Composed in one of the best creative phases of the russian composer, when yet there isn't nor the nazi menace neither the stalinist repression, Odna (Alone) comes together two works of scope like the ballet The Bolt, op.27 and, specially, the opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, op.29. Last film without dialogues on which Shostakovitch works, the long score has been subdivided on seven sections; the plot, an allegory about the advantages of the soviet world through the story of a teacher faithful to the new ideologies who must face the deadness living forces of a remote village, allow the composer to use a wide freedom of styles and modes, following with his usual timbre and orchestral experimentation. A colorful orchestra, with a big percussive section (including, even, a primitive electronic instrument) and winds, maintain an excellent level and balance, standing out certain typical of his author passages, like the adagio used to describe the lonely steppe region on which the village is located. At the end, the best composers always create works of quality, even when less compromised seems to be. M.A.F.

Odna, op.26 (1930-1931) - 74:29
Rundfunk-Symphonieorchester, Berlin - Swetlana Katchur (Sopran), Wladimir Kazatchouk (Tenor) - Conductor: Michail Jurowski
CAPRICCIO 10562 / 75'