New releases on the Mariinsky label

14 October saw the release of Dmitry Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony performed by the Mariinsky Orchestra under maestro Valery Gergiev. This monumental musical fresco, written at a decisive point during World War II, is one of the Russian composer’s greatest achievements. This disc is the latest instalment in the complete Shostakovich symphonies series featuring Valery Gergiev, currently acclaimed as the most authoritative interpreter of his music in the world. Performing all of Shostakovich’s symphony music is one of the maestro’s most significant achievements to date. The Gergiev’s Shostakovich symphony music series began in 2006 at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre followed by performances at concert halls in the USA, Great Britain, Austria and Germany. In the course of the 2013-2014 season the complete series of Shostakovich’s instrumental concerti and symphonies will also be performed at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. “Gergiev and Shostakovich is an example of that rare connection between a composer and a conductor that gives the listener an unforgettable impression,” the German press wrote following the concluding part of the Gergiev’s Shostakovich project in Munich.

Richard Strauss’ opera Die Frau ohne Schatten may also be preordered on the Mariinsky label’s website; the release date is 28 October 2013. Die Frau ohne Schatten is one of Richard Strauss’ most complex and melodious opera scores. Few theatres regularly have this opera in their repertoires due to the extreme complexity of the vocal roles, multidimensional sets and the tremendous demands made of the orchestra – both in terms of brilliant skill and in terms of numbers. The Mariinsky Theatre is the first – and to date the only – Russian opera house to have staged its own production of Die Frau ohne Schatten. The disc features the production by acclaimed British stage director Jonathan Kent, recorded at the historic Mariinsky Theatre in December 2011. The principal roles are sung by leading Mariinsky Opera soloists Mlada Khudoley (the Empress), Avgust Amonov (the Emperor), Olga Savova (the Nurse), Edem Umerov (Barak) and Olga Sergeyeva (Barak’s Wife) with Valery Gergiev conducting the Mariinsky Orchestra. As with the label’s previous releases of Attila and The Gambler, Die Frau ohne Schatten will be available in two formats – DVD and Blu-ray.

Composed to a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, a major Austrian playwright and regular collaborator of the composer, the opera was conceived as a philosophical humanist tale. The action unfolds in two parallel worlds – the “lofty” (that of the imperial family) and the “low” (the family of Barak the Dyer), vividly contrasting both musically and in Kent’s production which subtly embodies the nuances of Strauss’ score.

For more detailed information on the Mariinsky label’s latest releases please go to www.mariinskylabel.com