Composer: Alexander Mosolov, Dmitri Shostakovich
Orchestra: Symphonieorchester der Bayerischen Rundfunks
Conductor: Mariss Jansons
Number of Discs: 4
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: BR Klassik
Catalogue: 900929
Release: 2022
Size: 2.67 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
Shostakovich Doppeltes Spiel
01. No. 1, Roter Oktober
02. No. 2, Die wilden Zwanziger
03. No. 3, Das goldene Zeitalter
CD 02
01. No. 4, Stalin geht in die Oper
02. No. 5, Frieden und Krieg
03. No. 6, Volksfeindliche Tendenzen
CD 03
01. No. 7, Die Fratze Stalins
02. No. 8, Tauwetter
03. No. 9, Held der sozialistischen Arbeit
CD 04
01. No. 10, Der Lauf der Zeit
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
02. I. Moderato – Allegro non troppo
03. II. Allegretto
04. III. Largo
05. IV. Allegro non troppo
For the first time, the successful series of BR-KLASSIK audio biographies is devoting itself to a 20th-century composer: Dmitri Shostakovich. His symphonies are still highlights in the concert hall, and his fate has inspired great novels. But what do we really know about his life? He liked to play his cards close to his chest – and had good reason to do so…
Dmitri Shostakovich himself claimed that his life was “rather grey and colorless”. In reality, it was the most exciting composer’s life of the 20th century. Revolution and civil war, Stalin’s murderous terror, then the Second World War, the “thaw” under Khrushchev and finally Brezhnev’s brutalist socialism: the whole tragic history of the Soviet Union runs like a thread through his work. As a functionary who seemed to be loyal to the party line, he played along – but his music spoke against the regime and in favor of its victims and of the freedom of art.
“This is a game that can end badly,” Stalin threatened, probably in person. Shostakovich was thus obliged to fight his own fears as well. He was playing a double game – and knew it was dangerous. This audio biography draws on many sources, some of them still little-known in Germany. The result is a comprehensive, colorful and detailed picture of the composer’s life, and contains several surprises – also with regard to his private life, which should not pale behind the historical panorama. Like every great composer, Shostakovich had his crises and affairs, his great sufferings and small joys.