| CD REVIEW (This review has also been published at www.701.com) |
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| This highly dramatic film score, extracted from Shostakovich�s �Piano Concertos 1 & 2�, �Jazz Suites 1 & 2�, �Ballet Suites 1-3�, and Movement 1 from �Symphony No. 10�, is led by well-loved Canadian conducted Mario Bernardi and spotlights Angela Cheung on piano and Jens Lindemann on trumpet. It provides a music narration to the tale of a lonely, anonymous civil servant whose life is forever changed by the acquisition of a custom-made overcoat more appropriate, perhaps, for a member of upper-class society or even royalty. It certainly takes a lot of skill to musically �personify� a cast of characters through no other means than music, mime and movement. Although the tracks on the CD have not been placed in the same sequence in the film, there are liner instructions that indicate how the tracks can be reprogrammed to match that of the film (and story line, one would presume). However, this can become somewhat tedious, especially if necessity dictates a manual rather than automatic re-sequencing. In any case, if the listener is hearing only the music and not viewing the film itself, it makes little difference in which order the pieces are heard. It�s better just to �go with the flow�, as they say. Some of the tracks go on a bit too long without really leading anywhere, but overall it�s quite infectious. For some reason, this music reminds of the old Warner Brothers cartoons and their accompanying background scores, especially the Bugs Bunny ones. The absolute absurdity (and genius) of pairing classical music with animated characters� cleverly-written scripts somewhat seems to make perfect sense in retrospect! Apparently, boht Dmitri Shostakovich and Nikolai Gogol (the author of the story from which the film was inspired) were two-of-a-kind in their fondness for political satire and buffoonery in general. While I can�t really comment on Mario Bernardi�s talent as a conductor, not having heard enough from any of his peers to make a valid comparison, his glowing reputation would seem to speak for itself. I�d say the music of Shostakovich is an excellent introduction to classical music, especially if you tend towards very strong, dynamic genres of music already! |
| THE OVERCOAT (LE MANTEAU) - MUSIC OF DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH - CBC RADIO ORCHESTRA (Conducted by Mario Bernardi) |
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