Britten: Cello Symphony; Cello Suite No. 2 / Shostokovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 ~ Rostropovich

Britten: Cello Symphony; Cello Suite No. 2 / Shostokovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 ~ Rostropovich

Britten: Cello Symphony; Cello Suite No. 2 / Shostokovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 ~ Rostropovich

Our Price: $12.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.99 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Listen soundtracks from this album

Listen soundtracks from this album

Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store

CD Details

Composer: Benjamin Britten
Conductor: Benjamin Britten
Composer: Dmitry Shostakovich
Conductor: Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Orchestra: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
Performer: Mstislav Rostropovich
Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2004-03-23
Music Label: EMI Classics / Angel Records
Soundtracks:

I. Allegro Maestoso
II. Presto In Quieto
III. Adagio - Cadenza
IV. Passacaglia (Andante Allegro)
I. Declamato (Largo)
II. Fuga (Andante)
III. Scherzo (Allegro Molto)
IV. (Andante Lento) -
V. Ciaccona (Allegro)
I. Allegretto
II. Moderato
Cadenza
Allegro Non Troppo

Music reviews of Britten: Cello Symphony; Cello Suite No. 2 / Shostokovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 ~ Rostropovich

Music Review: Why is this classic collaboration going unnoticed?
Rating: 5 Stars

Because Rostropovich dominated cello playing for three decades, it's easy to glaze over at his huge output. However, this is certainly one of his greatest recordings--two, in fact. The first is a live version of Britten's late, rather unreachable Cello Symphony, written for Rostropovich after the two became fast friends in the early Sixties. Enigmatic as the idiom can be, the soloist plunges in with such tremendous passion that it's enough to carry any listener along. The occasion was a visit by the left-leaning Britten to Moscow, and although the sound is mono, it is vivid and dramatic, with the cello placed right up at the mike. The Russian musicians play with raw enthusiasm, and of course Britten was the supreme conductor of his own works.

The second big work is the Shostakovich Cello Concerto #1, also written for Rostropovich. He has also given us a notable American premiere recording under Ormandy (Sony) and a live account on BBC Legends, but this Moscow one under Rozhdestvensky is raw, tense, almost hectically fast at times, and uniquely intense. There are lots of very fine recordings of this masterpiece, but I doubt anyone can duplicate Rostropovich's total abandon. The mono sound is again very good, but expect audience coughs in both performances, often at just the wrong moment.

More Britten: Cello Symphony; Cello Suite No. 2 / Shostokovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 ~ Rostropovich free music reviews:
1

Classical CDs

Music > Styles

Music Genres

Bestsellers in Classical CDs

Winterscapes Image

Winterscapes
by London Philharmonic
Prophetic Voice; Published: 2000-07; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $2.75
Price in other shops: ~~$6.99~~

The Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebee Image

The Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebee
by Dini Petty
Children's Group; Published: 2001-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $13.38
Price in other shops: ~~$13.98~~

Beethoven Lives Upstairs Cdr Image

Classical Kids - Beethoven Lives Upstairs Cdr
Release date: 2000-04-05; Music CD
Best price: $24.97

Tchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos)) Image

Tchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos))
by Malcolm Sinclair, Jeremy Siepmann
Naxos; Published: 2003-11; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $35.99

Jose Carreras - Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS]
Sling Shot; Release date: 2000-04-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.86
Price in other shops: ~~$9.99~~

Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-09-09; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.90
Price in other shops: ~~$29.95~~

Rambert Dance Company - Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-10-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops: ~~$29.95~~

Winter Music: Composing the North
by John Luther Adams
Wesleyan; Published: 2004-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $25.27
Price in other shops: ~~$25.95~~

Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.38
Price in other shops: ~~$29.95~~

Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.95
Price in other shops: ~~$29.95~~