Shostakovich, D.: Young Guard Suite (The) / Zoya Suite

Featuring

Walter Mnatsakanov
Belarussian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra
State Chamber Choir of the Republic of Belarus
Dmitri Shostakovich

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Composition History

The suites on this album, from the films Zoya and The Young Guard, were arranged by Levon Avtomyan, as Shostakovich's film scores were often published as suites by others.

Performer Biography

Walter Mnatsakanov, the conductor on this album, began his career in the mid-1960s and has conducted numerous operas and symphonies, working with renowned Soviet performers.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Despite the propagandist nature of much Soviet cinema, Shostakovich's film music, including the scores for Zoya and The Young Guard, maintains a remarkably high quality.

Composition History

The film The Young Guard, for which Shostakovich composed music, came under official fire and had to be revised, despite playing safe with its theme of Soviet youth's heroic wartime activities.

Historical Context

Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, an 18-year-old partisan, became a symbol of freedom-fighting youth after being tortured and hanged for her work behind German lines.

Composer Biography

Dmitri Shostakovich, the composer, wrote original scores for 34 films, though many film handbooks rarely list them all.

Historical Context

The Young Guard was a real group formed in 1942 in the German-occupied town of Krasnodon, whose ringleaders became Soviet martyrs after carrying out acts of sabotage.