Execution of Stepan Razin
The story of Cossack Stepan Razin, who, in the 17th century, led a bloody peasants' revolt against the Tsar, is perfect fodder for Shostakovich. This rarely performed cantata is an exciting, violent work. Composed in 1964, with Shostakovich free of Stalin's repression, it shows the composer at his most angry, bitter, and sorrowful. Razin's piercing eyes, shining out even more brightly from his severed head, terrified the Tsar; in the words of the cantata's narrator (from a poem by Yevtushenko) "without concealing its triumph/the head began to guffaw at the Tsar." Bass-baritone Charles Robert Austin sings both Razin and the narrator with force and great expression. Gerard Schwarz and his Seattle Symphony whip the score into a frenzy. The 13-minute tone poem "October" is another rarity, commemorating the October Revolution. It quotes from the 10th Symphony but is entirely original in conception: beginning moderately, it ends in a maniacal march. The final work is "Five Fragments," and it is just that: a series of bits, none longer than 4 minutes long, that are "practice runs" for the 4th Symphony. They are worth hearing: one features bassoon, clarinet, and oboe, another is sweet and tender, and the last, beginning with snare drum and violin, is nice and creepy. Highly recommended.--Robert Levine