Constantine Orbelian, the American pianist/conductor, is the first American ever to become music director of an ensemble in Russia, leading the Moscow Chamber Orchestra.
Cultural Impact
The music for Dmitri Shostakovich's film The Gadfly was so popular that it 'overflowed the screen' and is still widely adapted today.
Compositional Technique
Dmitri Shostakovich's ballet The Golden Age uses fashionable dances like foxtrot, waltz, and galop in a satirical way, a hallmark of his style.
Composer Biography
Dmitri Shostakovich, the composer, earned his living as a pianist in movie houses while still a student, helping his family after his father's death.
Composition History
Dmitri Shostakovich composed the music for the film The Gadfly in just 10 days, during a period of personal grief after his wife's death.
Composer Biography
Dmitri Shostakovich's operetta Moscow, Cheremushki led to him meeting his third wife, Irina Antonovna Supinskaya, who worked at the publishing house preparing the score.
Historical Context
After the 1936 'Lady Macbeth' affair, when Dmitri Shostakovich's works were banned from concert halls, composing film music became his family's sole income source.
You might also enjoy...
Famous Ballet Music
Verdi: Ballet Music; Leoni: The Prayer & The Sword
Exotic Dances from the Opera
Les Ballets Russes
Stravinsky conducts Stravinsky - The Ballets
Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite, Apollon musagète & Concerto for Strings in D Major
Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite, Apollo, Concerto in D
Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet - The Three Ballet Suites
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet Suites Nos. 1-3 (Excerpts)
Hollywood Nightmares
Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps; The Firebird; Pétrouchka; Pulcinella; Jeu de cartes
Orchestral Music (Russian) - Khachaturian, A.I. / Prokofiev,S. / Glazunov, A.K. / Tchaikovsky, P.I. (Russian Adagios)
