World Poetry in Russian Music (2006)

This disc doesn't quite live up to its ambitious title of World Poetry in Russian Music, but it does give excellent examples of some of the roles foreign poetry played in Russian art song of the Soviet period. The highlight is the initial work on the disc, by Dmitry Shostakovich, for whom approved foreign classics were part of his arsenal of coded resistance to the authorities. The Suite to Words by Michelangelo Buonarroti, Op. 145, is better known in an orchestral version, but baritone Frieder Andres in his liner notes ... Read More

This disc doesn't quite live up to its ambitious title of World Poetry in Russian Music, but it does give excellent examples of some of the roles foreign poetry played in Russian art song of the Soviet period. The highlight is the initial work on the disc, by Dmitry Shostakovich, for whom approved foreign classics were part of his arsenal of coded resistance to the authorities. The Suite to Words by Michelangelo Buonarroti, Op. 145, is better known in an orchestral version, but baritone Frieder Andres in his liner notes makes a persuasive case for the equal status of the voice-and-piano song. The more intimate version may even be preferable, because it brings out the personal and pungently bitter qualities of these songs. Michelangelo's poems (yes, his talents extended to the verbal arts as well) alternate between romantic themes and rather startling works in which the artist wrangles with his powerful employers, and no Russian audience would have missed the implications of the latter group. Musically,... Read Less