Shostakovich, D.: Girl Friends / Rule, Britannia / Salute To Spain

Featuring

Mark Fitz-Gerald
Agnieszka Bochenek-Osiecka
Aleksandra Poniszowska
Elżbieta Starczynowska
Sabina Myrczek
Adam Myrczek

Celia Sheen
Kamil Barczewski
Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia NOSPR
Camerata Silesia
Dmitri Shostakovich

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Recording & Production

This album features four world premiere recordings, including newly reconstructed film and stage music by Shostakovich, and an unfinished symphonic movement.

Performer Biography

Celia Sheen, the thereminist on this album, is known for her performances on the soundtrack of the television series Midsomer Murders.

Composer Biography

Shostakovich composed thirteen scores for the theatre, with the first eight written in his twenties, providing a steady source of income and creative stimulus.

Instruments

The theremin, featured on this recording, was the world's first electronic instrument, invented by Russian scientist Professor Leon Theremin in 1920, and is played without being touched.

Recording & Production

The Symphonic Movement manuscript, scored for huge orchestra, was discovered in 2003 by Olga Digonskaya in the Shostakovich Archive in Moscow.

Composition History

The unfinished Symphonic Movement was originally conceived as the first movement of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 9, but was discarded and replaced by a completely different work.

Recording & Production

The music for the film The Girlfriends was reconstructed from various original sources, including the 1934 soundtrack and recently discovered preludes.