Shostakovich: The Gadfly; Five Days - Five Nights (Suites)
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Canadian Music Store Free Music Notes for Shostakovich: The Gadfly; Five Days - Five Nights (Suites)Free Music Review: What a pleasant surprise!It is always a very pleasant surprise to have one's expectations so notably exceeded. As to the composer, I confess to being a great fan of Shostakovich and here, he seized upon a little known and tragic story ("The Gadfly," by E.L. Voynich) which renders a first-rate account of people in revolution and a society in upheaval -- and the music that Shostakovich composed for the film in this instance is just that: revolutionary. I believe that he composed nothing finer in all his filmscores. This achievement is historic and the "Introduction (Prelude, track 7)" may, in fact, just be the finest piece of melodic Classical Music ever written. It has that perfect astonishing Russian blend of Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Balakirev, Stravinsky and maybe even a little of Rachmaninoff! And that comment leads me to the rendition itself - I was astonished as to what a fine job the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (Theodore Kuchar, conducting) did with this work. It is an historic achievement and I was very pleased at the quality of the sound on this CD (it's a DDD recording from 1995 at Kiev). The "Suite from Five Days -- Five Nights" (the second composition on this CD) is also a fine work and a perfect complement to "The Gadfly." My only reccommendation beyond what I have said so far would be to read the book as you listen to this recording which lends considerable enhancement to both media. |
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