Parlando’s Debut Album Reviewed on San Francisco Classical Voice

The ensemble Parlando, praised by the New York Times for its “smart, unusual programming,” recently released its debut album, Censored Anthems, on DELOS. The program explores music from the 20th century as a tool of cultural resilience in the face of censorship, particularly in the Soviet Union.

These are “vigorous performances, enhanced by excellent production, [making] for invigorating listening,” writes San Francisco Classical Voice. “Thoughtful performances of key works, supplemented with audio commentary by conductor Ian Niederhoffer — who founded Parlando in 2019 — show how these three very different personalities managed to survive and compose ‘with a KGB agent in the room’.”

The album opens with a selection from Dmitri Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, arranged by Niederhoffer. Following is the Concertino for Violin and String Orchestra by the Polish, Soviet, and Russian composer Mieczysław Weinberg, whose career was shaped by persecution during Stalin’s anti-cosmopolitan campaign. The American violinist Aubree Oliverson is the featured soloist. The final piece is the Symphony for String Orchestra and Timpani by the Armenian composer Edvard Mirzoyan, the son of a survivor of the Armenian Genocide. Andrew Beall is the featured timpanist.

To read the full review, click here.