Rudolf Barshai died last night

[Brian]

We've lost one of the pre-eminent Soviet-era conductors and one of Shostakovich's closest friends and best interpreters.
Link to news - of his death and of his final project, a completed Bach arrangement of "Art of Fugue" for unspecified ensemble

[DavidW]

I love his DSCH cycle.  This is sad news.

[Brahmsian]

Sad to hear this.  I also really love the DSCH cycle.

[MishaK]

Sad news. Love both his DSCH and the Mahler.

[Mirror Image]

This is very sad news indeed. Like many have mentioned, I greatly admire his Shostakovich cycle and the few Mahler recordings he did. His recording of Mahler's 5th is one of the best I've heard.

[david johnson]

 

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

RIP to a fine conductor and violist (he was one of the founding members of the original Borodin Quartet).

Barshai was the conductor at one of the more memorable concerts I've been to. This took place in Prague on Sept. 14, 2001, just three days after the 9/11 events. He conducted his own completion of the Mahler 10th with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. In the final movement of the symphony, there is a repeated bass drum stroke, which was inspired by the funeral of a New York fireman that Mahler had witnessed. I thought how eerily appropriate this was, given the circumstances.

[Luke]

...and their recording, IIRC, was made on the 12th.

Very sad news

[kaergaard]

  What a loss! Founder of my favourite quartet, The Borodin Quartet !

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/arts/music/10barshai.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

[Sid]

RIP. One of the great musical figures of the C20th. I especially like how his arrangements of Prokofiev and Shostakovich actually sound like they'd been done by the composers themselves. He was a man of many talents, and also orchestrated Mahler's 10th (which I haven't heard yet) and was a particularly fine conductor of C20th repertoire...

[DavidW]

I'm going to repost Jens entry (it appeared on another thread) for all to see:

At last, I got to that: http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2010/11/side-notes-rudolf-barshai-has-died.html