Mikael Tariverdiev

★★★★ Seventeen Moments Of Spring EARTH RECORDINGS. CD/DL/LP

Revered Russian composer’s score for a ’70s Soviet spy drama watched by 80 million. There are numerous reasons why this 1973 wartime thriller was so popular when first broadcast. Firstly, there wasn’t much on the other side. Commissioned to boost the KGB’s image following Nikita Krushchev’s de-Stalinisation reforms, Seventeen Moments was intended to be watched by as many people as possible. Second, there was the genius of female director Tatyana Lioznova, who enlisted the incredible Vyacheslav Tikhonov to play the Soviet spy, Stierlitz, and commissioned the great Tariverdiev to score the music. Intent on depicting Stierlitz’s inner life, his longing for a distant homeland, Tariverdiev created a lyrical, haunting autumnal score for swirling strings, flute, cimbalom and piano, lending this cold uneasy drama a deep lyrical soul. It’s rumoured that the TV series encouraged Vladimir Putin to join the KGB. Remastered from Tariverdiev’s original tapes, this gorgeous release might make you want to do the same.