Wartime Music, Vol. 12

OREST YEVLAKHOV (1912-1973): Symphony No. 1, Op. 14, The Night Patrol from Leningrad for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra, Op. 12, Concerto Suite, Op. 8.

Description: A student of Shostakovich in Leningrad, Yevlakhov (not important enough to be evacuated like his teacher) was one of the lucky ones to survive the entire 900-day siege of the city from 1941-43 (and it probably led to his relatively early death, as it did for tens of thousands of other survivors). The 36-minute symphony dates from 1944-46 and sounds overtly Shostakovichian in its five-minute scherzo (for those expecting a long slow movement, the following Grave is only 3:47!). The 15-minute first movement Andante carries most of the representation of the siege in its weary, worn-out greyness while the 12-minute finale is quite buoyant and happy without being in the least triumphal or militaristic. The four-minute Night Patrol, part of a bigger vocal/choral/symphonic work written during the siege, is a very vivid represenation of the struggle, with grief and menace ending in a victorious march. Begun in 1941 but finished during the siege, the 11-minute Concerto Suite shows the greatest influence of Shostakovich. Russian-English texts. Olesya Petrova (mezzo), St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony Orchestra; Alexander Titov.