Shostakovich: A Portrait: His Works / His Life (2 CDs of music plus a detailed essay and photographs)

Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975) is a rare figure in modern music: a composer who, having achieved international success when still in his teens, went on to become the leading light in Russian music of the Soviet era, and a mainstay of concert halls in Europe and America - championed by many international conductors and musicians. Yet this fame was to be increasingly accompanied by a constant debate between East and West over just what his music was about; an ideological battle that has only intensified in the three decades since his death. Together with a comprehensive essay that surveys his musical output, these two CDs present a detailed overview of Shostakovich's achievement.

Includes music from nine symphonies, two string quartets, two ballet suites, Piano Concerto No. 2, The Gadfly and Hamlet, as well as Shostakovich himself playing the piano and making a radio address.