Portrait

Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975) is a rare figure in modern music: a composer who, having achieved international success when still in his teens, went on to become the leading light in Russian music of the Soviet era, and a mainstay of concert halls in Europe and America - championed by many international conductors and musicians. Yet this fame was to be increasingly accompanied by a constant debate between East and West over just what his music was about; an ideological battle that has only intensified in the three decades since his death. Together with a comprehensive essay that surveys his musical output, these two CDs present a detailed overview of Shostakovich's achievement.