Vladimir Spivakov; Reinhold Friedrich; Thomas Duis; Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin; MDR Sinfonieorchester; Gurzenich Orchester Koln; Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; Dmitrij Kitajenko; Steven Sloane; James Conlon; Lutz Kohler - Dmitri Shostakovich: Jazz Suites; Ballet Suites; Concertos

Dmitri Shostakovich is known principally for his symphonies and string quartets, works that combine a degree of humour with darkness, brooding and desolation. But there is also a jaunty side to the great composer, and nowhere is it felt more cheerfully than in his Jazz Suites, the Tahiti Trot and his Ballet Suites. Those works, together with two concertos, continue Capriccio's box sets of Shostakovich's Symphonies, Film Music, Orchestral Songs and Chamber Music. In the playful Piano Concerto, humour comes to the fore in the many quotations of songs, of his own works, and of Beethoven. It's only the grim Violin Concerto, withheld like the Fourth Symphony for fear of retribution, that offers no smile.