Dmitri Ensemble & Graham Ross - Shostakovich: Chamber Symphonies (Arr. by Rudolf Barshai) (2015) [24/96]

The Dmitri Ensemble under Graham Ross performs Shostakovich's String Quartets Nos. 1, 8 and 10, re-worked as thrilling Chamber Symphonies for string orchestra by his pupil and advocate, Rudolf Barshai. Written in Dresden 1960, Shostakovich was sent there to compose a film score but was overwhelmed by the aftermath of WWII bombings which he saw; the result was the 8th quartet.

Named after Dmitri Shostakovich, the Dmitri Ensemble is based around the central core of a string ensemble, with a special commitment to presenting both unjustly neglected and newly-penned works with an innovative approach to engaging concert programming. Under the direction of the co-founder and Principal Conductor, Graham Ross, it has worked alongside living composers and has an increasingly diverse discography.

The Ensemble’s collaborations with the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, for hm USA, include a highly-praised recording of choral works by Imogen Holst, which received both Diapason d’Or and Le Choix de France Musique awards, and which was shortlisted for a 2013 Gramophone Award and 'Lux de caelo: Music for Christmas', released in 2014, was widely praised in the national and international press, selected as Christmas Choice, BBC Music Magazine, 2014. Their latest release in a series of works for the church year, which have regularly made the Top 10 of the UK Specialist Classical Charts, is 'Ascendit Deus: Music for Ascensiontide and Pentecost' with the Choir of Clare College, released March 9th.

“The rendition as a whole is nothing if not fresh and finely poised, the band’s relatively modest forces placed in generous acoustic (St John the Evangelist, Upper Noorwood) without loss of clarity or focus. Indeed, the results are superb … Recommended.” (Gramophone)

Tracklist:

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975)

01. Chamber Symphony (Quartet No. 8), Op. 110a: I. Largo
02. Chamber Symphony (Quartet No. 8), Op. 110a: II. Allegro molto
03. Chamber Symphony (Quartet No. 8), Op. 110a: III. Allegretto
04. Chamber Symphony (Quartet No. 8), Op. 110a: IV. Largo
05. Chamber Symphony (Quartet No. 8), Op. 110a: V. Largo
06. Eine kleine Symphonie (Quartet No. 1), Op. 49a: I. Moderato
07. Eine kleine Symphonie (Quartet No. 1), Op. 49a: II. Moderato
08. Eine kleine Symphonie (Quartet No. 1), Op. 49a: III. Allegro molto
09. Eine kleine Symphonie (Quartet No. 1), Op. 49a: IV. Allegro
10. Symphonie für Streicher (Quartet No. 10), Op. 118a: I. Andante
11. Symphonie für Streicher (Quartet No. 10), Op. 118a: II. Allegretto furioso
12. Symphonie für Streicher (Quartet No. 10), Op. 118a: III. Adagio
13. Symphonie für Streicher (Quartet No. 10), Op. 118a: IV. Allegretto

Personnel:
The Dmitri Ensemble
Graham Ross, conductor