Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14; Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva

by John Storgards, Elizabeth Atherton, Peter Rose, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

Overview

Both of the Shostakovich works on this album -- the Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva orchestral songs and the Symphony No. 14 -- date from the 1970s and are haunted by death, which is unsurprising inasmuch as the composer had received a raft of bad health news. The soloists are the major attractions here. The Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva are not a common work, and perhaps the highlight of the whole album is contralto Jess Dandy, in the second version of the work for contralto and chamber orchestra. She does a fine impression of the deep Russian contralto, and while it would be awkward to say that she lights up the room in music as dark as this, she has a really commanding presence. In the Symphony No. 14, which is really a cycle of songs, soprano Elizabeth Atherton has big shoes to fill, considering the premiere by Galina Vishnevskaya, the composer's favorite, but she and bass Peter Rose deliver careful, detailed performances with plenty of gravity. The performances by the BBC Philharmonic under John Storgards tend toward the dry side, emphasizing the symphony's flirtations with 12-tone technique and its small orchestra. He sets off the soloists nicely, although some will prefer a richer, more Russian approach. For Dandy's performance alone and for the superb and quite neglected Tsvetayeva songs, this well-recorded album is worth the listener's time. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	07/07/2023
Label:	Chandos
UPC:	0095115531020
Rank:	12108

Tracks

1. Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a~1. My verses. Largo
2. Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a~2. Whence all this tenderness?. Allegretto
3. Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a~3. Dialogue between Hamlet and His Conscience. Largo
4. Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a~4. No, the drum did beat. Moderato -
5. Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a~5. The Poet and the Tsar. Allegretto - Meno mosso - Moderato. Maestoso - Allegretto
6. Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a~6. To Anna Akhmatova. Largo
7. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135 in G minor for Soprano, Bass, and Chamber Orchestra~1. De profundis. Adagio
8. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135 in G minor for Soprano, Bass, and Chamber Orchestra~2. Malagueña. Allegretto -
9. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135 in G minor for Soprano, Bass, and Chamber Orchestra~3. Loreley. Allegro molto - Presto - Adagio -
10. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135 in G minor for Soprano, Bass, and Chamber Orchestra~4. The Suicide. Adagio
11. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135 in G minor for Soprano, Bass, and Chamber Orchestra~5. On watch. Allegretto - Adagio - Allegretto -
12. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135 in G minor for Soprano, Bass, and Chamber Orchestra~6. Madam, look!. Adagio -
13. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135 in G minor for Soprano, Bass, and Chamber Orchestra~7. In the Santé Prison. Adagio
14. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135 in G minor for Soprano, Bass, and Chamber Orchestra~8. The Zaporozhain Cossacks' Answer to the Sultan of Constantinople. Allegro -
15. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135 in G minor for Soprano, Bass, and Chamber Orchestra~9. O Delvig, Delvig!. Andante
16. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135 in G minor for Soprano, Bass, and Chamber Orchestra~10. The Poet's Death. Largo -
17. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135 in G minor for Soprano, Bass, and Chamber Orchestra~11. Conclusion. Moderato

Album Credits

Performance Credits

John Storgards   Primary Artist,Conductor
Peter Rose   Primary Artist,Bass (Vocal)
Elizabeth Atherton   Primary Artist,Soprano (Vocal)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Yuri Torchinsky   Orchestra Leader
Jess Dandy   Contralto (Vocal)

Technical Credits

David Fanning   Liner Notes
Anatoly Geleskul   Text Translation
Clare Park   Photography
Tamara Silman   Text Translation
Mikhail Kudinov   Text Translation
Yury Tynyanov   Text Translation
Rainer Maria Rilke   Text
Tom Bangbala   Photography
Finn S. Gundersen   Booklet Editor
Marie-Stella Paris   Liner Note Translation
Wilhelm Kuchelbecker   Text
Bettina Reinke-Welsh   Liner Note Translation
Yuri Torchinsky   Leader
Sue Shortridge   A&R
Mike George   Recording Producer
Cass Cassidy   Design,Typesetting
John Cole   Assistant Engineer
Dmitry Shostakovich   Composer
Marco Borggreve   Photography
Jonathan Cooper   Editing
Guillaume Apollinaire   Text
Federico Garcia Lorca   Text
Stephen Rinker   Engineer
Paul Cochrane   Photography
Oleg Makarov   Photography
Kiran Ridley   Photography
Richard Hannaford   Assistant Engineer
Iona Jack   Language Coach