Shostakovich's 'Romance' from his film score for The Gadfly has become a popular 'lollipop' piece, notably used as the signature tune for the 1980s UK television drama Reilly, Ace of Spies.
Composer Biography
Dmitry Shostakovich, a prominent 20th-century Russian composer, created significant instrumental works including his cello, violin, and viola sonatas, in addition to his well-known string quartets.
Performer Biography
Maxim Fedotov, the violinist on this album, is a People's Artist of Russia and was the first violinist to give a recital on both violins left by the legendary virtuoso Niccolò Paganini.
Performer Biography
Dmitry Yablonsky, the cellist and conductor on this recording, plays a Matteo Goffriller cello made in 1690.
Composition History
The Violin Sonata was composed in 1968 as a belated 60th birthday gift for the renowned violinist David Oistrakh, after Shostakovich had delivered his Second Violin Concerto a year early.
Composition History
Shostakovich's Cello Sonata, composed in 1934, marked a return to classical formal constraints after a decade primarily devoted to stage music.
Compositional Technique
The Largo movement of Shostakovich's Violin Sonata is the last time the composer used the passacaglia form, a sequence of variations on a theme often found in the bass register, to structure an entire movement.
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