NAGRANIE REFERENCYJNE - 20bit - FIBER OPTIC DISK
Alexander Borodin, Igor Stravinsky and Dmitri Shostakovich represent three generations of Russian music and have at least one important thing in common: all were born in St. Petersburg, imperial capital of the Romanovs. But each of these three composers came of artistic age in a radically different St. Petersburg. Borodin (1833-1887), a leading member of the group of Russian nationalist composers known as "The Mighty Handful," found fame in a city still establishing its cultural identity on the world stage. He and his colleagues helped to pave the way for Stravinsky (1882-1971), who evolved during the brilliant "Silver Age" at the turn of the century, a period of remarkable - and internationally acclaimed - accomplishment in poetry, painting, ballet and music. By the time Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) came along, Russian music had built strong academic foundations, although they were badly shaken by the 1917 Revolution and the turbulent and tragic years of Stalinism that followed. - Harlow Robinson