Shostakovich's vocal works rarely receive the attention of his symphonies and quartets, yet these settings of Pushkin, Raleigh, Burns, and Shakespeare reveal a lyricist of considerable subtlety. This 1994 Deutsche Grammophon recording features soloists Luba Orgonasova, Nathalie Stutzmann, Larissa Dyadkova, Philip Langridge, and Sergei Leiferkus with the Gothenburg Symphony under Neeme Järvi. The orchestrations range from intimate to elaborate, with Shostakovich's signature harmonic language applied to poetry in multiple languages. These songs blend modernist sophistication with genuine expressivity—neither avant-garde nor sentimental. A revelation for listeners discovering Shostakovich beyond the symphonic canon.