Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14, Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva Elizabeth Atherton, Peter Rose, Jess Dandy, BBC Philharmonic & John Storgårds

• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a:
• 1 Shostakovich: Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a: I. My verses 04:11
• 2 Shostakovich: Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a: II. Whence all this tenderness? 03:36
• 3 Shostakovich: Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a: III. Dialogue between Hamlet and His Conscience 02:45
• 4 Shostakovich: Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a: IV. No, the drum did beat 01:35
• 5 Shostakovich: Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a: V. The Poet and the Tsar 03:01
• 6 Shostakovich: Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a: VI. To Anna Akhmatova 06:00
• Symphony No. 14 in G Minor, Op. 135:
• 7 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 in G Minor, Op. 135: I. De profundis 05:20
• 8 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 in G Minor, Op. 135: II. Malaguena 02:58
• 9 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 in G Minor, Op. 135: III. Loreley 09:24
• 10 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 in G Minor, Op. 135: IV. The Suicide 07:45
• 11 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 in G Minor, Op. 135: V. On Watch 02:59
• 12 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 in G Minor, Op. 135: VI. Madam, look! 01:54
• 13 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 in G Minor, Op. 135: VII. In the Santé Prison 09:35
• 14 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 in G Minor, Op. 135: VIII. The Zaporozhian Cossacks' Answer to the Sultan of Constantinople 02:04
• 15 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 in G Minor, Op. 135: IX. O Delvig, Delvig! 04:39
• 16 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 in G Minor, Op. 135: X. The Poet's Death 05:43
• 17 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 in G Minor, Op. 135: XI. Conclusion 01:12
• Total Runtime 01:14:41

Info for Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14, Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva

John StorgArds and the BBC Philharmonic continue their survey of Shostakovichis late symphonies with this recoding of the 14th, with Elizabeth Atherton and Peter Rose as soloists. Completed in the spring of 1969, and premiered later that year, the symphony is written for soprano, bass and small string orchestra with percussion, setting eleven linked setting of poems by four authors. Most of the poems deal with the theme of death, particularly that of unjust or early death, and indeed all four of the poets had died prematurely and / or in unnatural circumstances n Wilhelm Kuchelbecker in Siberian exile for his part in the 1825 Decembrist uprising, Federico GarcIa Lorca assassinated during the Spanish Civil War, in 1936, Rainer Maria Rilke of blood poisoning following an accident in 1926 and Guillaume Apollinaire in 1918 during the Spanish influenza pandemic. The Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva were composed in 1973, originally for contralto and piano, and subsequently arranged for chamber orchestra (the version we hear here, with Jess Dandy as soloist).

Elizabeth Atherton, soprano
Jess Dandy, contralto
Peter Rose, bass
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgards, conductor

John Storgårds
Having begun his career as a violinist, John Storgårds is one of the most remarkable Finnish conductors of his generation. He is widely recognised for his creative flair for programming and his commitment to contemporary music. Former chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (2008–15), Storgårds is artistic director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra (since 1996) and chief guest conductor of the BBC Philharmonic (since 2012) and the National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa (since 2015). He has also made guest appearances with, for example, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the orchestras of Boston, St Louis, Toronto and Cleveland. Storgårds has made numerous acclaimed recordings featuring not only standard repertoire but also rarities and contemporary music. He also appears frequently as a chamber musician and violinist at festivals, and as a violin soloist with orchestras such as the WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne. John Storgårds studied orchestral conducting, composition and violin playing in Finland – where his teachers included Esther Rautio and Jouko Ignatius – and in Israel under the legendary violinist Chaim Taub. He gained his conducting diploma from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki in 1997. He received the Finnish State Prize for Music in 2002 and the Pro Finlandia Prize in 2012.

The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (RSPO)
was founded in 1902 and has made its home in the Stockholm Concert Hall since 1926. The orchestra endeavours to reinvigorate and expand the traditional symphonic repertoire, organising an annual, internationally renowned composer festival and regularly premièring new works. It has also been noted for its pioneering efforts towards a more gender-balanced repertoire. The RSPO participates annually at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony. Sakari Oramo has been chief conductor and artistic director of the RSPO since 2008. His predecessor Alan Gilbert

led the orchestra from 2000 until 2008 and is its conductor laureate. Furthermore, Franz Welser-Möst has been awarded the title Eric Ericson Honorary Chair by the orchestra, a position that involves making annual guest appearances with the orchestra. Through successful tours and award-winning recordings the orchestra has confirmed its international standing, to the point of being called ‘one of the finest orchestras in the world’ (Die Welt).

Booklet for Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14, Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva