This recording is the penultimate release in Vasily Petrenko's internationally acclaimed Shostakovich symphonic cycle with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Composition History
The Symphony No. 14 was originally conceived as an oratorio but was changed to a symphony because it lacked a chorus.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Shostakovich described his Symphony No. 14 as "a great protest against death and a reminder to live one's life honestly, nobly, decently, never committing base acts."
Compositional Technique
The eleven songs of the Symphony No. 14 are settings of poems by four poets—Federico García Lorca, Guillaume Apollinaire, Wilhelm Küchelbeker, and Rainer Maria Rilke—all of whom died early or tragically.
Compositional Technique
The Symphony No. 14 is unique among Shostakovich's fifteen symphonies for having no key signature, though its outer movements tend towards G minor.
Composition History
Shostakovich dedicated his Symphony No. 14 to Benjamin Britten, returning a compliment as Britten had dedicated his opera The Prodigal Son to Shostakovich.
Performer Biography
Vasily Petrenko, the Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, was named Classical BRIT Awards Male Artist of the Year in 2010 and 2012.
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