Dmitri's Dacha

[vandermolen]

Aye, though I think them of more merit than not bad  0:)

I like the Prague set as well. Good to hear Maxim's insights. Why his Melodiya recording of Symphony 15 (with the USSR SO I think) has never been issued on CD baffles me. It is IMHO the greatest version of all.

[Mirror Image]

I like the Prague set as well. Good to hear Maxim's insights. Why his Melodiya recording of Symphony 15 (with the USSR SO I think) has never been issued on CD baffles me. It is IMHO the greatest version of all.

Maxim's excellent account of the 15th has been reissued, but in this box set and not in any kind of single issue unfortunately:

[asin]B01DEAJ9I6[/asin]

[Jo498]

I do not know that mixed set but I think some of these recordings were available before and very positively received. My recollection is from 20 years ago or so and back then the availability of Melodiya stuff was limited, so I might be wrong and it could have been a somewhat different collection or mainly the Mravinsky items or whatever. But for serious DSCH fans it is probably a worthwhile acquisition

[vandermolen]

Maxim's excellent account of the 15th has been reissued, but in this box set and not in any kind of single issue unfortunately:

[asin]B01DEAJ9I6[/asin]

Never seen that set. Thanks John.

[Mirror Image]

I do not know that mixed set but I think some of these recordings were available before and very positively received. My recollection is from 20 years ago or so and back then the availability of Melodiya stuff was limited, so I might be wrong and it could have been a somewhat different collection or mainly the Mravinsky items or whatever. But for serious DSCH fans it is probably a worthwhile acquisition

There is some duplication from my already existing collection like there's several Rozhdestvensky and Kondrashin performances, but there was enough that I didn't own to make it worthwhile.

Never seen that set. Thanks John.

You're quite welcome, Jeffrey. It's a good looking set as well --- quite a nice presentation.

[Karl Henning]

I have at least four sets of the string quartets (Emersons, Borodins, Mandelring, Pacifica).  It is not difficult to find word on the Interwebs (and even here at GMG) expressing anything from disdain to disappointment about the Emersons.  Those naysayers notwithstanding, whenever I listen to the Emersons play a Shostakovich quartet, I never – absolutely never – find myself thinking, "Gee, I wish I could hear someone else play this."

That is all.

[relm1]

I adore "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" but have never heard "Katerina Izmailova".  What are the differences?  Would you consider them equivalent or is one vastly superior to the other rendering the other insignificant? 

[Dancing Divertimentian]

I have at least four sets of the string quartets (Emersons, Borodins, Mandelring, Pacifica).  It is not difficult to find word on the Interwebs (and even here at GMG) expressing anything from disdain to disappointment about the Emersons.  Those naysayers notwithstanding, whenever I listen to the Emersons play a Shostakovich quartet, I never – absolutely never – find myself thinking, "Gee, I wish I could hear someone else play this."

That is all.

I feel that way about a lot of Emerson recordings!

[Karl Henning]

I adore "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" but have never heard "Katerina Izmailova".  What are the differences?  Would you consider them equivalent or is one vastly superior to the other rendering the other insignificant? 

I cannot answer, though to be able to answer has been on my To Do List for a while.

It doesn't help that Ledi Makbet has been performed under the title of Katerina Izmailova . . .

Shostakovich labored long on the revision, at a time when the physical task was not easy, so my inclination is to presume that the differences are significant, or were, to the composer.  It also explains why I think that the stance (not that anyone here has so asserted) that the original is superior, and that the revision is not worth even considering, is rather a discourtesy to the composer.

But I hope to answer in musical terms . . . at some point.

[kishnevi]

I cannot answer, though to be able to answer has been on my To Do List for a while.

It doesn't help that Ledi Makbet has been performed under the title of Katerina Izmailova . . .

Shostakovich labored long on the revision, at a time when the physical task was not easy, so my inclination is to presume that the differences are significant, or were, to the composer.  It also explains why I think that the stance (not that anyone here has so asserted) that the original is superior, and that the revision is not worth even considering, is rather a discourtesy to the composer.

But I hope to answer in musical terms . . . at some point.

Is the revised version, or the original version under the name of K.I.?
[asin]B000I5YRJC[/asin]
The Amazon reviews are clear that some severe cuts were made to bring the film in under the 115 minute mark..but not clear about the version used.

[Karl Henning]

Is the revised version, or the original version under the name of K.I.?
[asin]B000I5YRJC[/asin]
The Amazon reviews are clear that some severe cuts were made to bring the film in under the 115 minute mark..but not clear about the version used.

The revision.

[snyprrr]

Enjoyed Bernstein's No.1 (SONY) yesterday, such a macabre and hollow sounding work, almost like Schnittke? or early BAZ? Sounds like it was written in 1949!! One does hear a lot of future footprints here...

...hollow, slightly creepy, existential... made me think of Peter Lorre in 'M'.

[aukhawk]

It's not a very fashionable view hereabouts, but I regard the 1st Symphony as among Dmitri's very best compositions.
Up there with the 1st Violin Concerto, 1st Cello Concerto, 2nd Piano Trio and 15th Symphony.  Oh, and the Preludes & Fugues.

[vandermolen]

It's not a very fashionable view hereabouts, but I regard the 1st Symphony as among Dmitri's very best compositions.
Up there with the 1st Violin Concerto, 1st Cello Concerto, 2nd Piano Trio and 15th Symphony.  Oh, and the Preludes & Fugues.

I think that the First Symphony is great - fully characteristic in a way and with a terrific coda. I often play it. I much prefer it to Nos 2 and 3.

[Karl Henning]

It's not a very fashionable view hereabouts, but I regard the 1st Symphony as among Dmitri's very best compositions.

Whether or not it is fashionable hereabouts, you must agree that it is a little peculiar to tout so early a work as among any composer's very best compositions.

I am inevitably reminded of a former GMG'er who felt that Sibelius went downhill pretty much after his First Symphony . . . .

[Mahlerian]

It's not a very fashionable view hereabouts, but I regard the 1st Symphony as among Dmitri's very best compositions.
Up there with the 1st Violin Concerto, 1st Cello Concerto, 2nd Piano Trio and 15th Symphony.  Oh, and the Preludes & Fugues.

I think the first two movements of the First are quite good, but the other two always strike me as weaker.

[Karl Henning]

Putting the Op.10 on a par with the Op.87 is not unfashionable, it is eccentric   

[snyprrr]

Putting the Op.10 on a par with the Op.87 is not unfashionable, it is eccentric   

about No.1
There is a freedom in No.1 that gets lost after No.4,... no? And there is a purity about No.1, as the thoughts of, what a 19yo? Whether it is on par with anything else, it is still its own thing, never to be duplicated (except perhaps in No.4).

87? Is that No.5? Yea, those are two totally different people there,... eh?


Think of it this way- what if No.1 was actually No.5?? What if he had to turn No.1 (let's say he premiered it and it wasn't liked) into No.5? What would No.1 sound like if he had to re-compose it to meet party approval?


btw- No.1 then comes from a completely different time. For what it is, it is unbuttoned and full of youthful (macabre) energy,... perhaps early Hindemith on drugs?



some people actually prefer a wunderkind's early blazes to their mature masterpieces.... not saying anything...

[kyjo]

It's not a very fashionable view hereabouts, but I regard the 1st Symphony as among Dmitri's very best compositions.
Up there with the 1st Violin Concerto, 1st Cello Concerto, 2nd Piano Trio and 15th Symphony.  Oh, and the Preludes & Fugues.

Interesting! I've never really thought much of the 1st Symphony, thinking it a rather hollow work, but there are parts of it that I enjoy (particularly the timpani solo in the finale). What's your favorite recording?

[Madiel]

I thought rating No.1 highly was pretty common. After all, this is the piece that made Shostakovich an international star.