Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 - Kofman

MDG Gold 937 1209-6
Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid
Classical - Orchestral
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11
Beethoven Orchester Bonn
Roman Kofman (conductor)
Sudden Thaw
The political thaw of the Khrushchev era was short-lived, but Dmitry Shostakovich took advantage of this opening to present his view of the first Russian revolution. The events of 9 January 1905 stand at the center of his Symphony No. 11, recorded here in a dazzling performance by the Beethoven Orchestra of Bonn under the conductor Roman Kofman on Vol. 9 of MDG’s complete recording of Shostakovich’s Symphonies.
Unique Dramaturgy
Almost sixty-five minutes of absolutely breathtaking music! The four movements full of programmatic allusions and deliberate associations continue without a break. The composer constructs a system full of leitmotifs and with great skill links his themes to quotations from well-known revolutionary songs to form a unique dramaturgy.
Surround Orgy
Cold sounds characterize the lifeless face of the tsarist capital, a melancholy church hymn is heard in between, and then military signals suddenly approach from the distance. The loud beat of a drum marks the beginning of one of the most horrible death orgies in secular music – a scene depicting the massacre of the unarmed populace. More and more instruments join in the raging fugato of the strings until the horrendous whirlwind sweeps trough the whole orchestra. In the “storm bell” finale Shostakovich calls for real bells, and in the Surround version on this recording it all sounds so realistic that one believes that one is hearing the ringing of church bells.
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