Thursday, September 28, 2006

A Shostakovitch World Premiere

Piano lovers with a bent for the music Shostakovitch likely already know about the two-piano arrangement of 'Babi Yar'. And now they can hear it:

"..Shostakovich made a two-piano version, never published, of his "Babi Yar" Symphony, No. 13, to verse by the Soviet dissident poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko. (The two-piano reduction was, however, used to play the work for Soviet censors in order to get permission for the symphony's first performance.) Thanks to special permission from the composer's widow, a portion of that arrangement is having its world premiere tonight in New York City." Read it here.

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