| 1 CD |
€ 19.95
|
Preorder |
| Label Challenge Classics |
UPC 0608917200430 |
Catalogue number CC 720043 |
Release date 01 May 2026 |
Shostakovich’s Sixth and Ninth Symphonies stand as sharply contrasting yet deeply connected reflections of a century scarred by violence, fear, and forced optimism. The Sixth Symphony, composed in 1939 at the height of Stalin’s Great Terror, opens with a vast, searing Largo that unfolds like a requiem for a silenced society—mourning lost friends, broken lives, and collective suffering. Its bleak introspection is followed by movements of icy detachment and grotesque parody, where frantic energy and empty cheer mask a profound spiritual void. Through this unsettling trajectory, Shostakovich speaks with “secret freedom,” revealing a truth that words could not safely express: a tragic meditation on human dignity under oppression.
Written in 1945, the Ninth Symphony defies expectations of monumental victory music. Instead of triumphal bombast, Shostakovich offers a compact, ironic, and life-affirming work, brimming with wit, clarity, and subtle defiance. Beneath its Haydnesque lightness and carnival spirit linger shadows of war, grief, and memory—solemn brass rituals, elegiac melodies, and moments of fragile reflection. In this recording, the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra and Daniel Raiskin illuminate the symphonies’ dual nature: tragedy entwined with irony, joy haunted by loss. Together, these works form a powerful portrait of resilience, humanity, and artistic truth in the face of history’s darkest pressures.
Schostakowitschs Sechste und Neunte Sinfonie stehen als scharf kontrastierende und doch tief miteinander verbundene Spiegelbilder eines Jahrhunderts, das von Gewalt, Angst und erzwungenem Optimismus gezeichnet ist. Die Sechste Sinfonie, 1939 auf dem Höhepunkt von Stalins Großem Terror komponiert, beginnt mit einem gewaltigen, brennenden Largo, das sich wie ein Requiem für eine zum Schweigen gebrachte Gesellschaft entfaltet – eine Klage um verlorene Freunde, zerbrochene Leben und kollektives Leid. Auf diese düstere Innenschau folgen Sätze von eisiger Distanz und grotesker Parodie, in denen hektische Energie und hohle Heiterkeit eine tiefe geistige Leere überdecken. In dieser verstörenden Dramaturgie spricht Schostakowitsch mit „geheimer Freiheit“ und legt eine Wahrheit offen, die sich in Worten nicht gefahrlos ausdrücken ließ: eine tragische Meditation über menschliche Würde unter Unterdrückung.
Die 1945 entstandene Neunte Sinfonie widersetzt sich den Erwartungen an monumentale Siegesmusik. Statt triumphaler Wucht bietet Schostakowitsch ein kompaktes, ironisches und lebensbejahendes Werk – voller Witz, Klarheit und subtiler Auflehnung. Unter ihrer haydnschen Leichtigkeit und dem Jahrmarktsgeist bleiben die Schatten von Krieg, Trauer und Erinnerung spürbar: feierlich-rituelle Blechbläsergesten, elegische Melodien und Momente zerbrechlicher Besinnung. In dieser Aufnahme lassen das Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra und Daniel Raiskin die doppelte Natur der Sinfonien aufleuchten: Tragik verflochten mit Ironie, Freude vom Verlust heimgesucht. Gemeinsam zeichnen diese Werke ein kraftvolles Porträt von Widerstandskraft, Menschlichkeit und künstlerischer Wahrheit angesichts der dunkelsten Zwänge der Geschichte.
The Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava is one of the leading symphony orchestras in the Czech Republic. Its distinctive sound and rich, forward-thinking repertoire are grounded in a long-standing tradition and are highly praised by both domestic and international audiences and critics. The orchestra’s exceptional quality lies in its ability to deliver outstanding interpretations not only of Janáček’s music but also of a wide-ranging repertoire that spans from late Romanticism to contemporary works, including compositions by Suk, Mahler, Bartók, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich. The orchestra’s chief conductor and designated artistic director (effective from the 2026/27 season) is Daniel Raiskin.
In recent years, the orchestra has performed with prominent soloists such as cellists Gautier Capuçon and Steven Isserlis, violinists Lisa Batiashvili and Vadim Gluzman, vocalists Elīna Garanča and Jonas Kaufmann, and pianists Sergey Babayan, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Boris Giltburg, Simon Trpčeski, among many others. Renowned conductors such as Andrey Boreyko, Lawrence Foster, and Domingo Hindoyan are regular guests in Ostrava. Recent guest conductors have also included Cristian Măcelaru, Petr Popelka, Jakub Hrůša, and former music director Vassily Sinaisky.
The orchestra has recorded music for several films and collaborates with popular Czech musicians such as Tomáš Klus and Vojtěch Dyk. It also devotes significant attention to educational programs for younger audiences and seniors, as well as to nurturing gifted soloists and conductors, who are given opportunities to perform with the orchestra—including in a dedicated concert series. Since 2020, the JPO has contributed to alternative education and professional development for young talented musicians from around the world through its International Orchestral Academy.
The orchestra’s musical tradition dates back to the first half of the 20th century, when its predecessor ensemble performed with artists such as Paul Hindemith, Sergei Prokofiev, and Igor Stravinsky. The Ostrava Symphony Orchestra was officially founded in 1954 and soon became one of the fastest-growing Czech orchestras—embarking on its first international tour just five years after its founding. Since then, it has collaborated with many world-renowned conductors and soloists, including Sir Charles Mackerras, Karel Ančerl, Mariss Jansons, Sviatoslav Richter, and Rudolf Firkušný.
Studio recordings from Ostrava released by labels such as Linn Records, Supraphon, and CPO have received critical and public acclaim, earning awards such as the BBC Music Magazine Award and Diapason d’Or.
In the past five years, the orchestra has toured extensively throughout Europe as well as in Japan, China, and South Korea. Prestigious venues recently played by the Janáček Philharmonic include Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Berlin Philharmonie.
The orchestra’s longtime home, the House of Culture of the City of Ostrava, is currently undergoing renovation. The project includes the construction of a new concert hall meeting world-class acoustic standards, designed by Steven Holl Architects (New York) in collaboration with Architecture Acts (Prague). The acoustics are being designed by the renowned firm Nagata Acoustics, making the new building an ideal venue for symphonic concerts and marking the beginning of a new era for the orchestra. Until its completion, the JPO is performing in a temporary venue at the Vesmír cinema hall.
From the 2020/2021 season Daniel Raiskin is the Principal Conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra in Bratislava. He is Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra since August 2018 and Principal Guest Conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra from season 2017/18.
His regular guest appearances include the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan, Niederösterreichische Tonkünstlerorchester, Orchestre National de Belgique, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, Osaka Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest, Sinfonia Varsovia, Stuttgarter Philharmonikern, Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. His appearances in opera productions include Carmen, Shostakovich’s The Nose and Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Within the InClassica Dubai International Music Festival 2021 and 2022 he conducted the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra. Furthermore, he will conduct this orchestra on a tour in Japan in 2023.
Raiskin was Chief Conductor of the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie in Koblenz (2005- 2016) and of the Artur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra in Lódz (2008-2015), and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife (season 2017/18)Daniel Raiskin is also relentlessly committed to sharing his knowledge and passion with young musicians around the world. He devotes his time regularly to working with youth orchestras in a.o. Canada, Estonia, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands and South Africa.
Among the major soloists with whom he has appeared are Emanuel Ax, Rudolf Buchbinder, Cameron Crozman, Xavier de Maistre, Renée Fleming, Nelson Freire, Martin Fröst, Alban Gerhardt, Vadim Gluzman, Natalia Gutman, Daniel Hope, Kari Kriikku, Simone Lamsma, Lang Lang, Francois Leleux, Jan Lisiecki, Alexei Lubimov, Tatjana Masurenko, Albrecht Mayer, Daniel Müller-Schott, Olli Mustonen, Julian Rachlin, Benjamin Schmid, Julian Steckel, Anna Vinnitskaya, Lukáš Vondráček and Alexei Volodin.
Recent recordings include Mahler Symphony No. 3 and Shostakovich Symphony No. 4 with the label AVI, both to great critical acclaim. His recording with cello concertos by Korngold, Bloch and Goldschmidt with Julian Steckel and the label AVI received an Echo Klassik Award in 2012. Other recent recording projects include a Louis Glass Symphony cycles and a concerto cycle with the entire concertos and rhapsodies by Aram Khachaturian, both with the label CPO,Lutosławski’s vocal-instrumental works with the label Dux and a recording of Alexander Tansman’s Isaie le Prophète and Psaumes with the label World Premiere Recordings.
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