Shostakovich Multimedia CD/DVD-ROM Review

The New Shostakovich CD-ROM and DVD-ROM

DSCH Shostakovich
Chandos Cultural Heritage Series, Vol. 1, 2001
CHAN 50001 (CD-ROM); CHAN 55001 (DVD-ROM)
Fully documented in English, French & German
PC/Macintosh compatible

Credits:
Art director - Oksana Dvornichenko
Art producer - Valentin Olshvang
Designers - Natalia Solodoukhina & Dmitry Chesnokov
Project managers - Sergei Tolstokhlebov & Alexander Prouzhinin
Idea and script - Oksana Dvornichenko
Development and design - 'Autopan'


CD-ROM	DVD-ROM

My father was absolutely thrilled to bring home this CD-ROM - he simply couldn't believe that there was actually an entire computer program devoted to Shostakovich! I too was absolutely thrilled by the idea, though more than a little surprised that there might be enough people as obsessed with a certain composer as I am to justify a commercial production and international distribution. But the fact is that Chandos Records' DSCH Shostakovich CD-ROM does exist, and I explored it for several hours upon opening its box.

The software - or illustrated database - consists of an "all you ever wanted to know" series of audiovisual documents, covering more aspects of Shostakovich's life and works than the average enthusiast might possibly think of. A fairly detailed biography, chronicling on average a year to a page, is accompanied by appropriate pictures, documents (including letters) and quotes, interview clips, and excerpts from works. Elsewhere there is also a complete list of works, a list of recordings, as well as commentary by and biographies of other leading individuals who worked with the composer or performed his music. Perhaps one of the most striking and fascinating aspects of the disc is the film archive, which includes 15 different movie excerpts (33 on the DVD-ROM) dating back to 1933. Clips showing Shostakovich in newsreels, playing the piano, or composing may be regarded as predictable, but it's still wholly fascinating to have the opportunity of seeing Shostakovich in situations I'd previously only read about or seen stills of.

The CD-ROM also has over 600 photographs of the composer, from infant pictures to color pictures taken in the year he died; from family albums (one of which had a hammer and sickle on the cover) to official photos. I looked through every single one of these photos, and I found that they also served to personalize my mental image of Shostakovich through their depiction of him doing 'ordinary-person' things, such as playing with Galya and Maxim, or sitting and reading, or holding a kitten - this, rather than the rather 'standard', haunted expression of the more official portraits.

Also quite extraordinary, visually-speaking, are the various documents which are presented along with the biography and works list. There are images of the original 'Muddle Instead of Music' and 'Balletic Falsehood' articles, as well as more favorable newspaper writings. There are also various passport-type documents and programs from concerts (including one that appears to be in Chinese). More interesting than these, however, are the images of Shostakovich's original letters and manuscripts. I don't know why I was so fascinated to see his handwriting, but I was, and this disc includes many examples. (Fortunately, translations are included for those who don't read Russian.) Regardless of your opinion in the never-ending Testimony debate, there is no doubt that these letters were penned by the real Dmitri Dmitriyevich.

Looking at the manuscripts, too, gives a hint to how Shostakovich dealt with the creative process-what the actual notes look like, what's crossed out and how, as well as the various commentaries the composer often included on the pages. Looking also confirms all I've read about his writing with bright purple ink (and proves, much to my delight, that my favorite fountain pen uses the EXACT same color of ink!)

The works list, or grid, covers each of Shostakovich's opuses with varying levels of description, including, for some, sound clips (not always accurately labelled - take the clip for opus 110: this is the fifth movement, not the first). The discography section is also impressive. It claims to list every existing recording of any piece by Shostakovich. The software links directly to a website with newly updated information and links.

The program is compatible for use on both Macs and PCs, and it can be run in English, French, or German. Be warned that it is difficult on a Mac to look at another program while this application is running: perhaps this is just a hint that Shostakovich is someone who demands full attention, not multitasking...

But if your full attention in the composer is one of plain curiosity, scholarly research or mad obsession, this CD-ROM will serve equally well as an introduction, a supplement, or a reference.

Sketches and above article by Julia L., Virginia USA

After a painless initialisation process (2 clicks on my Macintosh, 3 on my PC, followed by a hasty hammer on the space bar to skip the dreaded sponsor): Welcome to the opening screen of the new DSCH CD-ROM! Navigation couldn't be simpler and is effected through standard hypertext links whilst a clock ticks... (see note on the DVD-ROM at the end of the page)

The accompanying booklet's editing team proclaim:"From letters written by the nine-year-old Shostakovich to those written shortly before his death, his personal story [...] is supplemented by fragments of interviews with Shostakovich's wife Irina, daughter Galina and son Maxim as well as Mstislav Rostropovich, Krzysztof Penderecki, Yevgeny Mravinsky, Rudolf Barshai, Pietro Argento, Van Cliburn, Komei Abe etc. Most of the letters and interview fragments are being published for the first time."

An ingeniously conceived grid system allows access to the 147 opus numbers; subpages lead to detailed descriptions of where and when each work was written or completed; in some cases there are extracts of letters or articles by Shostakovich relating to the work in question, extracts from manuscripts and in (too few!) cases, audio extracts, some performed by the composer himself. "Among eighty-seven musical fragments, preference is given to these and to the archive recordings of [...] Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh, Yevgeny Mravinsky, and the Beethoven Quartet." Non-opused works are listed separately, albeit with a less refined presentation.

A comprehensive chronology of the composer's life is accessed via hypertext links contained within a rotating wheel. Therein lie photos and a huge variety of documents: "Official portraits as well as those showing the composer among family and friends comprising the first photographs of Shostakovich." Throughout the CD-ROM's pages are links to the 'Commentaries' section, which offers biographical summaries of 150 individuals: the leading performers of Shostakovich's music, relatives and friends, as well as writers and poets.

Probably the most impressive chapter of this multimedia tool is Film Archives, which features thirty-three film fragments on DVD-ROM (as opposed to fifteen on CD-ROM): the first of these dates from 1933, and the latest from 1974 where Shostakovich attends the rehearsal of his Michelangelo verses.

So, folks - pros and cons?

Great:
- Fabulously rich source of photographic and documentary archive material.
- Previously unedited film, photographic and documentary material available - and all on a domestic computer!
- Complete Oeuvre cross-check.
- High quality interactive interface.

Less Great:
- Variable level of detail supplied in the "works" section; for example no extracts of opus 11 or opus 111 are offered.
- Churlish though it may seem to say, the sound quality (CD-ROM only) on the film extracts is often quite appalling, with added sound effects aggravating the problem.

Bad:
- Relatively high cost (around 60USD - depends where you shop).
- Numerous errors (see Julia's review, plus missing illustrations, misspellings and mistranslations).

Conclusion: if you can play the DVD-ROM, buy this - more film clips are offered and the overall reproduction quality is far, far better. Access times, too, are significantly shorter (although much depends on the state of your PC).

But, if it's a CD-ROM or nothing at all, BUY the CD-ROM, and treat yourself to a view of Shostakovich you will never have enjoyed before.

Nigel Papworth

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