“The young Shostakovich's incidental music for Mayakovsky's farcical play proves a delight.” ****

“Two world premieres here, but it’s the colourful and comedic incidental music for 1929 play The Bedbug which stands out …” ****

“…The stage music for The Bedbug was composed for a surreal and grotesque satire about communist utopias as well as bourgeois corruption and vulgarity by Vladimir Mayakovsky. This composition with marches, foxtrot, waltzes and a firefighter choir is absolutely brilliant and bristles with grandiose ideas. The excellent performances – premiere recordings, of course – make Shostakovich’s music very lively and attractive.” ****

“…These pieces (it has to be admitted) are hardly major finds, but they still have a modest piquant value for the followers of the composer. Shostakovich was still young when hired to provide incidental music for The Bedbug, a surreal and farcical satire on Communist utopian dreams and bourgeois corruption and vulgarity. The score, newly reconstructed by Mark Fitz-Gerald from rough piano sketches and the 1935 soundtrack, combines symphonic sections with popular songs.”