National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Theodore Kuchar - Shostakovich: Jazz & Ballet Suites (2006)

What we have here are three discs containing two of Shostakovich's jazz suites, two of his overtures, two of his film scores, three of his ballet suites, plus one piece of eternal ephemeral music. While this might not appeal to the listener looking for Shostakovich's symphonies nor to listeners looking for no more than the smallest sample of his lighter orchestral scores, these discs will still be of interest to even the most casual Shostakovich fan for one simple reason: these are among the best performances of any of these works ever recorded. Theodore Kuchar and the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine are the same folks who recorded the complete symphonies of Prokofiev and Lyatoshins'ky with skill and dedication and they are just as skilled, just as dedicated, and just as compelling in the lighter Shostakovich. Their Gadfly Suite is charmingly tuneful. Their Jazz Suite No. 1 is delightfully slutty. Their Overture on Russian and Kirghiz Themes is wonderfully rambunctious. Their The Golden Age is tremendously decadent. And their Novorossijsk Chimes -- a piece played in perpetuity at a memorial to the Great Patriotic War -- is as infectiously ingratiating as any piece meant to be played eternally can be. Brilliant's sound is so real you can hear the sweat on the saxophonist's upper lip.