Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15 in A major, Op. 141

Notes in Russian (cyrillic), eng, fr, ger

The second release on the Mariinsky label features Shostakovich's first and final symphonies.Valery Gergiev made award-winning recordings of Symphonies 4-9 for Philips, however he will release a complete cycle on the Mariinsky label, starting with the symphonies he has not previously recorded.

Over 45 years separate the composition of Symphonies 1 and 15 and yet both exude creativity and Shostakovich's dark wit.The First Symphony owes much to the influence of Shostakovich's Russian predecessors including Tchaikovsky and Scriabin. However it also reflects contemporary artistic life and the optimism of the early years in the Soviet Union. By contrast the final symphony is a more bitter work, drawing on many of the themes that recur throughout Shostakovich's career and yet never resorting to melodrama. Establishing its own independent label gives the Mariinsky Theatre complete artistic and financial control over its recordings. It will be able to make more recordings than was possible in the past whilst ensuring that artistic values are consistently of the highest order. It will gain the freedom to choose which repertoire it records and enable listeners around the world to enjoy exceptional performances from one of the greatest opera and ballet companies. The Mariinsky Theatre can trace its origins back to 1783 when Catherine The Great issued a decree that led to its formation. It has staged the premieres of operas by Verdi, Borodin, Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky as well as many of the great ballets including Sleeping Beauty,The Nutcracker, La Bayadère and Raimonda.The company remains committed to presenting new opera and ballet, most recently Smelkov's The Brothers Karamazov and in 2009 will premiere three new mono-operas based on works by Gogol. Under the leadership of Valery Gergiev its international reputation has blossomed with frequent touring and recordings. It recently reverted to the Mariinsky name, having previously been known more widely outside Russia by its Communist-era name of Kirov. Forthcoming releases from Mariinsky include a broad cross-section of Russian repertoire. Well-known and rarely heard music by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich will feature alongside works such as Rodion Shchedrin's opera The Enchanted Wanderer. The next title, for release in November 2009,will include overtures by Tchaikovsky.

This is the fifth disc in the PentaTone Shostakovich Symphonies cycle. To quote the Gramophone: “the Russian National Orchestra’s refinement has opened a new chapter in Russian orchestral playing.”

Solti came late in life to the music of Shostakovich, and in his introduction to the recording of the Thirteenth Symphony (reprinted in the booklet) explains the music's effect on him. These rare recordings have long been out of the catalogue, and are now issued as a 2CD set at super-budget price. Sergei Aleksashkin is the commanding bass in the Thirteenth and in the Mussorgsky songs, and Sir Anthony Hopkins intersperses Yevtushenko poems in this unique recording.