“Melodiya” digitized Beethoven’s “Solemn Mass” on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth

“Melodiya” recording company has published in digital format the sound track of Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Solemn Mass”, which was recorded in 1988 in Moscow with the participation of musicians from different countries as part of the campaign for nuclear disarmament.

The concert in the capital was then part of a tour organized by the international organization “Doctors of the World for the Prevention of Nuclear War”, – as was noted by “Melodiya”. In five days, the ensemble, consisting of more than a hundred musicians, performed “Solemn Mass” four times – in Berlin, Moscow, Dresden and London.

“Under the direction of the American-Hungarian conductor Antal Dorati, singers from Switzerland, the German Democratic Republic, the USA and the USSR have united, including the young soloist of the Bolshoi Theater Mikhail Svetlov (Krutikov), the University of Maryland Choir (USA) and the European Symphony Orchestra – a joint ensemble, which included musicians from top orchestras of Western Europe, the USA and Canada. The violin solo was performed by the accompanist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Thomas Brandis,” – said the press service.

This work of the great composer is rarely performed – the scale of the “Solemn Mass” and the difficulties of its orchestral and vocal-choral parts make it difficult to perform. “During the Soviet years, the “Solemn Mass” almost never sounded in our country for censorship reasons, so its performance in Moscow in 1988 became not only a cultural, but also an important historical event,” – said the press service of “Melodiya”.

The digital version is available on Apple Music, Yandex.Music, YouTube, Spotify. It is accompanied by a digital booklet in Russian and English.