IDAGIO | Shostakovich: Suite on Poems by Michelangelo Buonarroti, Op. 145 - Liszt: 3 Sonetti di Petrarca, S. 270a 761195127728

Featuring

Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Ivari Ilja
Dmitri Shostakovich
Franz Liszt

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Compositional Technique

Shostakovich's late works, including this Suite, feature sparseness and economy of instrumental writing, partly due to the composer's advanced arthritis.

Composer Biography

Franz Liszt, known for his piano works and symphonic poems, wrote the Tre sonetti del Petrarca after spending time in Italy with Marie d'Agoult, where they read Dante and Petrarch.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded at the Moscow State Conservatory, Great Hall, across several dates in July 2012 and September 2014.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Shostakovich himself regarded his Suite on Poems by Michelangelo Buonarroti as his last symphony, paying homage to his musical roots, particularly Modest Mussorgsky's declamatory vocal writing.

Composer Biography

Dmitri Shostakovich, the composer of the Suite on Poems by Michelangelo Buonarroti, was diagnosed with cancer in late 1973 and suffered from a serious heart condition since 1966, influencing his late works.

Composition History

Shostakovich was inspired to write the Suite on Poems by Michelangelo Buonarroti partly because 1975 marked the 500th anniversary of Michelangelo's birth.

Performer Biography

Dmitri Hvorostovsky, a leading baritone, won the prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 1989 and was the first opera singer to give a solo concert with orchestra and chorus on Red Square in Moscow.