Topic: Dmitri's Dacha

[Mirror Image]

It's nothing to do with Beethoven or Brahms.  It's simply that with Shostakovich, there's a lot of 2nd-rate (or worse) mixed in with the good.  For me, life is far too short to spend time on anything less than excellent.

Anyhoo, even though I don't like the Leningrad, here is a very good free-to-view video stream of it conducted by that micro-manager-in-chief, Teodor Currentzis (SWRO) :
https://www.swr.de/swrclassic/symphonieorchester/aexavarticle-swr-83346.html

He brings entertainment to the long boring march by bringing the various orchestral sections to their feet in turn - Count Basie-style.

You're free to dislike whatever you choose just as I'm free to tell you I think the Leningrad is an extraordinary work --- warts and all.

[Roasted Swan]

You're free to dislike whatever you choose just as I'm free to tell you I think the Leningrad is an extraordinary work --- warts and all.

You and me both!!

[LKB]

Interesting. I have both recordings, and I've never noticed excessive reverb on either. Of the two, I find the Haitink far more gripping than the Jarvi (I assume that's the NSO disc you're referring to).

I have several of the Haitink/Shostakovich RCO releases on CD, and none of them seem overly reverberant to me. But then, I've had them a long time and perhaps I've grown accustomed to it...

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

The long march in the Leningrad isn't boring if it's done well. The only recording I know is Petrenko... and I find it gripping.

Not boring, at all, in good hands. Honi soit qui mal y pense

[relm1]

Not boring, at all, in good hands. Honi soit qui mal y pense

Karl, who is your "good hands" suggestion please?  I LOVE Bernstein's CSO recording and I've not heard it bettered, but what you?

[DavidW]

Not boring, at all, in good hands. Honi soit qui mal y pense

Correct me if I'm wrong but one of the first performances was done with only half an orchestra, woefully under-prepared and it was still met with enthusiastic praise (excepting the critics of course).  It seems like one of those lightning in a bottle musical works, capturing the mood of a people at a certain time.

So like MI and Swan I say yes warts and all.

[Mirror Image]

Karl, who is your "good hands" suggestion please?  I LOVE Bernstein's CSO recording and I've not heard it bettered, but what you?

You didn't ask me, but I love Svetlanov and Rozhdestvensky. Nothing boring about either of these conductors.

[Roasted Swan]

You didn't ask me, but I love Svetlanov and Rozhdestvensky. Nothing boring about either of these conductors.

This goes slightly off topic but it does pertain to the 1st movement march in the Leningrad....  For me there is almost always a "sweet-spot" tempo that conveys exactly the right feel to a work/passage.  Most often this is where something could be characterised as a march or a dance.  The key is to find a speed that is poised and controlled yet with an inexorable forward momentum.  The big mistake is to equate speed (ie a faster tempo) with energy.  Now the sheer length of the Leningrad march really tests a conductor (and by extension an orchestra - but mainly a conductor) to combine a sweet-spot tempo with subtle musical points that draw both the music and the listener forward.  The Leningrad march can indeed sound boring but that is because the conductor has been tested and found wanting.  For the same reason - the great conductors - Bernstein/Svetlanov/Rozhdestvensky can make this same music a shattering experience which rises far above the "on the page" mundanity of the material.

Two other pieces that are really prone to needing the sweet spot tempo - Bolero and the opening of Elgar 1.  No coincidence the repetitiousness of Bolero is often cited as being "boring" but with the right sense of inevitability the piece becomes so much more than just an exercise in orchestration.  With the Elgar that opening "great hope for the future" theme needs stately grandeur but NOT either a sense of leaden empire-inspired wallow or too fast glibness.  You are being set up for its transending return 50 minutes later - one of the great symphonic conclusions.  Boult and Handley are two of very few conductors who can hit that tempo exactly right.  In each case the difference between sweet spot and "wrong" might be seconds but when its right its RIGHT!

[vandermolen]

I don't find 'Bolero' boring at all, nor the Leningrad Symphony, which I discovered through Ancerl's fine old recording on LP. I remember liking the cover art on the LP - sadly reminiscent of scenes from Ukraine today.

[aukhawk]

For the same reason - the great conductors - Bernstein/Svetlanov/Rozhdestvensky can make this same music a shattering experience which rises far above the "on the page" mundanity of the material.

I have that Bernstein recording and I'm a big admirer of Bernstein's recordings in general - but even he can't elevate the Leningrad 1st movement above the level of mediocrity. 
I've seen Rozhdestvensky live, conducting a Tchaikovsky symphony, and he was ... surprisingly demonstrative.  A real arm-waver.  His orchestra that day was the Leningrad Philharmonic, a superbly drilled soviet machine.  The contrast between the two was stark - and, fortunately, the orchestra won.

[hvbias]

Just revisiting the old Kondrashin/Moscow PO cycle.  Will any orchestra - Russian or other - ever be able to play this music with this kind of ferocious intensity ever again?  Were these performances born of the society/political regime in which they were made in the sense that the players "got" what this music is about in a way that no Western orchestra ever could.  I accept that in many cases these were the versions that "imprinted" Shostakovich for me (c/o the EMI/Melodiya LP box of the symphonies)



so I might not be wholly objective here(!) but goodness these are GREAT performances!!!!!

I think the odds of that style being replicated are slim. There might be some conductor that can bring the tempos that Kondrashin had, but you'll still miss out on the "charm" of the sound of those brash Russian orchestras. Paradoxically I think that less than perfect playing also adds to the intensity (along with Kondrashin's tempos).

This is a trip back, it was the first Shostakovich cycle I bought, Melodiya CD reissue box with the spectacles on the cover. Back in 2002 or 2003 with the big Headfi classical thread if anyone else was a member there. I clearly remember DarkAngel (a GMGer as well) singing the praises of this box, and the symphonies/interpretations were unlike anything I had ever heard before, not a bad first cycle!

What would have been nice is if Kondrashin recorded the full cycle with the RCO.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Karl, who is your "good hands" suggestion please?  I LOVE Bernstein's CSO recording and I've not heard it bettered, but what you?

The Lenny/CSO recording is magnificent! The recording which sold me on the Leningrad was Ančerl/Cz Phil.  I also really like Temirkanov/St Pedtersburg Phil and Shostakovich/Prague Symphony.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Correct me if I'm wrong but one of the first performances was done with only half an orchestra, woefully under-prepared and it was still met with enthusiastic praise (excepting the critics of course).

That was one astounding occasion:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/KOkBEqtGUI8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/KOkBEqtGUI8</a>

[SonicMan46]

Shostakovich Symphony Cycles - currently I own the first three boxes below, i.e. Barshai, Kitajenko, & Sanderling - I've been spending the morning and early afternoon listening to selected works from each box and also several recordings of Petrenko on Spotify - all sound quite good to me, and also to the reviewers in the attachment, for those interested.  Now I do not listen to these often and could be happy w/ fewer boxes but now I'm considering Petrenko - YIKES, don' t need another Shosty box! 

So, for those who probably enjoy these works more than me and for new GMGers and guests looking for their first or second collection of Shostakovich Symphonies, what are your current favorites - and I'm sure some of the older releases (e.g. Kondrashin among many others) will be mentioned.  Dave

     

[OrchestralNut]

Shostakovich Symphony Cycles - currently I own the first three boxes below, i.e. Barshai, Kitajenko, & Sanderling - I've been spending the morning and early afternoon listening to selected works from each box and also several recordings of Petrenko on Spotify - all sound quite good to me, and also to the reviewers in the attachment, for those interested.  Now I do not listen to these often and could be happy w/ fewer boxes but now I'm considering Petrenko - YIKES, don' t need another Shosty box! 

So, for those who probably enjoy these works more than me and for new GMGers and guests looking for their first or second collection of Shostakovich Symphonies, what are your current favorites - and I'm sure some of the older releases (e.g. Kondrashin among many others) will be mentioned.  Dave

     

Dave, the Petrenko set gets my seal of approval. Not a perfect set and it has some mediocre performances, but generally the performances are of a high quality.

Particularly terrific standout performances for me are the 4th, 6th, 9th, 10th and 14th.

Some people have a lukewarm opinion (John - MI) regarding the Petrenko set. But generally speaking, you could do a lot worse, I think.

I think it is fairly consistent as a complete set and compliments the Barshai set (which is my other complete set) very nicely.

[vandermolen]

Kondrashin and Haitink. I recently bought Kitajenko. Also, I rather like the Maxim Shostakovich set on Supraphon, Jansons on EMI and Rostropovich.

[SonicMan46]

Dave, the Petrenko set gets my seal of approval. Not a perfect set and it has some mediocre performances, but generally the performances are of a high quality.

Particularly terrific standout performances for me are the 4th, 6th, 9th, 10th and 14th.

Some people have a lukewarm opinion (John - MI) regarding the Petrenko set. But generally speaking, you could do a lot worse, I think.

I think it is fairly consistent as a complete set and compliments the Barshai set (which is my other complete set) very nicely.

Kondrashin and Haitink. I recently bought Kitajenko. Also, I rather like the Maxim Shostakovich set on Supraphon, Jansons on EMI and Rostropovich.

Thanks Guys for the comments above - the Barshai will stay (has been longest in my collection) and I really like Kitajenko - this morning I listened to Petrenko on Spotify doing 5, 9, & 10 - will setup a playlist there and do some Petrenko vs. Sanderling comparisons -    Dave

[foxandpeng]

Shostakovich Symphony Cycles - currently I own the first three boxes below, i.e. Barshai, Kitajenko, & Sanderling - I've been spending the morning and early afternoon listening to selected works from each box and also several recordings of Petrenko on Spotify - all sound quite good to me, and also to the reviewers in the attachment, for those interested.  Now I do not listen to these often and could be happy w/ fewer boxes but now I'm considering Petrenko - YIKES, don' t need another Shosty box! 

So, for those who probably enjoy these works more than me and for new GMGers and guests looking for their first or second collection of Shostakovich Symphonies, what are your current favorites - and I'm sure some of the older releases (e.g. Kondrashin among many others) will be mentioned.  Dave

     

You have my top three, there. How odd. In order, Kitajenko, Petrenko, Sanderling. I'm not saying others aren't more fêted, but these are the three to which I listen most.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Kondrashin and Haitink. I recently bought Kitajenko. Also, I rather like the Maxim Shostakovich set on Supraphon, Jansons on EMI and Rostropovich.

I'm another fan of Shostakovich fils, Jansons and Kitajenko, possibly in that order.

[Madiel]

I chose Petrenko when selecting my own (only) set. Janssons was the runner-up in that process.