I was feeling a bit crappy last night so a friend of mine sent over an MP3 of Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 (Prelude) which seemed to suit and soften my mood perfectly. This morning I downloaded (oh for shame!) the rest of the suite and put it on heavy rotation.
Then I got a sudden craving to hear Shostakovich, Rachmaninov and Dvorak. I am not hugely knowledge about classical music (or even what is and isn't 'classical' in the proper musical sense of the word, although I understand that there's a difference between classical and orchestral). I also have a memory like a sieve. I know I used to listen repeatedly to one of Dmitri Shostakovich's thingies when I was about 18. Symphonies, I think. It was an Opus somethingorother. I have it on tape somewhere, but thought I'd check to see if it was on slsk.
Well, there's lots of Shostakovich on slsk, unfortunately none of it is labelled 'Suw's Favourite Opus Thingie', so I have no idea what to download. Random choices haven't been successful, so if anyone does know which one it was, please tell me. It's quite a feisty piece. It used to fit well with Dvorak's From The New World Symphony No. 9, the name of which I do remember and the tape of which I did manage to locate after some significant rummaging in the loft.
(In case you're not familiar with it, this is the 'Oh, aye, twere grim oop north when I were a lad' coal scuttle and brass bands symphony. You'd know it if you heard it. Oh, and it also has that big military riff that immediately makes you think Soviets in big furry coats and hats, their breath freezing in the air as they stomp about Red Square. I love the way that riff then devolves into this pretty little joyful dance that is totally at odds with the big grumpy Russians.)
It's a shame I can't find the Shostakovich tape, as it also had Rachmaninov's The Rock on it, which I also used to rather like. The annoying thing is, I can remember exactly where the tape was in my maisonette in Reading. I could, in fact, have pinpointed its location to within inches. But here? Nope. Not a clue.
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