It's time to talk about Shostakovich, a 20th century composer who cannot be overlooked. I heard his 5th symphony when I was young and have always had it on vinyl, but not a great performance. I did not venture further until Dudamel had a Shostakovich year, and I heard his tenth and twelfth, I think. They were too complicated to really register. I was reading Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" a few years ago. In the book he talked about two people staying up all night to discuss Shostakovich's 7th Symphony. So, I have been listening to it since. I posted a youtube video of the piece. It's very long, and if you haven't heard it, just listen to the first movement. @frogman stresses rhythm in music, and I think Shostakovich was deeply into rhythm.
Let's talk music, no genre boundaries
This is an offshoot of the jazz thread. I and others found that we could not talk about jazz without discussing other musical genres, as well as the philosophy of music. So, this is a thread in which people can suggest good music of all genres, and spout off your feelings about music itself.
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For me the essence of Shostakovich soul as a musician are his Bach inspired preludes &fugues by Tatiana Nikolaeva...
She was a friend of Shostakovich and a giant pianist in Russia but almost unknown in the West... His playing flow from the source without any ego interference and the Bach majestic inspiration behind Shostakovich appear and makes him a brother of the German God... As anecdote Shostakovich feared so much Stalin, unlike Maria Yudina who scorned Stalin in his face about his great sins and refuse his money, that he waited sleep each night with a minimalistic luggage waiting under hisw bed in case he was deported in the Gulag... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyURjdnYQaU&list=PLiMumVBefK9IpPgqVqyJ33E4IDGiTK_-U
As an aside, Russian music is so badly known in the West , that the best bio of Scriabin (690 pages) written by an American musician who lived in Russia in 1969 , Faubion Bowers, dont even mention in his first chapter about the history of Russian Music the name of the stupendous genius Dmitry Bortnyansky (1751-1825) one of the greatest choral music composer not only in Russia but everywhere, Faubion Bowers begin speaking about Glinka...But nowadays after the stupendous recording of the Choral concertos by Poliansky it is a marvel to hear it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54VRvokl77Y&list=PLDML4XZqb7ZHN3VNnLwu__rtYZy8bWfPG
The West ignore Russia...
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Here the goddess Nikolaeva pianist concert : Listen his Ravel and his Scriabin, no ego only music : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6liIhgiSDQ&list=RDV6liIhgiSDQ&start_radio=1
Listen how she played Bach : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pKgAy7SQkE&list=RD_pKgAy7SQkE&start_radio=1
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- 660 posts total