Shostakovich - The Fall of Berlin; The UnforgettableYear 1919

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Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0747313023875 Label: Naxos Manufacturer: Naxos Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Naxos Release Date: 2006-07-31 Running Time: 75 Studio: Naxos
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Soviet-Realist Shostakovich still satisfies Comment: This disc is a re-issue of a previous Marco Polo release and will no doubt reach a wider following in its bargain-price niche. Any understanding of Shostakovich as a composer has to take into account his film music, which comprised a considerable swathe of his output from 1929-1970.He appears to have had an ambivalent attitude towards this work: no doubt his artistic instincts baulked at having to produce heroic soviet propaganda music, yet at the same time he noted that the discipline of producing film scores to an exacting timescale, together with the opportunities it afforded to experiment in orchestration sharpened his compositional skills and directly influenced his symphonic music. What we have on this disc is the more-or-less complete score for 'The Fall of Berlin', together with the extended film suite from 'The Unforgettable Year 1919': the former composed under Stalinist strictures, idolising the 'great leader', the latter one of his first scores after the dictator's death. The score for 'The Fall of Berlin' has been carefully reconstructed by the swiss conductor Adriano (I generally distrust any musician who decides they wish to be known by one name, but he stands or falls by his work, and I can't quibble here). The music was published shortly after release, but arrangents by other hands of various sections have now been restored to their original condition. What we have here is the complete score apart from any interpolations by other composers which were used in the the film. If you're expecting deeply significant music on a par with, for example, the Eight Symphony, you're in for disappointment: however, if you take on board that this is bright shiny music intended to stir the spirits of soviet film-goers you will find that it fulfils its brief admirably. It doesn't take its task too seriously either- a military march used in the film for a presentation to Hitler is a perfectly encapsulated drop of deflating musical pastiche. Similarly, the suite from 'The Unforgetttable Year 1919' shows craftsmanship of a high order: this isn't 'intellectual' music but, as is required, immediately and attractively communicative.It even contains a 'mini-concerto'for piano and orchestra, with more than a nod towards Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto: This has achieved an independent concert life, with a slightly different ending, as 'The Assault on Beautiful Gorky' but it's good to hear'The Assault on the Red Hill'in its intended musical context. Thoroughly enjoyable music. The Moscow Symphony Orchestra plays with conviction, and this release is a welcome addition to the recorded repertoire. More Reviews