Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (25 September 1906 – 9 August 1975) was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated of the twentieth century, whose symphonies, chamber works and piano music remain central to the repertoire.
Shostakovich achieved early fame in the Soviet Union under the patronage of Mikhail Tukhachevsky, yet later endured a complex and often perilous relationship with the state. He nevertheless received major awards and served in the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (1947–1962) and of the USSR from 1962 until his death.
After a period shaped by Prokofiev and Stravinsky, he forged a hybrid language exemplified by the opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (1934), which set neo-classical clarity beside post-Romantic breadth. Sharp contrasts and the grotesque run through much of his output.
The orchestral catalogue includes fifteen symphonies and six concertos, typically demanding large forces. Chamber music comprises fifteen string quartets, a piano quintet, two pieces for string octet and two piano trios. For piano he wrote two solo sonatas, an early set of preludes and the later twenty-four preludes and fugues, together with operas and a substantial body of film music.
Dmitri Shostakovich is featured on the following titles
Shostakovich
Two of Shostakovich's most powerful and popular chamber works, given hair-raising performances by Australia's finest chamber ensemble.
Shostakovich & Schnittke: The Wild Russians
This CD won the inaugural ABC award for Best Australian Recording in 1993. It is a vibrant, fresh account of two major works by the Russian masters Shostakovich and Schnittke.
Compositions by Dmitri Shostakovich also appear on
Flash: Marimba Miniatures
Flash is Claire Edwardes’s second Tall Poppies recording: a warm programme of marimba miniatures drawn from her pianist beginnings and life with two young daughters, pairing new Australian works with transcribed children’s piano gems on the five-octave marimba.
Cello Rhapsody
Pereira's main strength is his passion, heard here in repertoire that ranges from the simplicity of songs to the dramatic nuance of the Hispanic rhapsodies.