Dmitry SHOSTAKOVICH

Overview

PHCD155

VIOLIN and VIOLA SONATAS

Dmitri Shostakovich

Violin Sonata, Op.134

Viola Sonata, Op.147

Levon Ambartsumian,

violin and viola

Anatoly Sheludyakov

piano

The Violin Sonata, Op. 134 was written in honor of David Oistrakh’s 60th birthday and premiered in Moscow on May 2, 1969, with Oistrakh and Svyatoslav Richter performing. Oistrakh was a close friend of Shostakovich and served as the composer’s main inspiration for both of his violin concertos.

The Viola Sonata, Op. 147 was Shostakovich’s last work. It was dedicated to the violist Fyodor Druzhinin, a professor of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and a member of the Beethoven String Quartet. This renowned Moscow ensemble played at the premieres of most of Shostakovich’s string quartets. Fyodor Druzhinin and Mikhail Muntyan premiered the Viola Sonata in Leningrad on October 1, 1975.

Dmitry Shostakovich’s two great chamber sonatas — one for violin, one for viola — stand among his most intimate and emotionally charged works. In this Phoenix USA recording, violinist and violist Levon Ambartsumian and pianist Anatoly Sheludyakov bring incisive clarity, structural insight, and expressive depth to both scores. Their performances illuminate the music’s stark contrasts, from brooding introspection to explosive intensity, offering a compelling portrait of Shostakovich’s late style.