Shostakovich: Songs; Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (2006)

performed by Aage Haugland (vocals), Anatoly Kotcherga (vocals), Carlos Alvarez (vocals), Christopher Rowland (violin), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone), Elena Zaremba (vocals), Elena Zaremba (contralto), Elisabeth Söderström (soprano), Grigory Gritziuk (vocals)
composed by Dmitry Shostakovich

One of the box sets released in commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Dmitry Shostakovich, this five-disc set of song cycles coupled with the opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District is certainly the most needful for Shostakovich collectors. After all, there were lots of other sets of the symphonies and string quartets available, but no other sets of the songs, by far the most often overlooked area of his output. Shostakovich composed few songs early in his career except the passionately pessimistic Japanese Songs, ... Read More

One of the box sets released in commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Dmitry Shostakovich, this five-disc set of song cycles coupled with the opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District is certainly the most needful for Shostakovich collectors. After all, there were lots of other sets of the symphonies and string quartets available, but no other sets of the songs, by far the most often overlooked area of his output. Shostakovich composed few songs early in his career except the passionately pessimistic Japanese Songs, Op. 21, but as his career advanced, Shostakovich turned more often to the genre as a means of self-expression as in, for example, the extravagantly emotional Pushkin Songs, Op. 46, and the extremely excruciating Jewish Songs, Op. 79a. And by the end of his career, Shostakovich was writing song cycles as often as string quartets with the deeply sensuous Blok Songs, Op. 127, followed by the achingly nostalgic Tsvetayeva Songs, Op. 143a, the extraordinarily intimate Michelangelo Songs,... Read Less