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Dmitry Shostakovich
(1906 - 1975) was probably the last great Russian composer who continued
developing ideas of monothematism and the standard pattern of symphonic
cycle.
His 15 symphonies are very different, but at
the same time these monumental works can be considered movements of one
mega composition called "The Musical Annals of the 20th Century".
Shostakovich's fascination with Beethoven and Mahler determined his preferences
in many cases.
Symphony No. 8
, Op. 65, was composed in 1943 during the siege of Leningrad. The
siege lasted for a total of 900 days, from September 8, 1941, until January
27, 1944. Hundreds of thousands of defenders of the former Russian capital
were killed by invading German forces, or died from starvation. Many
corpses remained unburied for weeks. They were scattered on the streets
at the very center of the city and many of these dead bodies became the
only food for people who were still alive. The Second World War and
the communist terror were the most profound experiences of the composer.
Today his music has become popular and we can enjoy it sitting in our cozy
houses somewhere in California or Switzerland and speculate with a glass
of superb red wine about Shostakovich's involvement in communist propaganda.
Of course, this wine is not the blood of over 20 million Russians shed
on the land of many European countries to liberate them from fascism, and
the music by Shostakovich is not a Communion.
As with the Seventh Symphony, war's stern events
are imprinted with colossal, tragically generalized force in Shostakovich's
Symphony No. 8. At the same time, the Eighth Symphony carries more
intimacy; its emotional implication is presented more concretely, more
exaggerated in its genuinely tragic expression.
The First movement is so essential, that it itself
could be considered a symphony or at least a symphonic poem inside the
symphony. The musical language is very restrained, sometimes even
ascetic, which makes the impact of the music more powerful. This
work is the composer's diary, his confession. You hear his very intimate
thoughts, his innermost experiences and hopes.
The Second movement is a grotesque scherzo.
It sounds very similar to Shostakovich's first opera "The Nose".
Grotesqueness and a theater of absurdities are common artistic means to
discuss taboo subjects, for example - to portray a regime of terror or
the sick ambitions of world leaders. This tradition was inherited
by Shostakovich from Rimsky-Korsakov.
When you hear the Third movement, you understand
that Leningrad will never submit. This music, placed by the composer in
the very center of the symphony, represents its main character. The
third movement is written in the simple three-part form with a solemn march
in the middle as an anticipation of the eventual victory. The iron
will, unity and confidence are expressed in the first and the third sections
of this three-part form by a mechanical exhausting run, which builds up
to the major culmination of the symphony by the end of the third movement.
It passes attacca to the Fourth, which is an
equivalent of the slow, commonly second movement of the symphonic cycle.
Written in the ancient form of passacaglia - variations on the bass theme
ostinato - the forth movement is the lyrical climax of the symphony.
The mechanical repetitions of the third part were replaced here by the
very restrained basso ostinato.
The Major key was reserved mostly for the Finale
- the Fifth movement. This is not a military or a funeral march,
but very cheerful music, occasionally a waltz. It is an anticipation
of the post-war changes and humanism, which eventually will prevail.
The perpetum mobile and tutti texture of the
third movement coexist in the symphony with numerous solos in four other
parts. This idea of solos is developed and culminates in the coda
of the fifth movement. It symbolizes the blossoming of individualism
- a prophesy and an innermost wish by Shostakovich.
Vladimir Fedoseyev
had developed the USSR TV and Radio Large Symphony Orchestra into one
of the best Russian orchestras. He made it internationally known by touring,
before was appointed as the principal conductor of the Vienna Symphony
Orchestra in 1997.
Fedoseyev also conducts leading orchestras in
Germany (Orchester des Bayrischen Rundfunks, RSO Stuttgart, Staatsorchester
Hamburg), in France (Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique
de Radio France), in Italy, Scandinavia and in Switzerland.
The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra appointed him as their first guest conductor.
Fedoseyev lived in Leningrad during the siege.
It places his interpretation of the Eighth Symphony by Shostakovich in
a special category of personal experiences. It is remarkable that
Symphony No. 8 was dedicated to and premiered by Evgeni Mravinsky in Moscow,
in 1943. He was a musical mentor and patron of Fedoseyev. Fedoseyev's
conducting demonstrates such unique virtues as perfect ensemble and balance
in sound, discipline and perfectionist's approach. For those who
attended his concerts, they will remain etched in their memory for a lifetime.
Imagine a great Russian orchestra performing masterpieces from the
Russian repertoire under the baton of a legendary Russian conductor.
It can't get much better!
©2003 Evgeni Kostitsyn
Dmitry Shostakovich
(1906 - 1975)
Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65
- Adagio – 24:21
- Allegretto – 6:32
- Allegro non troppo – 6:28
- Largo – 8:37
- Allegretto – 12:57
Total time – 59:06
The USSR TV and Radio Large Symphony Orchestra
Conductor - Vladimir Fedoseev
cover painting "Suprematist Painting" by Malevich
Recorded live at the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on May 5, in
1985.
Recording engineer - Shakhnazarian
Cover Design by Evgeni Kostitsyn