DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975): Incidental Music for The Bedbug, Op. 19, Music for the Film Love and Hate, Op. 38. World Premiere Recordings.

Description: 1929’s The Bedbug was a surreal and farcical satire on Communist utopian dreams and bourgeois corruption and vulgarity. Shostakovich gave it a terrifically knockabout score that draws on local fireman’s bands and American dance music. Illustrated by Shostakovich’s powerful middle-period music, Love and Hate is a film about female fortitude set in a mining village during the 1919 Civil War. The innovative score, newly reconstructed by Mark Fitz-Gerald from rough piano sketches and the 1935 soundtrack, combines symphonic sections with popular songs. Russian-English texts. Mannheim Opera Choir, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz; Mark Fitz-Gerald.