Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 Babi Yar
Shipping time: In stock | Expected delivery 1-2 days | Free UK Delivery
Shostakovich wrote his
Symphony No. 13, Op. 113 in 1962. The climax of his 'Russian period' and, in its scoring for bass soloist, male chorus and orchestra, among the most Mussorgskian of his works, it attracted controversy through its settings of poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko (the 'Russian Bob Dylan' of his day) not least the first movement, where the poet underlines the plight of Jews in Soviet society. The other movements are no less pertinent in their observations on the relationship between society and the individual. This is the final release in
Vasily Petrenko's internationally acclaimed symphonic cycle.
The Thirteenth Symphony is an emotionally wide ranging work, and one of the last in which Shostakovich placed himself squarely in the public arena. Petrenko's cycle has thus far received huge international acclaim, winning accolades from
The Sunday Times,
Gramophone,
IRR,Fanfare,
BBC Music Magazine etc. There are numerous important recordings of the piece, including several of the early performances by Kondrashin that have been released on disc. A more recent classic is that by Haitink, released in 1986 and likewise the final instalment of his Shostakovich cycle, while at full price there are recordings by Wigglesworth and Jansons among others. Barshai's account remains available as a budget-price disc on Regis, but with inadequate documentation.