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Shostakovich Symphonies

post #1 of 470
10/27/04 at 1:36am
Thread Starter 
Interested to get peoples general thoughts on the Shostakovich Symphonies (which ones you like, which ones you don't, why and why not), what performances you've heard, and which ones you like the best.
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post #2 of 470
10/27/04 at 10:07am
personally I'm fond of his Fifth Symphony.
The works were commisioned\approved by the Communist party, if they didn't approve, the works, and ofttimes the composer would disappear permanently.

It would have been really neat to hear what Shostakovich would have written and performed if he worked in a free nation.
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post #3 of 470
10/27/04 at 10:08am
They all have something to offer. I am particularly fond of 1, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 15 and suggest the following recordings:

1 + 15: Lopez-Cobos, Cincinnati SO (Telarc)
5: Bernstein, NY Philharmonic, Sony (the 1959 recording)
7: Bernstein (two recordings, Sony and DG, both worth having)
8: Haitink, Concertgebouw (Decca)
10: Jarvi, Scottish NO (Chandos), Ormandy, Philadelphia (Sony)
11: Rostropovich, LSO (LSO Live)
15: Haitink, London Philharmonic (Decca)

The sound is very good on all of these, and spectacular on the Lopez-Cobos and the Haitink 8th. Thie latter may be hard to find but it is worth the trouble.
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post #4 of 470
10/27/04 at 11:18am
I like the Ninth, which confounded popular expectations for a grand statement in keeping with other ninth symphonies after Beethoven. The E-flat key signature (half step up from Beethoven's D minor) might be a sly gesture, letting the symphony hover just above the conventional key for Serious Symphonic Statements. But there is also a powerful brass chorale in the fourth (?) movement that sounds as menacing as anything in the Fifth or Tenth symphonies. Lightness and mirth prevail in the end, but this symphony's no laughing matter.

I have Ashkenazy/Royal Philharmonic (Decca) and Yoel Levi/Atlanta (Telarc). There are probably better performances out there.
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post #5 of 470
10/27/04 at 12:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewB
personally I'm fond of his Fifth Symphony.
The works were commisioned\approved by the Communist party, if they didn't approve, the works, and ofttimes the composer would disappear permanently.

It would have been really neat to hear what Shostakovich would have written and performed if he worked in a free nation.
Yes, maybe, but the struggle would be gone, and that's what makes his music great. I think Shostakovich expressed perfectly the times he was living in. Just listen to the 8th. What other symphony expresses the terror of war like this? He was definately a genius who got the better of his Communist handlers at almost every turn. Even the 5th, though thought to be celabratory at the end, can also be deceptively tragic.. depdending on how it's performed. I think many conductors just don't get it. Listen to Rostropovich and how he slams home those last few notes of the last movement, esp. in the percussion.. you can almost hear Shostokovich himself screaming through clenched teeth "CELEBRATE DAMMIT!!"

-jar
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post #6 of 470
10/27/04 at 12:12pm
i saw the 5th symphony performed in philadelphia.
my impressions was that it beamed with national pride but there were so very complicated and beautiful undertones that indicated emotions and feelings not akin to the communist part, but that was just my session with it.
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post #7 of 470
10/27/04 at 1:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Masonjar
He was definately a genius who got the better of his Communist handlers at almost every turn.
There was an interesting article by Alex Ross in the New Yorker this year about Shostakovich and his "memoirs" as related to Volkov. Ross writes that Shostakovich and the state may have had a more symbiotic relationship than is commonly believed. The article also has a gripping analysis of the Fourth Symphony.
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post #8 of 470
10/27/04 at 2:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by amadeuswus
There was an interesting article by Alex Ross in the New Yorker this year about Shostakovich and his "memoirs" as related to Volkov. Ross writes that Shostakovich and the state may have had a more symbiotic relationship than is commonly believed. The article also has a gripping analysis of the Fourth Symphony.
Thanks for the tip! His Fourth is a strange beast, I've yet to fully comprehend it, though there's definately some amazing music going on there..

-jar
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post #9 of 470
10/27/04 at 7:50pm
Thread Starter 
Right now I'm working my way through a few complete cycles of Shostakovich, namely the Barshai, Haitink, Rozhdestvensky, Kondrashin, and a few Mravinsky recordings for good measure. Wow, talk about different interpretations! Has anyone else heard these (or other) cycles?
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post #10 of 470
10/28/04 at 9:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyson
Right now I'm working my way through a few complete cycles of Shostakovich, namely the Barshai, Haitink, Rozhdestvensky, Kondrashin, and a few Mravinsky recordings for good measure. Wow, talk about different interpretations! Has anyone else heard these (or other) cycles?
Tyson it would appear you are going to be the Shostakovich veteran here, so you should let us know what sounds best not vice versa

I have 5-6 Jarvi/Chandos and 5-6 Haitink/London CDs and then several other conductors with 1-2 CDs each. As for sound quality many of the newest releases of reduced price Haitink/London series are just spectacular with reference quality dynamic range........if someone was starting out on a budget I would say get Haitink/London 5,6,7,8,9,10 can't go too wrong there.

For true reference performances may have to go with Russian conductor even if sound is not optimal. Neemi Jarvi sounds more Russian than Haitink and his Chandos sound is very good if not quite in the London demonstration class level. Jarvi has best set of Prokefiev symphonies so he has good handle on modern Russian classical works in general. To get complete Jarvi set you must combine his Chandos and DG recordings together.

Performance wise I'm sure many of the older Russian sets are very good like Mravinsky, Kondrashin etc but sound quality may be an issue for some from what I read......perhaps you can comment on this aspect. The newer Russian sets under way by Gergiev and Rostrapovich are also probably very good but haven't heard them.

I would like to try some of the Maxim Shostakovich (composer's son) series on Supraphon label but they are hard to find and expensive.

The Barshai/Brilliant complete set is surely the cheapest way to get symphonies, but I don't listen to all 15 symphonies and don't know how the individual performances would compare to best available.
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post #11 of 470
10/28/04 at 12:28pm
Thread Starter 
OK, here are my impressions. Since I'm still working through a couple of the newer cycles I might change this later, but it holds true for right now....

Haitink - most "western" of all the conductors, brings shostakovich more in line with germanic symphonic music. Of course the nature of Shostakovich's music is often outside of that tradition, Haitink builds a bridge as much as possible. Very good recorded sound.

Barshai - Most definitely a russian interpretation. Where other conductors go more for a madcap interpretation, Barshai is more of that deep russian melancholy. This is probably my favorite overall set, but just barely. Recorded sound on par with the Haitink (as far as clarity and tone/texture, but less dynamic range).

Kondrashin - Absolutely madcap, over the top, insanely emotional and jarring performances. The interpretation is further pushed to the edge by the fact that his orchestra sounds like a pick-up military marching band. Some really crazy moments here (lots and lots of them). Even the latest remastering doesn't bring this anywhere close to good modern sound.

Rozhdestvensky - somewhere between Kondrashin and Barshai. For most people this will be the best set, as he is able to tap in to that Russian melancoholy I mentioned before, but also has insane, jarring, over-the-top manic moments as well. Shostakovich as a bipolar personality. Decent recording but with some break up during big climaxes.

Mravinsky - Similar to Rozhdestvensky but with less overall contrast between the manic and depressive aspects of the music. Good but not great recordings.
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post #12 of 470
10/28/04 at 2:43pm
Anybody else heard the Gergiev 7th? Picked it up last spring on the strength of a review. The recorded sound is very clear. I wouldn't have guessed it to be a live recording. My only other recording of the 7th is the Haitink, which, as Tyson notes, plays it on the safe side. Gergiev is more intense throughout with greater contrasts between the hammering climaxes and the more lyrical moments. The recording is a bit of a challenge in that a comfortable volume level for the quieter moments makes the crescendos much too loud. I end up riding the gain quite a bit, but I like the performance.

Any thoughts on the other Shostakovich releases by Gergiev?

BW
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post #13 of 470
10/28/04 at 3:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Ward
Anybody else heard the Gergiev 7th? Picked it up last spring on the strength of a review. The recorded sound is very clear. I wouldn't have guessed it to be a live recording. My only other recording of the 7th is the Haitink, which, as Tyson notes, plays it on the safe side. Gergiev is more intense throughout with greater contrasts between the hammering climaxes and the more lyrical moments. The recording is a bit of a challenge in that a comfortable volume level for the quieter moments makes the crescendos much too loud. I end up riding the gain quite a bit, but I like the performance.

Any thoughts on the other Shostakovich releases by Gergiev?

BW
Aural thrills.........

I have the Gergiev/EMI 7th.....I believe he only has a couple other CDs so far in his current Shostakovich set. These Mahler, Shostakovich etc performances with the huge dynamic range swings produce explosive thunderous bursts of sound that just blow you away and leave you awe struck (with the help of HSU VTF3 mkII 350 watt 12" sub) forget those stupid headphones........feel the power
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post #14 of 470
10/28/04 at 3:21pm
Tyson
Where did you find your Rozhdestvensky Cds........very hard to find any CDs let alone complete set (he sounds like my man for Shostakovich)
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post #15 of 470
10/28/04 at 5:18pm
Thread Starter 
DA,
Ebay is your friend :-) You gotta pick them up used if you want them at all.
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