Shostakovich: Ballet Suites Nos. 1-4

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Cat No: 8557208

Release Date: 01 August 2004

Label: Naxos / Naxos Classics

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 747313220823

Genres: Classical

Composer/Series: SHOSTAKOVICH

Description
Dmitry SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)Ballet Suites Nos. 1-4Although the symphonies, string quartets and concertosrepresent the core of his achievement, Shostakovichevinced sympathies right across the musical spectrum:hence his oft-repeated comment that he enjoyed allmusic from Bach to Offenbach. Moreover, the revival inrecent years of such works as his 1958 musicalMoscow-Cheryomushki attests to a composer whoentered into the spirit of 'light music' with enjoymentand enthusiasm. Certainly the music on this disc willcome as a surprise to those who know Shostakovichonly as a 'serious' composer in the Beethoven tradition.The four Ballet Suites occupy an equivocal positionin Shostakovich's output. The Zhdanov Decree, issuedby Minister of Culture Andrey Zhdanov as a directivefrom Stalin in January 1948, castigated Shostakovich,along with a number of leading Soviet composers, for'formalist perversions' such as made their musicunsuitable for the edification of the Soviet people. Fromthen until Stalin's death in March 1953, Shostakovichwrote 'serious' music strictly for the desk drawer andoccasional private performance. His public presencewas denoted by a stream of film scores and patrioticpieces - never less than expertly crafted, but offeringlittle or no indication of where his musical instinctstruly lay.It is from this perspective that the Ballet Suitesshould be assessed: light music, seemingly incapable ofcausing offence, which made ideal material for radiobroadcasts and promotion through 'approved' Sovietoutlets. Editing was carried out by Lev Atovmyan(1901-1973), Shostakovich's amanuensis over manyyears, who also arranged suites from a number of thecomposer's film scores and official compositions. Thatthe constituent pieces were extracted mainly fromballets proscribed under the dictates of SocialistRealism was an irony of which those in charge werequite likely unaware.Eleven of the 21 numbers here are taken from theballet The Limpid Stream: actually the name of acollective farm, where a musicians' collective entertainsthe farm-workers in a succession of dance routines,held together by the flimsiest of plots, that ought to havebeen a sure-fire success. Its premi?¿re in Leningradduring June 1935, followed by a Moscow staging thatNovember, had indeed attracted favourable notices, butthe falling-away of Shostakovich's reputation,following Pravda's denunciation of the opera LadyMacbeth of Mtsensk in January 1936, put paid to furtherproductions.That this ballet was ideally suited to therequirements of 'light music' is evident in Ballet SuiteNo. 1 (1950). After a moody Lyric Waltz taken fromJazz Suite No. 1 (Naxos 8.555949) and more fullyorchestrated, there follow three numbers from TheLimpid Stream: a Dance faintly reminiscent of thescherzo from Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony; ahalting, wistful Romance delicately scored forwoodwind and upper strings, and a lively Polka of thetype to which Shostakovich had recourse frequentlyover the years. Next comes an insoucia
Tracklisting