The Fall of Berlin / The Unforgettable Year 1919


Marco Polo (0730099389723)
映画 | 発売日: 21/01/2003 | フォーマット: CD, ダウンロード
 

今すぐ購読する!

もっと情報を得て、コレクター情報にアクセスしてください!





 

# トラック   期間
The Fall of Berlin (1945)
1.Main Title Part 12:44
2.Beautiful Day2:15
3.Alyosha By The River1:39
4.Stalin's Garden2:02
5.Alyosha And Natalia In The Fields - Attack3:53
6.Hitler's Reception1:32
7.In The Devastated Village2:40
8.Forward!0:58
9.Main Title Part 22:06
10.The Roll Call - Attack At Night3:01
11.Storming Seelov Heights (Zielona Gora)6:26
12.The Flooding Of The Underground Station1:11
13.The Final Battle For The Reichstag - Kostya's Death4:06
14.Yussuf's Death - The Red Banner3:41
15.Stalin At Berlin Airport4:28
16.Finale: Stalin's Speech - Alyosha And Natasha Reunited2:44
 
The Unforgettable Year 1919 (1952)
17.Introduction2:04
18.Romance (Meeting Of Shibayev With Katya)4:52
19.Scene From The Sea Battle2:19
20.Scherzo2:25
21.The Assault On The Red Hill7:00
22.Intermezzo5:03
23.Finale6:06
 75:15
あなたのレビューを提出する 他の言語でレビューを非表示にする

 

The Fall of Berlin / The Unforgettable Year 1919 - 10/10 - その改訂 Tom Daish, 提出された (英語)
Shostakovich is often considered one of the 20th Century's greatest composers, although his fellow Russians, Stravinsky and Prokofiev in particular, could quite easily lay similar claims. Aside from his well known symphonies, various concertos and string quartets, Shostakovich wrote a great number of film scores, 35 according to the liner notes, which is a good deal more than many better known Hollywood composers of the era. Of course, Shostakovich was in Stalinist Russia, one of the most oppressive and terrifying regimes under which to live that ever existed and this had profound consequences for creative artists. To smooth things over with the authorities, many composers offered 'acceptable' works to counter their more 'controversial' compositions, the latter usually the most highly regarded today. Scoring propaganda films was a good way to accomplish this.

The Fall of Berlin was made to 'educate' the Russian public about the end of the Second World War, taking great delight in making Hitler seem a fool. I suspect that making him out to be the tyrant he was, might have awoken the Russian public to the tyranny of their own leader and caused an uprising. In the context of Shostakovich's greatest works, The Fall of Berlin could be considered simplistic and I'm sure the more aggressive classical snobs would suggest it was banal, but as a film music album is terrific entertainment. Of course, from the Russian point of view, the fall of Berlin was a great day and so there is a distinct heroic feel to the entire score, from the rousing Main Title to the upbeat attack sequences, particularly the positively jubilant Storming Seelov Heights. As a side note, the listing has Zielona Gora mentioned beneath this track, but as to what contribution Gora makes, the liner notes don't say. The action tracks do easily suggest where many recent composers have their inspiration, the booming horns and towering brass are much in evidence.

There are, naturally, some quieter passages, including two lovely choral sections at the beginning; Beautiful Day is perhaps rather twee, but is a suitably jolly and charming song, but Stalin's Garden is wordless and has a more timeless lilt to it, even if its real context would make one sick to the stomach. One brief highlight is the pompous march for Hitler's Reception which parodies those triumphal German marches, although the real marches are almost beyond parody in their comedic pomposity. There is quite a bit of bombast, even the liner notes mention this, the final few tracks certainly don't aim for subtlety, although the bleakness of Yussuf's Death is a pleasing change of pace from the loud jollity of the action cues, even if The Red Banner delights in what sounds like a triumphant conclusion, even though it isn't. The two remaining choral cues are perhaps a bit much, although it is not entirely unreasonable to suggest that Shostakovich was going so over the top as to be indulging in a little parody.

The Unforgettable Year 1919 (snappy title, eh?) was an attempt to make Russian film, indeed Russian art in general, seem less banal to the outside world. Clearly the music for the common man mantra that Stalin instigated (showing what a heathen he really was), had stifled the artistic genius that the country had in abundance at that time. In fairness, the film sounds like little more than yet more propaganda and Shostakovich's music is stirring as ever. The Introduction has a similar heroism to The Fall of Berlin, but the enchanting romance shows a more delicate and passionate side. However, the central action cues are exciting, even though the mini piano concerto that forms The Assault on the Red Hill seems rather out of place as a more romantic pastiche style than 20th Century Russian.

I would sincerely urge any fan of modern thundering orchestral scores to acquire some Shostakovich and these scores are an extremely accessible way to do so. There is much less of the deeply felt drama, passion and despair of his epic symphonies and while this naturally makes them more accomplished works, they can seem a little impenetrable to the novice. Neither of the scores here are as inspired as Prokofiev's film scores, never matching the dramatic intensity of something like Alexander Nevsky, but that doesn't diminish their entertainment value. The performance of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra is, unsurprisingly, excellent as is that of the choirs, although the latter are mixed just a touch too upfront for my liking, swamping the orchestra. Otherwise, the recording clarity and style is excellent. The notes on the films and their music are interesting and useful, it's unlikely that anyone buying the set will have seen or ever have the chance to see them, but the musical legacy is well worth hearing.


不具合を報告するか、私たちに追加情報を送ってください!: ログイン

 



もっと