Battle Dimensions
If there was ever a symphony that wrote world history, then it was Dimitri
Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7. The success of the "Leningrad Symphony"
was not without reason termed sensational. On this recording the Beethoven
Orchestra of Bonn presents a three-dimensional battle canvas with tanks
rolling to attack, planes taking off, and the Red Army marching to the
rescue.
You Are There
Shostakovich's musical language - penetratingly powerful, suggesting
a film soundtrack - is responsible for this immediacy and incorporates
the third dimension. It is also fascinating how such an intention is
conveyed in 2+2+2 technique.
Under Siege
On September 8, 1941, German troops closed in around Leningrad, and
the thirty-five-year-old Shostakovich, who was working madly away on
the symphony, was among those surrounded. The symphony's first performance
was held in August 1942 in Leningrad while the city was under siege.
Within the shortest time the work, thenceforth known as the "Leningrad
Symphony," became a symbol of resistance in Russia.
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World Triumph
And its fame spread around the globe, with performances throughout the
world - including sixty-four in America alone in 1942. Serge Koussevitzky
hit the nail on the head when he said, "Since Beethoven there has
been no composer who could so greatly inspire the masses."
He Has It
Roman Kofman's career got off to a dazzling start. As a violinist, he
advanced to the post of concertmaster of the Kiev Chamber Orchestra within
the shortest time, and his conducting career also developed with lightning
speed. Since 1978 he has led a conducting class as a professor at the
Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Kiev. He has been the principal conductor
of the Beethoven Orchestra of Bonn since 2003 and is a welcome guest with
all the world's major orchestras.
Dmitri Shostakovich: Complete Symphonies
Vol. 1: Symphony No. 10
DVD-Audio + CD: MDG 937 1201-5
Vol. 2.: Symphonies No. 5 + 9
DVD-Audio + CD: MDG 937 1202-5
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