Leningrad Symphony
«Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad”, the seventh of the fifteen Shostakovich composed throughout his life (1906-1975), was premiered on 5th March 1942 at Samara (then named Kuibyshev), performed by the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra under conductor Samuil Samossud. The success of the premiere and the touching response of the Russian public were the impetus that immediately catapulted this symphony as one of the world’s most popular symphonic works ever, a popularity without precedents in 20th century contemporary music, which led to the most complimentary dithyrambs and the most hard-hitting critiques. Neither praises nor published reviews are the best guide to understand this work, but listening to it and, if need be, its musical and musicological analysis, as follows from the interpretation of conductor George Pehlivanian proposes in this phonographic version with the Spanish National Youth Orchestra. After the premiere in Leningrad, in oppressive conditions, both because of the situation of the city, under permanent siege by direct order of Hitler himself, and the lack of qualified musicians, the symphony was played in Moscow that very same month of March and the success was internationally amplified by the effect of radio broadcasting. The interest shown by most prestigious conductors and most famous orchestras in the world gave the symphony a hitherto unknown diffusion. Toscanini premiered it in New York on 19th July 1942 and immediately after Stokovski, Mitropoulos, Ormandy, Kussewizki, Pierre Monteux and many others in the United States did the same with their own orchestras, a fact that later on, after the end of the war, stimulated its performance in the seasons of the most important European capitals. But Shostakovich, who had been awarded the State Stalin Prize in 1942 for this symphony, dreamed of its premiere in the city of his love, which he achieved on 9th August that year, when German air force bombs thundered over Leningrad. No doubt we are in front of a work that, despite the difficulties it had to overcome to be premiered and the previous opinions of some colleagues inside and outside the Soviet Union, it has surpassed any prediction on popularity and recognition, and it is considered as one of the most performed symphonies all over the world nowadays. Time and countless recorded documents by most eminent conductors and orchestras, to which today joins the Spanish National Youth Orchestra conducted by George Pehlivanian, have nuanced previous judgements, sometimes malicious, and Symphony No. 7 named “Leningrad” by Dimitri Shostakovich has become part of an indisputable legacy that only individual listening will endorse its value, not only as a document of a historical event, but also as a musical document that endures as “historical reason”. It is not descriptive music, but instrumental music where the allegorical and the psychological express musically.
JONDE
The Joven Orquesta Nacional de España (JONDE) belongs to the National Institute of Peforming Arts and Music (INAEM), an institution that is part of the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. It was created in 1983 in order to contribute to the most advanced training of Spanish musicians before they become full professionals. It aims mainly at the development of their studies through the practice of the symphonic and chamber music repertoires 6 times a year. The members of the JONDE are selected through auditions (twice a year), and remain in the orchestra until the age of 23. They are coached by a team of professors of a high artistic standard selected from the best European orchestras. The JONDE has worked with important soloists including Mstislav Rostropovich, Agustín León Ara, Rafael Orozco, Christian Zacharias, John Williams, Deszö Ranki, Teresa Berganza, María Bayo, Simon Estes or Juan Diego Flórez. It has worked with conductors like Carlo Maria Giulini, Gunther Schuller, Jakov Kreizberg, Fabio Biondi, Reinbert de Leeuw, Vasily Petrenko, Krysztof Penderecki, Christian Zacharias, Paul Goodwin, Lutz Köhler, Gianandrea Noseda, Christopher Hogwood, George Pehlivanian, Peter Rundel, Edmon Colomer, Jesús López Cobos, Josep Pons, Antoni Ros Marbá, Víctor Pablo, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Bruno Aprea, Pablo González, Alberto Zedda, Juanjo Mena or Arturo Tamayo. Although the orchestra maintains its main activity in Spain, the tournées abroad are frequent. We can quote the following: Belgium, Russia, Ukraine and Estonia, Hungary, France, USA, Italy, United Kingdom, Portugal, Luxemburg, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Venezuela, Romania and the Dominican Republic, performing in venues like the Théatre des Champs Elysées, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Schauspielhaus am Gendarmenmarkt and the Berlín Philharmonic or the Radio Kulturhaus in Vienna. It has participated among others, in the following international festivals: BBC Proms, Aberdeen International Youth Festival, Chester Summer Music Festival, Expo Lisbon ’98, Robecco Zomerconzerten (Amsterdam), Musikfestpiele Saarbrücken, World Expo Hannover, Festival Young. Euro.Classic in Berlin, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Opernfestspiele Schloss Weikersheim, Festival Kultursommer Nordhessen (Germany), Touquet International Music Masters (France) or the Festival Spain-Venezuela in Caracas. The Foundation BBVA collaborates with the JONDE/INAEM through the JONDE-Fundación BBVA sholarships to help improve the technical and performing skills and the chamber music experience of its musicians in Spain and abroad. It participates regularly in exchange programmes with other countries, specially through the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras (EFNYO) and also via other Latin American “sistemas” of youth orchestras. The JONDE’s repertoire includes the most representative titles from the baroque, classical, romantic, post-romantic music, and it pays special attention to contemporary music, both chamber and symphonic, and recording of CD´s and DVD´s are frequent. Since 2001 its artistic director is the composer José Luis Turina»
Pehlivanian
French-American conductor, born in Beirut, into a musical family. Pehilvanian study conducting with Pierre Boulez, Lorin Maazel and Ferdinand Leitner. In 1991 Mr. Pehlivanian was crowned unanimously by the International Jury, with the Grand Prize of the Besançon International Conducting Competition. Since then he has conducted many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonia, Israel Philharmonic, Filarmonica della Scala, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, NDR Hamburg, Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, BBC Philharmonic, Bamberger Symphoniker, the Norddeutsche, Hessische and Südwetsdeutsche Runfunk Symphony Orchestras, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, National Orchestra of Belgium, Orchestra Nazionale della RAI (Turín), Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Orchestra del Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Bournemouth Symphony, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Radio Television de España, the Opera and Symphony Orchestras of Valencia, Royal Scottish National Orchestra among others. In North America he has conducted the Baltimore, Houston, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Rochester, Buffalo, Pacific, Honolulu, Puerto Rico, Montreal, Toronoto, Vancouver and Ottawa. Elsewhere, he has worked with the Russian National Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre, Moscow Philharmonic, Sydney, the Malaysian , Hong Kong , Qatar and Shanghai Phiharmonic Orchestras, Turkish Presidential Symphony Orchestra in Ankara. Artistic Director of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of Orkest of The Hague, the Wiener Kammerorchester, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie RheinlandPfalz, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari and the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestras. He has lead critically aclaimed performances of titles such as Boris Godunov, Pique Dame, Jenufa, Otello, Tosca, La Traviata, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Ernani, Cavalleria Rusticana, Gianni Schicchi ,… The most prestigious opera houses in the world such as: the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Cité de la Musique of Paris, New Israeli Opera, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Bari and Trieste, Ópera National de Bordeaux, among others. His name appears on the posters of the most important festivals: Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, White Nights of Saint Petersburg, Verdi di Parma, Rávena, Aspen, Ravello, San Sebastien, Santander, Granada, Bruckner of Linz, Ljubljana, Osaka, Kyoto, etc. Professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (CNSMDP) and the Higher School of Music Education ‘Katarina Gurska’ in Madrid. He has collaborated with renowned artists such as Leonidas Kavakos, Vadim Repim, Sarah Chang, Joshua Bell, Janine Jansen, Misha Maisky, Gidon Kremer, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Arcadi Volodos, Emmanuel Ax, Lynn Harrell, Maurice Andre, Evelyn Glennie, Mirella Freni, Ruggero Raimondi, Dimitri Hrostovsky, Leona Mitchel, Bernarda Fink, Marjana Lipovsek etc. His discography includes CD release on Virgin Classics, EMI, BMG, CHANDOS, STUDIO SM
