“Most important, historically, is the Moscow recording of the original 1962 version of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13 using Yevtushenko’s [pre-censored] text commemorating the massacre of Jews at Babi Yar. … Yevtushenko’s original ‘I feel myself a Jew’ was what the anti-Semitic Soviet government would have no truck with. So it’s significant this is once again made available, especially in such a memorably intense performance.”
– Gramophone
The groundbreaking first recording Shostakovich’s shattering “Babi Yar” in its uncensored version, conducted by legendary Russian maestro Kiril Kondrashin, is coupled with the composer’s music for Grigoriy Kozintsev’s film version of “King Lear”.