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This new Shostakovich disc on cpo features the young Russian pianist Valentina Igoshina in enthralling and fresh performances of the two Piano Concertos. Also included is the original 1932 version of the Suite from the Incidental Music ‘Hamlet’, op.32a. Shostakovich had a deep rooted interest in this Shakespeare drama and repeatedly turned to this complex dramatization. His first such effort and the version which appears on this CD, was an incidental composition for a performance in 1932 that ended up being prohibited by the censorship authorities.
Dmitry Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 35
I. Allegro moderato
II. Lento
III. Moderato
IV. Allegro con brio
Dmitry Shostakovich: Gamlet (Hamlet), Op. 32a
I. Introduction and Night Watch
II. Funeral March
III. Flourish and Dance Music
IV. The Hunt
V. Actors' Pantomime
VI. Procession
VII. Musical Pantomime
VIII. The Banquet
IX. Ophelia's Song
X. Lullaby
XI. Requiem
XII. Tournament
XIII. The March of Fortinbras
Dmitry Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Allegro
August 2012
*****
“Engaging Concerto performances, alert to the First's mischievous wit and the Second's charming lyricism. But the real treat here is the playful account of the Hamlet suite.”
Awards Issue 2012
“Igoshina plays the two Shostakovich piano concertos with technical aplomb, an abundance of colour and spacious phrasing. But the time has long past [sic] when such solid virtues might add up to a competitive version...Skou-Larsen and the admirable musicians of the Deutscher Makkerakademie Neuss have more of a chance to show what they can do in the 1932 Hamlet Suite and acquit themselves more than decently.”
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