Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony Nr. 14 • 6 Poems Of Marina Tsvetaeva - Bernard Haitink, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Shostakovich' Symphony No. 14 (Opus 135) was completed in the spring of 1969, and was premiered later that year. It is a sombre work for soprano, bass and a small string orchestra with percussion, consisting of eleven linked settings of poems by four authors. Most of the poems deal with the theme of death, particularly that of unjust or early death. They were set in Russian, although two other versions of the work exist with the texts all back-translated from Russian either into their original languages or into German. The symphony is dedicated to Benjamin Britten (who gave the UK premiere the following year).

This recording was made in the series which Haitink undertook between 1977 and 1984, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam. The recording was made in 1980 with the Concertgebouw Orchestra (which received a Royal endorsement a decade later, hence being renamed the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra) and the vocal 'couple' Julia Varady and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, using the version with the poems in their original languages. A chilling performance of one of the most sombre and desolate of Shostakovich symphonies!This recording of the 14th symphony is coupled with the 1982 recording of "6 Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva", Op. 143A with Otrun Wenkel as the soloist.






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