The Day Shostakovich Died
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32 Letter Scene from Eugene Oneigin Galina Vishnevskaya, soprano DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47 The Boston Symphony Orchestra MSTISLAV ROSTROPOVICH, conductor Recorded Berkshire Music Festival, Lenox, MA 09 August 1975 rp
The Gnome and I would like to offer this little piece of history. The broadcast is exactly as it went out over the air. There were some fairly long periods of silence between announcements which, in retrospect, reflect the tattered emotions of the performers behind the scenes. This certainly could not have been easy for Rostropovich and his wife and the fact that they went on at all is quite remarkable. I was in the audience that day and I recall saying that there seemed to be little joy in their faces during the first half of the concert. Who could blame them?
Not a concert for everyday listening. Like me, you will probably listen once and tuck it away in your collection. But you'll return to it occasionally, when something by Shostakovich has moved you and you will find yourself listening to it just to bring yourself a little closer to the composer.
The Gnome and I would like to offer this little piece of history. The broadcast is exactly as it went out over the air. There were some fairly long periods of silence between announcements which, in retrospect, reflect the tattered emotions of the performers behind the scenes. This certainly could not have been easy for Rostropovich and his wife and the fact that they went on at all is quite remarkable. I was in the audience that day and I recall saying that there seemed to be little joy in their faces during the first half of the concert. Who could blame them?
Not a concert for everyday listening. Like me, you will probably listen once and tuck it away in your collection. But you'll return to it occasionally, when something by Shostakovich has moved you and you will find yourself listening to it just to bring yourself a little closer to the composer.
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