav Slovak Conductor
7	2.Moderato con moto	8:42			$1.49
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Symphony No.5 in D-, Op.47 Work Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava Orchestra, Ladislav Slovak Conductor
8	4.Allegro non troppo	11:29			$1.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Piano Quintet in G-, Op.57 Work Vermeer Quartet String Quartet, Boris Berman Piano
9	3.Scherzo	3:23			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Symphony No.8 in C-, Op.65 ('Stalingrad') Work Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava Orchestra, Ladislav Slovak Conductor
10	3.Allegro non troppo	6:42			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Piano Trio No.2 in E-, Op.67 Work Stockholm Arts Trio Ensemble
11	2.Allegro con brio	2:55			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Symphony No.9 in Eb, Op.70 Work Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava Orchestra, Ladislav Slovak Conductor
12	1.Allegro	5:16			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Violin Concerto No.1 in A-, Op.77 (published as Op.99) Work Ilya Kaler Violin, Antoni Wit Conductor, National Symphony Orchestra of Polish Radio and Television Orchestra
13	3.Passacaglia: Andante...Cadenza	9:57			$1.49
Spoken Word (No Composer) Composer Excerpt from a radio address by Shostakovich Work Recorded 1941 Dmitri Shostakovich Speech
14	Excerpt from a radio address by Shostakovich	0:53			$0.99
CD 2 of 2
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op.87...13.Prelude and Fugue No.13 in F# Work Dmitri Shostakovich Piano, Konstantin Scherbakov Piano
1	1.Prelude	1:55			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Symphony No.10 in E-, Op.93 Work Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava Orchestra, Ladislav Slovak Conductor
2	4.Andante. Allegro	13:26			$2.49
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer The Gadfly, Op.97 Work Theodore Kuchar Conductor, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine Orchestra
3	3.Youth (Romance)	2:42			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Piano Concerto No.2 in F, Op.102 Work New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Christopher Lyndon-Gee Conductor, Michael Houston Piano
4	2.Andante	6:38			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer String Quartet No.8 in C-, Op.110 Work Eder Quartet Ensemble
5	5.Largo	3:43			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Symphony No.13 in Bb-, Op.113 ('Babi Yar') Work Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic Chorus Chorus/Choir, Peter Mikulas Bass, Ladislav Slovak Conductor
6	2.Allegretto: Humour	7:37			$1.49
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Hamlet, Op.116 Work Russian Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Dmitry Yablonsky Conductor
7	4.The Palace Ball	3:39			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer String Quartet No.12 in Db, Op.133 Work Eder Quartet Ensemble
8	1.Moderato. Allegretto. Moderato. Allegretto. Moderato	6:37			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Symphony No.14, for soprano, bass, string orchestra, and percussion, Op.135 Work Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava Orchestra, Peter Mikulas Bass, Ladislav Slovak Conductor
9	9.O Delvig, Delvig!: Andante	4:49			$0.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Symphony No.15 in A, Op.141 Work Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava Orchestra, Ladislav Slovak Conductor
10	1.Allegretto	8:24			$1.49
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Viola Sonata, Op.147 Work Annette Bartholdy Viola, Julius Drake Piano
11	1.Moderato	11:13			$1.99
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op.87...24.Prelude and Fugue No.24 in D- Work Recorded 1952 Dmitri Shostakovich Piano
12	2.Fugue	7:27			$1.49