The Musical Life in Former USSR (41)

Composers, performers and dancers from the Soviet era

Discover here a selection of concerts, archives and documentaries highlighting composers and performers who have lived under the Soviet system.

At the heart of a system that fixed courses of action and musical themes to the artists, geniuses have emerged within the art community. Some, like Shostakovich, spent their whole life under the Soviet system and composed some of the most beautiful scores of the XXth century. Shostakovich, for instance, a representative figure of the Russian musical production, was successively condemned, praised, denounced, honoured by the Party – he was honoured by receiving the title "People's Artist of the USSR" in 1947. We can here remind us of his Symphony No. 5 that served as a propagand tool of the Soviet Party, contrary to its Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District that was condemned by the Party's newspaper, The Pravda and then banned.

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The Red Baton, Scenes from Musical Life in Soviet Russia
The Red Baton, Scenes from Musical Life in Soviet Russia

With Guennadi Rojdestvenski

documentary
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Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian

One of the three "titans" of soviet music

documentary
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Martha Argerich and Yuri Temirkanov perform Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major
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Mariss Jansons and Hilary Hahn perform Weber, Shostakovich and Dvořák
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Yuri Temirkanov conducts Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10
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Neeme Järvi conducts Dvořák, Shchedrin, Franck, and Shostakovich – With Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky
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Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, The Tragedy of Katerina Ismailova
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, The Tragedy of Katerina Ismailova

A film by Reiner Moritz. De Nederlandse Opera

documentary
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Maxim Vengerov teaches Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1
Maxim Vengerov teaches Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1

Treasures of the Masterclass Media Foundation

master class
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Yuri Bashmet teaches Shostakovich: Sonata for viola and piano
Yuri Bashmet teaches Shostakovich: Sonata for viola and piano

Treasures of the Masterclass Media Foundation

master class
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Close Up, Shostakovich
Close Up, Shostakovich

A portrait

documentary
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Evgeny Kissin plays Prokofiev
Evgeny Kissin plays Prokofiev

Verbier Festival 2009

concert
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Valery Gergiev conducts Prokofiev — With Denis Matsuev and Leonidas Kavakos
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Valery Gergiev and Leonidas Kavakos perform Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2
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Valery Gergiev conducts Prokofiev – Alexander Toradze performs the 2nd Piano Concerto
Valery Gergiev conducts Prokofiev – Alexander Toradze performs the 2nd Piano Concerto

Symphony Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater – T...

concert
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Martha Argerich plays Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3
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Alexis Weissenberg plays Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Scriabin, Rachmaninov and Chopin
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Valery Gergiev conducts Prokofiev — Daniil Trifonov performs the 1st Piano Concerto
Valery Gergiev conducts Prokofiev — Daniil Trifonov performs the 1st Piano Concerto

Symphony Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater — T...

concert
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Grigory Sokolov plays Beethoven, Komitas, Prokofiev by Bruno Monsaingeon
Grigory Sokolov plays Beethoven, Komitas, Prokofiev by Bruno Monsaingeon

Enhanced with exclusive, never-before-seen comm...

concert
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Grigory Sokolov plays Schubert, Beethoven, Rameau, and Brahms
Grigory Sokolov plays Schubert, Beethoven, Rameau, and Brahms

Recital at the Berliner Philharmonie

concert
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Leonid Kogan plays Beethoven's Violin Concerto in 1966
Leonid Kogan plays Beethoven's Violin Concerto in 1966

Orchestre national de l'ORTF, Louis de Froment

concert
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Nathan Milstein, Master of Invention (I)
Nathan Milstein, Master of Invention (I)

Some memories of a quiet magician. A film by Ch...

documentary
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Nathan Milstein, Master of Invention (II)
Nathan Milstein, Master of Invention (II)

Some memories of a quiet magician. A film by Ch...

documentary
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David Oistrakh, Artist of the People? by Bruno Monsaingeon
David Oistrakh, Artist of the People? by Bruno Monsaingeon

Enhanced with exclusive, never-before-seen comm...

documentary
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Igor and David Oistrakh perform Bach, Mozart and Brahms
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Yehudi Menuhin and David Oistrakh play Bach's Double Violin Concerto
Yehudi Menuhin and David Oistrakh play Bach's Double Violin Concerto

Orchestre de chambre de la RTF, Pierre Capdevielle

concert
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Richter, The Enigma by Bruno Monsaingeon (I)
Richter, The Enigma by Bruno Monsaingeon (I)

Enhanced with exclusive, never-before-seen comm...

documentary
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Richter, The Enigma by Bruno Monsaingeon (II)
Richter, The Enigma by Bruno Monsaingeon (II)

Enhanced with exclusive, never-before-seen comm...

documentary
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Gennady Rozhdestvensky: Conductor or Conjuror? by Bruno Monsaingeon
Gennady Rozhdestvensky: Conductor or Conjuror? by Bruno Monsaingeon

Enhanced with exclusive, never-before-seen comm...

documentary
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Gennady Rozhdestvensky conducts Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker
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