If you could only own ONE Shostakovich CD...

[bohnetp]

...which one would it be???


I'm looking to get into his music, but don't really have a lot of money to spend blindly experimenting. I'd be interested in a CD that is both one of his best works and is an audiophile-quality recording.

Thanks!

 

[ilikemonkeys]

Shostakovich Symphony No. 7
Yuri Temirkanov conducting the St. Petersbug Philharmonic Orchestra.
on RCA (a classic recording)

or

Shostakovich Symphony No. 7
Valery Gregiev conducting both the Kirov and the Rotterdam Orchestras.
on Philips (a more contemporary recording)

BILL

 

[jamont]

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8, Haitink, Concertgebouw (Decca)

This is one of the finest orchestral recordings ever made.

 

[stuartr]

If I were you, I would pick up the recording of Rostropovich playing the 1st Cello Concerto and of Oistrakh playing the 1st violin concerto. These are excellent performances of some of Shostakovich's best stuff. It is old, so not necessarily an audiophile recording, but you will not hear better performances. The were performed under Eugene Ormandy, the best non-Russian conductor for Shostakovich, and Shostakovich himself supervised the recordings. These performances were premieres, and they knocked the socks off the Americans as well, so they are historically important. this recording at amazon.
If you don't want to go this route, I would suggest the quartets 8-10 by the Borodin Quartet on EMI.
Amazon is out of it, but it is awesome.link to it on amazon

 

[hempcamp]

Although I'm not a great fan of Shostakovich, I do like Gergiev's interpretations the best.

As for the String Quartets on the Melodiya label, I have been hunting for these for months! It's so frustrating -- the closest I can find is BMG Music Club but they charge $90 for the set! Finding this and the Chung/Previn/LSO Sibelius Violin Concerto has been the bane of my existence since September.

--Chris

 

[stuartr]

Chris -- You might consider the new remasters of quartets 1-13 by the Borodin from the 60s/70s. It is their earliest, and supposedly they are good (I have not heard them). The last two quartets were not yet written, so they are absent. Supposedly the sound is very good, and more analog-y than the EMI/Melodiya ones. It was only 37 bucks at Amazon.

 

[fractus2]

Quote:

Originally posted by hempcamp Finding this and the Chung/Previn/LSO Sibelius Violin Concerto has been the bane of my existence since September.

I've had the Chung/Previn on amazon backorder since mid November too (with two or three approve the delay mails).

The only Shostakovich I have is symphony 11/LSO Live. I don't think it's his best but I like the recording.

 

[jamont]

Quote:

Originally posted by stuartr If I were you, I would pick up the recording of Rostropovich playing the 1st Cello Concerto and of Oistrakh playing the 1st violin concerto. These are excellent performances of some of Shostakovich's best stuff. It is old, so not necessarily an audiophile recording, but you will not hear better performances.

It's not an audiophile recording, not even stereo, but the sound is ok, and stuartr is right: the performances are wonderful.

The violin concertos have become mildly popular and there are several good recordings in modern sound. I am particularly fond of Mullova/Previn (1st only), Vengerov/Rostropovich, and Mordkovich/Jarvi.

 

[Masonjar]

if I could keep only one.. Rostropovich and the National Symphony peforming the 5th Symphony.


Admittedly that Haitink 8th is great too.. I have that puppy on vinyl.

-jar

 

[Doc Sarvis]

A candidate for me would be the Mercury Living Presence CD reissue (or LP) of Symphony # 5 conducted by Skrowaczewski and the London Symphony (paired on CD with Khachaturian's "Gayne Ballet" from Dorati - usually found in the "K" section). Amazing performance and sonics, although if you're used to other versions of #5 the opening bars feel incredibly rushed!

I have lots of other candidates, including Bernstein's #7 (with #1) and Stowkowski's ancient # 11 on EMI. Naxos has some surprisingly good offerings as well. Contact me if you'd like more info.

 

[TWIFOSP]

The one with festive overture on it

 

[stuartr]

Quote:

Originally posted by jamont It's not an audiophile recording, not even stereo, but the sound is ok, and stuartr is right: the performances are wonderful.

Actually, the violin concerto is mono, but the cello concerto is stereo...but otherwise I agree with you. I don't want to get bohnept to be deluded into thinking this is a mapleshade recording. I just think it is wise to choose by the quality of the piece, then the performance, with the quality of the recording only being an afterthought. That's just me though...Some people can't enjoy it unless it really sounds realistic, which is perfectly fine.

 

[robert]

if piano is your thing, the Jarrett Preludes and Fugues on ECM qualifies on both counts.

the performance is not universally haled, although i like it.

damn homophones

 

[stuartr]

I agree the Jarrett Preludes and Fugues are nice. I have Shostakovich playing some of them on LP, as well as all of them on LP played by Tatyana Nikolaeva -- not surprisingly, I like the composers best, but they are all good.

I neglected to mention in my last post that the CD I recommended was also the first cd that I ever bought by Shostakovich, and only the second time I had heard him (I had been blown away by a live performance of Leila Josefowicz playing the Sonata from Op. 134...a more rarely played, but extremely intense piece...it essentially got me into darker classical.). In any case, I liked the cd so much that I eventually wound up writing my undergraduate thesis on Shostakovich...and putting him in my avatar. anyway, that's my story and I am sticking to it. Forgive my verbosity, I don't think we have nearly enough Shostakovich threads.

 

[Tyson]

Agree w/the Borodin quartet rec. Damn good stuff.