8.573218

Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No. 13, Op. 113 in 1962. The climax of his ‘Russian period’ and, in its scoring for bass soloist, male chorus and orchestra, among the most Mussorgskian of his works, it attracted controversy through its settings of poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko (the ‘Russian Bob Dylan’ of his day) – not least the first movement, where the poet underlines the plight of Jews in Soviet society. The other movements are no less pertinent in their observations on the relationship between society and the individual. This is the final release in Vasily Petrenko’s internationally acclaimed symphonic cycle.

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Prokofiev had written two symphonies as a student but his first numbered work in the genre was the Classical Symphony, completed in 1917. This evokes, melodically though not necessarily harmonically, the world of Haydn and Mozart, and it has remained one of his most popular works. The Second Symphony, by contrast, is a work of ‘iron and steel’ (in the composer’s words), a symphony of conscious modernity and visceral power. Dreams, a ‘symphonic tableau’, reveals the potent, early influence on Prokofiev of Scriabin. Of Marin Alsop and the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra’s recording of the Fourth Symphony and The Prodigal Son [8.573186], International Record Review wrote: ‘Conductor and orchestra both shine with the excitement of a special relationship in the ascendant’.

Simultaneously available on Blu-ray: PROKOFIEV, S.: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 / Dreams NBD0044

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The first arranger of Vivaldi’s concertos was Vivaldi himself, and Julian Lloyd Webber’s new versions in this recording reflect the composer’s pragmatic attitude and zest for experiment. Vivaldi’s Concerto in G minor RV 531 is his only original concerto for two cellos. Alongside this appear works both popular and recently discovered, the mercurial moods of the cellos representing instruments from mandolins to hunting horns. Piazzolla’s Milonga displays all of his most distinctive hallmarks. Julian and Jiaxin Lloyd Webber’s acclaimed album A Tale of Two Cellos can be found on Naxos 8.573251.

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The A–Z of Opera 2nd edition has been expanded to include even more composers, operas, and 130 bonus tracks. The 1100-page book details the lives of hundreds of opera composers, and like the range of Naxos recordings itself, this set highlights the extraordinary breadth of opera and its composers across the centuries; it is a rich and inspiring resource for everyone!