Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 12 and 15 BBC Philharmonic Orchestra & John Storgards

• Dimitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): Symphony No.12, Op. 112 "The Year 1917":
• 1 Shostakovich: Symphony No.12, Op. 112 "The Year 1917": I. Revolutionary Petrograd 13:49
• 2 Shostakovich: Symphony No.12, Op. 112 "The Year 1917": II. Razliv 11:11
• 3 Shostakovich: Symphony No.12, Op. 112 "The Year 1917": III. Aurora 04:15
• 4 Shostakovich: Symphony No.12, Op. 112 "The Year 1917": IV. The Dawn of Humanity 10:14
• Symphony No. 15, Op. 141:
• 5 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15, Op. 141: I. Allegretto 08:33
• 6 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15, Op. 141: II. Adagio 15:53
• 7 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15, Op. 141: III. Allegretto 04:20
• 8 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15, Op. 141: IV. Adagio - Allegretto 16:43
• Total Runtime 01:24:58

Info for Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 12 and 15

The BBC Philharmonic and its new Chief Conductor, John Storgårds, follow their previous release of Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony with this album of Symphonies Nos 12 and 15. Subtitled ‘The Year 1917’, the Twelfth Symphony was a project which Shostakovich had been planning and discussing for two decades – a symphony about Lenin. The first movement, ‘Revolutionary Petrograd’, depicts the arrival of Lenin in Petrograd in April 1917 and his meetings with the working people of the city. The second, ‘Razliv’, commemorates the site of Lenin’s retreat to the north of the city. ‘Aurora’, the third movement, refers to the Russian battleship the revolutionary mutinous crew of which fired the first shot of the attack on the Winter Palace. Finally, ‘The Dawn of Humanity’ celebrates the ultimate victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Musically, the Twelfth seems to regress to a more simplistic musical language than that of the immediately preceding Symphony – which some commentators ascribe to Shostakovich’s joining the Communist Party and perhaps trying harder to meet its expectations. The Fifteenth (and last) Symphony was written entirely in July 1971, at a composer’s rest home in Repino, north-west of Leningrad. It was his first non-programmatic symphony since the Tenth, and Shostakovich was wary of discussing the meaning of it, but eventually commented that it might be understood as representing the journey from life to death.

BBC Philharmonic
John Storgårds, conductor

Simon Standage
is well known as a violinist specialising in 17th and 18th-century music. Leader and soloist with the English Concert from its foundation until 1990, he also fulfilled the same role for many years with the City of London Sinfonia. In addition to the many records he made with the English Concert (including Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, nominated for a Grammy award), he also recorded solo and chamber music, including all of Mozart’s violin concertos with the Academy of Ancient Music, of which he was, with Christopher Hogwood, Associate Director from 1991 to 1995.

Since his foundation, with Richard Hickox, of Collegium Musicum 90, he has made numerous recordings for Chandos Records. As soloist and director of chamber orchestras and chamber musician, he is active both in Britain and abroad. He is leader of the Salomon String Quartet (founded by him in 1981), which specialises in historical performance of the Classical repertoire, performing worldwide and making many recordings and broadcasts. He is a professor of baroque violin at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest and teaches at summer courses in Europe.

He received a medal for services to Polish culture in 2008, was awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music in 2009, and in 2010 received the Georg Philipp Telemann Prize from the city of Magdeburg.

Booklet for Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 12 and 15