Shostakovich, D.: Symphony No. 15 / Tchaikovsky, B.: Theme and 8 Variations (K. Kondrashin) (Staatskapelle Dresden Edition, Vol. 15)

Featuring

Kirill Kondrashin
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Dmitri Shostakovich
Boris Tchaikovsky

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Performer Biography

Kyrill Kondrashin was a close friend of Dmitry Shostakovich, whose Symphonies nos. 4, 12, and 13 he premiered in the Soviet Union.

Notable Performances

In 1963, Kyrill Kondrashin chose the Staatskapelle Dresden to present the first performance outside the Soviet Union of Shostakovich's long-shelved Fourth Symphony.

Compositional Technique

Shostakovich's Fifteenth Symphony, his last, returns to a Classical four-movement form and includes quotations from Rossini's 'William Tell' Overture and Wagner's 'Valkyrie' and 'Tristan' Prelude.

Historical Context

The concert was also dedicated to the fiftieth anniversary of the naming of Leningrad and the thirtieth anniversary of its liberation from the fascist siege.

Historical Context

This concert, featuring Shostakovich's Fifteenth Symphony, was part of the Staatskapelle Dresden's 425th-anniversary celebrations in 1973/74.

Performer Biography

Kyrill Kondrashin, the conductor, was born in Moscow in 1914 and directed the Moscow Philharmonic from 1960 to 1976.

Composition History

Shostakovich composed his Fifteenth Symphony in the summer of 1971, two years before this performance, while already suffering from a serious illness.