Shostakovich Plays Shostakovich, Volume 4: Cello Sonata/Piano Quintet

Shostakovich (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 21, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Russian Revelation
• ASIN: B000006BBO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,791 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sonata for cello & piano in D minor, Op. 40: Allegro Non Troppo - Mstislav Rostropovich/Dmitry Shostakovich

2. Sonata for cello & piano in D minor, Op. 40: Allegro - Mstislav Rostropovich/Dmitry Shostakovich

3. Sonata for cello & piano in D minor, Op. 40: Largo - Mstislav Rostropovich/Dmitry Shostakovich

4. Sonata for cello & piano in D minor, Op. 40: Allegro - Mstislav Rostropovich/Dmitry Shostakovich

5. Quintet for piano & strings in G minor, Op. 57: I. Prelude: Lento - Dmitry Shostakovich

6. Quintet for piano & strings in G minor, Op. 57: II. Fugue: Adagio - Dmitry Shostakovich

7. Quintet for piano & strings in G minor, Op. 57: III. Scherzo: Allegretto - Dmitry Shostakovich

8. Quintet for piano & strings in G minor, Op. 57: IV. Intermezzo: Lento - Dmitry Shostakovich

9. Quintet for piano & strings in G minor, Op. 57: V. Finale: Allegretto - Dmitry Shostakovich

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, March 1, 2011

By 

Julie Kirkpatrick "juliefrancine" (nyc) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shostakovich Plays Shostakovich, Volume 4: Cello Sonata/Piano Quintet (Audio CD)

Incredible piece of music performed by the composer and master himself. I could listen to this over and over and never hear the same thing twice.

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the best., May 31, 2010

By 

Howard G Brown "brownswan" (Port St. Lucie, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shostakovich Plays Shostakovich, Volume 4: Cello Sonata/Piano Quintet (Audio CD)

I still have the lp recordings of both these works: the Quintet on Vanguard, the Sonata on the Monitor label. It is good to have both together on one CD, featuring the composer at the piano, with musicians who were both colleagues and dear friends.

An earlier recording of the Quintet, also with the Beethoven Quartet (1940), is more broadly paced, and probably closer in tone and mood to the premiere performances in the late 1930s. However, this later recording has always semed 'right' to me, the balance between tragedy and naive simplicity perfectly struck, unequalled in later recordings. The pace seems based on Shostakovich's limited ability to negotiate the more animated passages for the piano. Ironically, his playing is fleet compared with 1940, when he had greater command of the keyboard.

As for the Sonata: Rostropovich is in complete command; composer and 'cellist are a match for the ages. The lp version is coupled with the Prokofiev sonata, Richter at the piano. The First String Quartet (with the Komitas Quartet) is coupled with the Piano Quintet on the Vanguard lp. On my equipment the CD and lps are equally enjoyable.