Shostakovich: Suite From Katerina Izmailova / Ballet Suites Nos. 1-5 / Festive Overture

Featuring

Neeme Järvi
Timothy Walden
John Gracie
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Dmitri Shostakovich

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Shostakovich, as a young man, believed his music should serve the socialist state, stating, "I am a Soviet composer, and I see our epoch as something heroic."

Composer Biography

Dmitri Shostakovich, the composer, wrote most of the music on this album before he was thirty years old.

Performer Biography

Neeme Järvi, the conductor on this recording, is one of today's busiest conductors, with over 350 discs in his distinguished discography.

Composition History

The ballet The Limpid Stream, from which many movements in these suites are drawn, was also banned in 1936 after Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District fell out of favor.

Historical Context

Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District was condemned in a Pravda editorial after Stalin attended a performance in 1936, which "changed his whole existence."

Compositional Technique

The Suite from 'Katerina Ismailova' (Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District) consists of entr'actes that contribute to the dramatic momentum with an almost cinematic quality.