Customer Reviews

Shostakovich: The Film Album

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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I have always been very good about seeing my doctors, etc. regularly, and taking good care of myself.

~flashback to 2002, at my opthalmologist's, and have just had dialators placed in my eyes, and have been shuttled into the inner waiting room until I am ready for my examination. Dr. "D" always had classical music playing at a "just right" level for relaxing. This particular day, this lovely, lilting, and sort of hypnotic piece came over the speakers, lulling me nearly to sleep. I could not get it out of my head, and was still "playing it" in my brain after the visit was over and I was at the reception desk, paying his wife for my visit, and scheduling a two week follow-up. I asked her what had been playing, and so she went in and brought out the two album cases that were in the machine. One was Schubert sonatas--I knew it wasn't that. The other album was this one, the Shostakovich film music. So I thanked her, and said I'd have to watch for it. When I went back for my follow-up, she passed me a little foil shopping bag with a ribbon on the top of it with a cheery "Enjoy, Greg"! In the bag was a copy of this album that she had picked up for me! (Such a lovely lady)

When I got home I played it, and the piece is the op.97, Romance from Gadfly...what a lovely piece of music. Just like a lazy summer afternoon, when you would, surely, see these insects floating indolently in the air.

The other pieces are all very interesting, and fun, too, and this is a wonderful foray into unknown or uncharted waters (at least for me). I love this album, and listen fairly frequently to it. There are 3 albums in a series, this "Film" one, a "Jazz" one, and the "Dance" one. I enjoy all of them, but this one I play most frequently.

Riccardo Chailly is a truly great conductor, I feel, and is one of the few that "take me back", or "make me think about" the conductors from earlier that I remember. This album in particular makes me think, fondly, about Stokowski, and Reiner frequently when I play it. Presentation? Or something else? I do not know, but it does, and, it IS a great album. A worthy addition to your collection, be assurred. ~operabruin

This is the third installment in Chailly's survey of Shostakovich's lighter music, and while it is probably a pity that we couldn't have had more extensive selections from the film music, so magnificent are these performances that this disc is in any case something of a must-have (in other words - even if you already have recordings of much of this music in more complete versions, this disc should still be given serious consideration). Chailly and the Royal Concertgebouw performs this music with a level of commitment, spirit, color, panache, vigor and tonal richness that must surely be unrivalle. The music itself is thoroughly variegated, memorable and colorful - the major item is probably the 20 minute selection from the imaginatively scored Alone (featuring the theremin, among other things), the colorful music for Hamlet or the utterly charming, wonderfully rendered music for the 1939 animated movie (and miniature opera, though the vocal parts are here transcribed for various instruments) The Tale of the Silly Little Mouse. But several of the shorter selections from The Counterplan, The Great Citizen, Sofia Perovskaya, Pirogov and The Gadfly are absolutely riveting (the fiery scherzo from Pirogov is just an example among many). An absolutely enchanting disc of gorgeous, utterly attractive music in wonderful performances and well-defined, crystal clear sound. Recommended with all possible enthusiasm.

This recording of Shostakovich's film scores is one of three in a series by conductor Riccardo Chailly. In this particular CD, Chailly is conducting the stupendous Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. While the music presented on this disc may not be as memorable or exciting as that found on the other two CDs, it shows a glimpse into the genious that was Shostakovich's orchestrations. Don't get me wrong, the music is fantastic and wonderful!

The sound is of the highest caliber and, as expected, the quality and vitality of interpretation is second to none. An amazing recording well worth your money! Out of the hundreds of classical CDs in my library, these three featuring Chailly with the music of Shostakovich are amongst my very favorite.

This is the perfect album for anyone who believes Shostakovich was only capable of writing music that expressed his inner turmoil.
Here is an album of the composer just doing his job (writing soundtracks for propaganda films) and showing he's capable of playing the field like a consummate pro.
Many of the melodies may sound vaguely familiar, and it's no wonder; they were often pilfered by other assembly line arrangers for Hollywood musicals and other upbeat entertainment.
I'd have to agree with the previous reviewer, who thinks track 25 is the best. It's the Romance from "The Gadfly", which is arguably Shostakovich's greatest melody, played here with perfection; the "lazy" pizzicato and slightly staggered fourth beat in the measure is something I haven't heard before on this piece, and it works very nicely for these ears.

Shostakivich wrote some 'heavy' music, but in his better moments he wrote some beautiful melodies (e.g. The Jazz Suite) and film themes including The Tale of the silly little mouse'. What a pity that you have to wait until track 25 for the best piece - the Romance from the 'Gadfly' (Theme music from the BBC series 'Reilly, ace of spies'). The definitive recording of this piece was the version by the USSR Cinema Symphony Orchestra, with Khatchaturian conducting, but the version on this recording is also excellent.

This recording is excellent. The works are rather light so one does not notice at first that the recording is that good. After some listebning I notice and i Am sure you will do too. Pirogorov and Sofia Petrovskaja i like best. Great recording.

The film scores of Dmitri Shostakovich are certainly not his best works, but they are definetly worth a look. There is a great range of music on this CD, from the joyful 'Tale of the Silly Little Mouse' to the harshness of 'Hamlet', and Chailly and his players give solid performances throughout. I wouldn't really recommend this as an introduction to Shostakovich's works, but if you're a fan, then it would make a great addition to your collection.