Shostakovich: The New Babylon

Featuring

Mark Fitz-Gerald
Basel Sinfonietta
Dmitri Shostakovich

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Critical Reception

The premiere of New Babylon was a scandal, with the music deemed unplayable and 'non-cinematic' by its first conductor, leading to its withdrawal after only a few performances.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Shostakovich's score for New Babylon was designed to counterpoint rather than illustrate the film's imagery, linking with the inner meaning rather than external action.

Instruments

Shostakovich's score for New Babylon calls for the use of a flexatone, a rare percussion instrument popular in 1920s variety shows, often used to depict characters in a state of delirium.

Composition History

Shostakovich composed the music for the film New Babylon in late 1928, with a tight deadline to deliver the piano score by February 1st and the full score by March 1st, 1929.

Compositional Technique

The score for New Babylon features a striking counterpoint of the French national anthem 'La Marseillaise' and the 'Can-can' from Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, reminiscent of a passage in Dostoevsky's The Devils.

Recording & Production

The original score for New Babylon was considered lost for over 45 years until a complete set of parts was found in the Lenin library in Moscow after Shostakovich's death in 1975.