Rozhdestvensky, Gennadi

Rozhdestvensky, Gennadi
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Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky (born 4 May 1931) is a Russian conductor. Rozhdestvensky is considered a versatile conductor and a highly cultured musician with a supple stick technique. In moulding his interpretations, he gives a clear idea of the structural outlines and emotional content of a piece, combined with a performing style which melds logic, intuition and spontaneity. He has been praised for his efficient rehearsals which he keeps short, and is noted for his habit of walking around the stage while conducting and not using a podium, even at concerts.

  • Gennadi Rozhdestvensky: Berlioz Romeo et Juliette, Scriabin Le Poeme de l’extase

    COMPOSERS Hector Berlioz, Alexander Scriabin ARTISTS Gennadi Rozhdestvensky
  •  Gennady Rozhdestvensky: Shostakovich

    Gennady Rozhdestvensky (1931-2018) was one of Russia's greatest conductors along with Evgeny Mravinsky and Kirill Kondrashin. His close personal and musical relationship with Shostakovich began in the 1950s and continued until the composer's death in 1975. Rozhdestvensky said at the time, 'It would be difficult to overestimate the significance of my relations with Dmitri Shostakovich since he opened before me a musical universe like a gigantic magnifying glass reflecting our fragile world'. Rozhdestvensky conducted the first western premiere of Shostakovich's Symphony No.4 in Edinburgh in 1962 and after many subsequent performances internationally, it was also the inaugural piece in his tenure as chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1979-81). Composed in 1936 but condemned by the Soviet authorities, it did not receive it's first performance until 1961 in Moscow. The epic Symphony No.11, given a dramatic performance by the BBC Philharmonic in 1997, is based on revolutionary folksongs relating to the 1905 Russian Revolution, and received the Lenin Prize in 1958. Despite this, questions arose as to whether Shostakovich was denouncing the Soviet regime's brutal treatment of it's opponents in it, specifically the 1956 invasion of Hungary or the Tsarist tyranny and oppression of 1905, to which there are no conclusive answers.
  • Great Symphonies (5 CDs)

    Great Symphonies

    MP3 Album:
    Beethoven’s Ninth and Mendelssohn’s “Italian” are two of the great symphonies to appear in this collection, which also features works by Tchaikovsky, Schumann and Brahms, among others. With renowned conductors including Sir Adrian Boult and Gennadi Rozhdestvensky at the helm, these expertly remastered recordings represent an excellent addition to any symphony-lover’s collection.
  • Great Choral Classics (5 CDs)

    Great Choral Classics

    MP3 Album:
    WILLIAM STEINBERG BEETHOVEN Missa solemnis – 1973 ICAC 5054 IGOR MARKEVITCH VERDI Messa da Requiem – 1960 ROSSINI Overtures – 1957 ICAC 5068 (2CD) DIMITRI MITROPOULOS BERLIOZ Requiem (Grande Messe des morts) – 1956 ICAC 5075 GENNADI ROZHDESTVENSKY MAHLER Das klagende Lied – 1981 JANÁCEK The Fiddler’s Child – 1979 ICAC 5080
  • Gennadi Rozhdestvensky

    Gennadi Rozhdestvensky

    MP3 Album:
    Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5 Janáček Taras Bulba BBC Symphony Orchestra
  • Gennadi Rozhdestvensky

    Gennadi Rozhdestvensky

    MP3 Album:
    MAHLER Das klagende Lied Teresa Cahill (SOPRANO) Dame Janet Baker (MEZZO-SOPRANO) Robert Tear (TENOR) Gwynne Howell (BASS) BBC Singers (DIR: JOHN POOLE) BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra/Rozhdestvensky ROYAL ALBERT HALL, LONDON, JULY 20TH, 1981 - JANÁCEK The Fiddler’s Child Bela Dekany (VIOLIN) BBC Symphony Orchestra/Rozhdestvensky SMETANA HALL, PRAGUE, 9 MAY 1979
  • Gennadi Rozhdestvensky

    Gennadi Rozhdestvensky

    MP3 Album:
    Holst: The Planets - Britten: Variations & Fugue on a Theme of Purcell Op.34 BBC Symphony Orchestra
  • Gennadi Rozhdestvensky

    Gennadi Rozhdestvensky

    MP3 Album:
    TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No.4 BBCSO/Gennadi Rozhdestvensky LEEDS MUSIC FESTIVAL, LEEDS TOWN HALL, LEEDS, 1 JUNE 1979 - MUSSORGSKY A Night on the Bare Mountain (Sorochinsky Fair version) David Wilson-Johnson (bass-baritone) BBC Singers • BBC Symphony Chorus BBCSO/Gennadi Rozhdestvensky ROYAL ALBERT HALL, LONDON, 27 JULY 1981 - PROKOFIEV The Love for Three Oranges Suite BBCSO/Gennadi Rozhdestvensky FAR EAST TOUR, KURASHIKI CITY AUDITORIUM, KURASHIKI, JAPAN, 31 MAY 1981
  • Gennadi Rozhdestvensky at the BBC Proms

    Gennadi Rozhdestvensky at the BBC Proms

    Mikhail Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmila / Three Dances from A Life for the Tsar
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    Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker: Act II
    BBC Symphony

Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky (born 4 May 1931) is a Russian conductor. Rozhdestvensky is considered a versatile conductor and a highly cultured musician with a supple stick technique. In moulding his interpretations, he gives a clear idea of the structural outlines and emotional content of a piece, combined with a performing style which melds logic, intuition and spontaneity. He has been praised for his efficient rehearsals which he keeps short, and is noted for his habit of walking around the stage while conducting and not using a podium, even at concerts.