| Disk 1 - 68.45 m:s
Khachaturian: - Triumful Poem Ippolitov-Ivanov: - Caucasian Sketches (complete) Khachaturian: - Symphony #3 |
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| Ippolitov-Ivanov gives us a bit of a link to the past, since his "Caucasian Sketches" dates from 1896. It's somewhat fitting that the CD had his work with that of Khachaturian, since the latter composer has Caucasian roots, being ethnically Armenian. | |||
| Disk 2 - 60:56 m:s
Prokofiev: - Semyon Kotko (a True Son of the Revolution) Symphonic Suite from the opera Prokofiev: - The Gambler Four portraits from the opera |
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| Disk 3 - 49:54 m:s
Shostakovich: - The Song of the Forests Shostakovich: - The Sun Shines Over the Motherland |
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| With Prokofiev's "Semyon Kotko , a True Son of the Revolution," we moved into the era of the arts being subjugated to the Soviet state. Though Shostakovich wrote many works vastly superior to "The Song of the Forests" and "The Sun Shines Over the Motherland," I chose these two choral works because they represent the nadir of this trend. In the first piece Shostakovich even hailed Stalin as "the great gardener" of Russia. | |||
| Disk 4 - 67:11 m:s
Sviridov: - Five Choruses to Lyrics by Russian Poets Sviridov: - Poem in Memory of Sergei Esenin |
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| Sviridov's "Poem in Memory of Sergei Esenin" is noteworthy particularly because Esenin's poetry was banned by both Stalin and Kruschev. Esenin was moody, alcoholic, bisexual, and married five times in his short life. He killed himself when he was about 30. One of his brief marriages was to the American dancer, Isadora Duncan. She knew practically no Russian, and Esenin knew little English. Their brief marriage was a matter of biology and chemistry. Esenins' dissolute life didn't fit the prudishness of the Soviet state. | |||
| Disk 5 - 66:49 m:s
Shchedrin: - Piano Concerto #1 Shchedrin: - Piano Concerto #2 Shchedrin: - Piano Concerto #3 |
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| Shchedrin is still with us. Thus, i put his work at the end of the evening. | |||
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Aram Khachaturian (1903 - 1978)
Michail Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859 - 1935) Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) |
Dimitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975)
Georgy Sviridov (1915 - 1998) Rodion Shchedrin (1932 - ) |