Dmitri's Dacha

Started by karlhenning, April 09, 2007, 08:13:49 AM

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Jo498

The first single disc of DSCH quartets I bought did not have opus numbers on the cover, only #6,10 and 14, so I naively thought I would get an early, a middle and a late quartet (as would have been the case with Beethoven's quartets with these numbers (and close enough for Schubert or Dvorak). ;) It wasn't a very good start. A year later or so, I got a disc with 3+5 (Naxos) and one with the Borodin Qt. incl. #8 and all of these were considerably more appealing.

Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

Scion7


Quadrophonic! Rec first in 1958, this version from 1975 is not in surround-sound on the CD release Eugene Ormandy Conducts 20th Century Classics set from 2012.

The cover must represent some sort of idealized hippie Soviet couple.
Or some rot.  There might even be some Freudian suggestion there ...

The sound is quite good.


When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

vandermolen

Quote from: Scion7 on September 13, 2020, 06:58:46 PM

Quadrophonic! Rec first in 1958, this version from 1975 is not in surround-sound on the CD release Eugene Ormandy Conducts 20th Century Classics set from 2012.

The cover must represent some sort of idealized hippie Soviet couple.
Or some rot.  There might even be some Freudian suggestion there ...

The sound is quite good.
As with much from Ormandy (Symphony 4 and 10) I enjoyed the performance which was recently reissued on a double Dutton CD:

Review:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2020/Apr/Shostakovich_sys_2CDLX7370.htm
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Herman

OMG the artist really went to town on Burt Reynolds' chest hair!

Gross.

relm1

#2384
Not Burt Reynolds.  Monty Python.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FshU58nI0Ts

Scion7

#2385
Stumbled across this - I don't think it has been discussed before here:

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF3p_w2PU14

78th Anniversary of Dmitry Shostakovich "Symphony 7 (Leningradskaya)" Premiere in Samara, Russia

The first 20 minutes of rubbish passes quickly enough, but you may wish to skip ahead.
A friend of mine who lives outside of the university grounds was in attendance.
I have to say, the visuals are distracting and take away from the experience, in my opinion.
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

vandermolen

#2386
Quote from: Scion7 on September 15, 2020, 10:14:52 PM
Stumbled across this - I don't think it has been discussed before here:

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF3p_w2PU14

78th Anniversary of Dmitry Shostakovich "Symphony 7 (Leningradskaya)" Premiere in Samara, Russia

The first 20 minutes of rubbish passes quickly enough, but you may wish to skip ahead.
A friend of mine who lives outside of the university grounds was in attendance.
I have to say, the visuals are distracting and take away from the experience, in my opinion.

I quite liked the introductory stuff including Shostakovich speaking and playing the piano and I found it interesting to see where Shostakovich lived in Samara. The performance sounded excellent with characteristic Russian horn sounds. Thanks for posting it.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

relm1

Question: today, "Testimony" is practically universally considered a fraud, right?  Or is there still some controversy as to its authenticity? 

Scion7

#2388
Actually, no.  Everything in it has been verified via other sources.  So, if the material is factual, via other avenues, then many scholars consider this to be genuine.  The controversy continues.
Malcolm Hamrick Brown's ... Casebook is probably the best source on the matter.
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

amw

Quote from: relm1 on September 17, 2020, 06:19:32 AM
Question: today, "Testimony" is practically universally considered a fraud, right?
Yes, it's been completely debunked.
QuoteOr is there still some controversy as to its authenticity?
Not among scholars, but some of the general public still thinks it's true, either due to a lack of information or a particular political orientation.

MusicTurner

#2390
Quote from: amw on September 17, 2020, 07:11:41 AM
Yes, it's been completely debunked.Not among scholars, but some of the general public still thinks it's true, either due to a lack of information or a particular political orientation.

Worth noting however, as also mentioned above, that quite a lot of DSCH close acquaintances etc. originally confirmed some of the anecdotical material in the book, including passages illustrating regime criticism/fear. And you have pieces like Shosty's (hidden) 'Rayok' along those regime-critical lines too.

Scion7

better read Brown's anthology, AMW
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

amw

Quote from: MusicTurner on September 17, 2020, 07:31:45 AM
Worth noting however, as also mentioned above, that quite a lot of DSCH close acquaintances etc. originally confirmed some of the anecdotical material in the book, including passages illustrating regime criticism/fear. And you have pieces like Shosty's (hidden) 'Rayok' along those regime-critical lines too.
At least as far as I recall it, the controversy is not over whether Shostakovich actually held the views attributed to him (he probably did), but whether Shostakovich himself authored or signed off on any of the content. Current consensus is that he did not except for one brief passage. (I believe Richard Taruskin made the point that if the book was published as Solomon Volkov's personal recollections of Shostakovich, there would never have been any controversy over it; it's the attribution of large parts of the text to Shostakovich himself directly that is inauthentic.)

Scion7

Where are you getting your "current consensus" from?  University roundtables?  Because there, it most certainly is not decided either way.  Beware of online sites such as Wikipedia or blogs, because the POV will always be strong.

Read the book by Brown, as it clearly lays out the facts from many different scholarly viewpoints.
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Madiel

#2394
Quote from: Scion7 on September 17, 2020, 08:14:23 AM
Where are you getting your "current consensus" from?  University roundtables?  Because there, it most certainly is not decided either way.  Beware of online sites such as Wikipedia or blogs, because the POV will always be strong.

Read the book by Brown, as it clearly lays out the facts from many different scholarly viewpoints.

Your own statement was hardly measured from different scholarly viewpoints.You just started with "everything has been verified".

You are not, in fact saying anything much different. Yes, various things have been verified. But as others are saying, that's not the nature of the controversy. The controversy is that the book is presented as if it's first-hand information, not second-hand, as if to boost its authority compared to other material.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Scion7

Correction: I am not saying it - THEY are saying it.  As a guest lecturer, I've attending several of these over the years.  However, Brown's book lays it all out and I suggest everyone curious about the current state of affairs to read it.
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Madiel

Sure. But my point is it's not logically possible for "there are different scholarly viewpoints" and "everything has been verified" to both be correct statements.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Scion7

Everything in Testimony has been verified via other sources.
That's documented.  The facts can be documented without everyone agreeing that Shostakovich wrote the memoir.
Please .... this is a pointless discussion unless you've read the work entirely devoted to the subject - Malcolm Brown's (ed.) 400 page gathering of various scholars' articles  A Shostakovich Casebook.
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Madiel

Thank you for clarifying. The discussion is not pointless.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

vandermolen

Scion7's posting above encouraged me to listen to the Leningrad Symphony again and I'm currently enjoying this performance which begins with Shostakovich's patriotic speech from besieged Leningrad in 1941:
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).