Shostakovich Against Stalin
by Larry Weinstein
List Price:
Our Price: $14.77
You Save: $15.21 (51%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $14.15 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Dmitri Shostakovich, Flora Litvinova, Graham Haley, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Valery GergievDirector: Larry Weinstein
Brand: Universal Studios
Writer: Larry Weinstein
Producer: Barbara Willis Sweete
Producer: Danny Irom
Producer: Eeva-Kaisa Nojonen
Writer: David New
Writer: Gemma van Zeventer
Writer: Solomon Volkov
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); German (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); Italian (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Russian (Original Language)
Format: Classical, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 77 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-11-08
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Decca
DVD Reviews of Shostakovich Against Stalin
DVD Review: Eerie, masterfully done
Summary: 4 Stars
Dmitri Shostakovich began life caught up in the excitement of the true believers of the Bolshevik Revolution, happily writing agit-prop tunes for the masses; but during the time of Josef Stalin, as his artistic star began to rise, he found himself under thumb of the dictator. From that vantage point could more easily see terror sweeping across the land courtesy of the "man of steel". Shostakovich's "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" is generally thought to be the turning point, for it was after this opera's debut that a scathing review was printed in Pravda, condemning the piece as "muddle not music". A sort of wierd truce seemed to exist between the celebrated composer and the man Truman referred to as "Uncle Joe" during what the Russians call The Great Patriotic War, as the Germans lay siege to Shostakovich's hometown of Leningrad. Again Shostakovich was used as a mouthpiece (literally; he made some patriotic speeches) to engender hope and pride in a people clinging to the last thread of life. After Stalin's death, however, Shostakovich revealed some more satirical and "politically incorrect" works, such as his mournful Fourth Symphony.
This DVD tells the story above in a bleak, eerie manner. One comes away feeling haunted. The most moving and horrific scenes (and reasons to think twice about letting the younger set watch--it gets gory!) center around the Siege of Leningrad. After Shostakovich wrote his 7th Symphony, "The Leningrad", stalwart members of the Leningrad orchestra determine to play it for him. In the film, some of these survivors are interviewed as the camera sweeps the Great Hall of the Conservatoire. Their descriptions of themselves and their friends in their emaciated state, their dusty, neglected instruments, and the half of the orchestra that was gone--dead--is chilling. By this time the filmmakers have spoken to other survivors who remember life (and death--actually, mostly death) during the siege, so they have already set the scene for the resistance and the hope embedded in this great work.
It is interesting to note the effect the Ken Burns multimedia/creative anachronism style has had on filmmakers world wide. In this case, the Canadian and Dutch documentarians use reenactments, the compulsory newsreels featuring the Great Leader, snapshots, and readings from Shostakovich's memoirs. These are interspersed with interviews with family members, friends, colleagues of Shostakovich, as well as, of course, Valery Gergiev. We also see the Rotterdam Philharmonic in rehearsal with Gergiev working on several pieces, as well as Gergiev (on a tinny sounding upright piano) and actors using goofy masks acting out "Rayok", an opera that cannot be mistaken for anything but satire of Stalin's dictates.
This is undoubtedly a showpiece for Gergiev and his Shostakovich recordings. And Shostakovich performances with the Kirov (coming soon to a town near you...a limousine dash away from the nearest airport). But this is a minor flaw. While he may not be the greatest expert on Shostakovich, Gergiev knows his stuff. He clearly wants his musicians and his audience to understand this music and the emotions sewn into it, and it's enjoyable to hear him talk about it. (And OK, I'll admit, he's pretty easy on the eyes of this L'il Rock & Roller).
What did disappoint me was the lack of explanation or rebuttal of the controversy surrounding "Testimony", Shostakovich's memoirs, used liberally during this documentary but criticized by some as forged. Having heard the works in this documentary, I'm convinced Shostakovich was one who tweaked his nose at the Communist leadership, with great courage; but a back and forth debate or even a cursory reference to the controversy would have been welcome.
Description of Shostakovich Against Stalin
SHOSTAKOVICH AGAINST STALIN:WAR SYMS - DVD MovieClassical Music CDs
Bestsellers in Classical Music CDs
Winterscapesby London Philharmonic
Prophetic Voice; Published: 2000-07; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $2.74
Price in other shops:
The Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebeeby Dini Petty
Children's Group; Published: 2001-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $13.40
Price in other shops:
Classical Kids - Beethoven Lives Upstairs CdrRelease date: 2000-04-05; Music CD
Best price: $25.98
Tchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos))by Malcolm Sinclair, Jeremy Siepmann
Naxos; Published: 2003-11; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $35.99
![Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS] Image](/images/Jose-Carreras-Jubileum-Concert-VHS-1584481471-X.jpg){kind=small}
Jose Carreras - Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS]Sling Shot; Release date: 2000-04-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.87
Price in other shops:
![Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS] Image](/images/Tchaikovsky-The-Nutcracker-Nureyev-Park-Royal-Ballet-VHS-156127092X-X.jpg){kind=small}
Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-09-09; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.94
Price in other shops:
![Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS] Image](/images/Lonely-Town-Lonley-Street-Sergeant-Early-Dream-VHS-1561270857-X.jpg){kind=small}
Rambert Dance Company - Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-10-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $24.99
Price in other shops:
Winter Music: Composing the Northby John Luther Adams
Wesleyan; Published: 2004-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.74
Price in other shops:
![Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] Image](/images/Puccini-La-Fanciulla-del-West-Santi-Domingo-Neblett-Royal-Opera-Covent-Garden-VHS-0769720382-X.jpg){kind=small}
Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] Image](/images/Verdi-Falstaff-Giulini-Bruson-Ricciarelli-Nucci-Royal-Opera-Covent-Garden-VHS-0769720358-X.jpg){kind=small}
Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.95
Price in other shops:
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Music for Silenced Voices: Shostakovich and His Fifteen Quartetsby Wendy Lesser
Yale University Press; Published: 2011-03-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.74
Price in other shops:
Shostakovich - Katerina IzmailovaUniversal Studios; Release date: 2007-01-09; DVD
Best price: $15.36
Price in other shops:
Testimony - Tony Palmer's Story of Shostakovich / Ben KingsleyKultur; Release date: 2006-07-25; DVD
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
Dmitri Shostakovich: Violin Concerto, Op. 99; Cello Concerto, Op. 107Release date: 1998-06-16; Music CD
Best price: $5.90
Price in other shops:
Stravinsky: Once at a Border / Tony PalmerKultur; Release date: 2008-05-27; DVD
Best price: $13.64
Price in other shops:
Story of a Friendship: The Letters of Dmitry Shostakovich to Isaak Glikman, 1941-1975by Dmitry Shostakovich
Cornell Univ Pr; Published: 2001-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovichby Solomon Volkov
Limelight Editions; Limelight Editions; Published: 2004-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $108.08
Keeping Score-Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5PBS; Release date: 2009-11-10; DVD
Best price: $19.18
Price in other shops:
Harvest of Sorrow - Tony Palmer's Film About Sergei RachmaninoffRelease date: 2007-07-31; DVD
Best price: $13.62
Price in other shops:
Tony Palmer's Film of Shostakovich: TestimonyKoch International; Release date: 2009-09-15; DVD
Best price: $12.51
Price in other shops: