Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Donald Macleod presents an excerpt from Shostakovich's surreal debut opera, The Nose, plus his contemporary Alexander Mosolov's extraordinary First Piano Concerto.

Donald Macleod explores Shostakovich's brilliant youth - and the work of five extraordinary lost musical souls - amidst the turmoil and extraordinary originality of 1920s Russia.

Wednesday's programme features Shostakovich at his zaniest - and perhaps most brilliantly original. After two scurrilous arrangements of Scarlatti, Donald Macleod presents excerpts from Shostakovich's first opera, "The Nose", a surreal tale of nasal amputation and Kafkaesque bureaucracy.

The programme finishes with a masterpiece not by Shostakovich, but by his contemporary Alexander Mosolov - a man who would later be the only major composer to be sent to the gulag. Mosolov's Piano Concerto no.1 is like no other in classical music - a bewildering procession of melodies and influences that mirrors the chaotic artistic melting-pot of 1920s Soviet Russia.

1 hour

Music Played

  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    Two Pieces by Scarlatti for wind orchestra, Op.17 (1928)

    Performer: USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra Soloists' Ensemble / Gennady Rozhdestvensky

    • BMG Classics 74321 59058 2 -.
  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    "The Nose", op.15 (1927-8)[excerpts]

    Performer: Interlude (percussion)

    • Scene III: Brr! Brr!.
  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    Act II

    Performer: Vladimir Sulisky (Kovalyov), Sergei Skorokhodov (Ivan), Vadim Kravets (newspaper clerk), Sergei Romanov (a countess's servant placing an ad) Performer: Mariinsky Soloists, Opera + Chorus / Valery Gergiev

    • MARIINSKY MAR0501.
  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    Alexander Mosolov: Piano Concerto no.1 (1928)

    Performer: Rusudan Khuntsariya (piano) Performer: USSR Symphony Orchestra / Vladimir Kozhukhar

    • MELODIYA 74321562632.

Broadcasts

  • Wed 2 Feb 2011 12:00
  • Wed 2 Feb 2011 22:00

Beethoven Unleashed – the box set

Beethoven Unleashed – the box set

The complete set of Radio 3 Beethoven Unleashed podcasts, with Donald Macleod.

What was really wrong with Beethoven?

What was really wrong with Beethoven?

Georgia Mann and neurosurgeon Henry Marsh examine the composer's numerous health problems

Composers A to Z

Composers A to Z

Visit the extensive audio archive of Radio 3 programmes about Composers and their works.

Who knew? Five eye-opening stories from Composer of the Week

Who knew? Five eye-opening stories from Composer of the Week

The production team reflects on 5 of Donald Macleod’s best stories from the last 20 years

Five reasons why we love Parry's Jerusalem

What is the strange power of Jerusalem which makes strong men weep?

A man out of time – why Parry's music and ideas were at odds with his image...

The composer of Jerusalem was very far from the conservative figure his image suggests.

Composer Help Page

Find resources and contacts for composers from within the classical music industry.