Mariinsky Orchestra

Valery Gergiev, Mariinsky Orchestra & Chorus – Shchedrin: The Left-Hander (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:59:27 minutes | 2,45 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Mariinsky

Specially written for Gergiev on the occasion of his 60th birthday, Rodion Shchedrin s ‘The Left-Hande’r is a comedy of Russians and Englishmen, new technology, old traditions and strong drink. The premiere was given by the Mariinsky Opera in St Petersburg in July 2013. Rodion Shchedrin is one of music s greatest living humourists and his work is laced with pitch-black irony and deadpan wit. Based on Nikolai Leskov s classical satirical novella of 1881, ‘The Tale of Cross-Eyed Lefty From Tula and the Steel Flea’, The Left-Hander is a gloriously wry exploration of Russia s relationship with the West in general and England in particular. The work recently received its UK premiere and was met with great acclaim. ‘The Left-Hander is a real comic opera of beguiling charm and fizzing vivacity, sharing its absurd grotesquerie with Shostakovich s The Nose, its tingling enchantment with Ravel s L enfant et les sortilèges and its wild mania with Barry s The Importance of Being Earnest. What grounds it, though, is an overwhelming, Russian nostalgia, an umbilical cord linking back to Mussorgsky.’ Classical-music.com ‘Gergiev conducted Shchedrin s 2013 score with understated intensity and musical humility, transporting us to the haunting world of Nikolai Leskov s original novella. Shchedrin s scoring is characteristically inventive and colourful… the forging music is witty and humorous.’ The Telegraph **** ‘Unexpectedly moving and stunningly well sung.’ The Financial Times ****

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