Dmitri's Dacha

[Brian]

Very excited that the Op.43 is in the pipeline! (Brian, do I recall aright that this is a symphony you've not yet heard?)

Brian & Jens, what opinions do you hold of the Petrenko account of the Op.103?

1. Yes, it is a symphony I've not yet heard! I own Previn, Barshai, and I think one other recording in some giant box set somewhere; between Previn and Barshai, which for a first listen?

2. Very favorable, wish the sound quality could hold the gigantic climax to the massacre, but not sure any CD yet can. But it compares well with others I've heard. I am somewhat prejudiced against it because I saw V. Petrenko do the "Year 1905" live with the London Philharmonic, a stunning/amazing experience that can't be repeated.

[Mirror Image]

My opinion of Petrenko has been hit/miss mostly miss. I liked his 8th, 10th, and 11th, but thought very little of his other performances. There's something missing in his conducting of the others. His 5th was a monstrosity. He must have fallen asleep at the wheel on this one. Where's the guts? That Largo sounds completely comatose. One of the worst performances I've ever heard of this symphony. His 15th lacked any real excitement or at least that I got from listening to his performance and Kondrashin back-to-back. But every cycle has good/bad performances and none of them are going to be 100% without flaws.

[Karl Henning]

1. Yes, it is a symphony I've not yet heard! I own Previn, Barshai, and I think one other recording in some giant box set somewhere; between Previn and Barshai, which for a first listen?

2. Very favorable, wish the sound quality could hold the gigantic climax to the massacre, but not sure any CD yet can. But it compares well with others I've heard. I am somewhat prejudiced against it because I saw V. Petrenko do the "Year 1905" live with the London Philharmonic, a stunning/amazing experience that can't be repeated.

What's the third option? ; ) Even though I think it was the Previn through which I became reconciled to the piece, I am not sure I would recommend either Previn or Barshai for an entrée.

And I had a closely corresponding experience with Gergiev & the Leningrad . . . heard him lead the Mariinka band live in Worcester's Mechanics Hall, just a shattering experience, with which listening to no CD could possibly compare.

[Karl Henning]

Hm, wonder how Cato is doing with his inaugural survey of the quartets? Maybe he has finished, and I was inattentive . . . .

[Brian]

And I had a closely corresponding experience with Gergiev & the Leningrad . . . heard him lead the Mariinka band live in Worcester's Mechanics Hall, just a shattering experience, with which listening to no CD could possibly compare.

Yes, exactly that feeling. Who would you suggest for a starter? Perhaps my mystery performer is one of them 

My opinion of Petrenko has been hit/miss mostly miss. I liked his 8th, 10th, and 11th, but thought very little of his other performances. There's something missing in his conducting of the others. His 5th was a monstrosity. He must have fallen asleep at the wheel on this one. Where's the guts? That Largo sounds completely comatose. One of the worst performances I've ever heard of this symphony. His 15th lacked any real excitement or at least that I got from listening to his performance and Kondrashin back-to-back. But every cycle has good/bad performances and none of them are going to be 100% without flaws.

I'm very favorable on 9 through 11 from Petrenko. The Fifteenth has divided a lot of people, but the general consensus seems to be that it's interesting, but an "alternative" view. The Fifth was a low point for me too, though not nearly as bad as you're saying - for instance, Kreizberg employs nearly identical tempos in the last two movements but is outstanding. And I'd like to plug Petrenko's Ninth for an insight which I find unique to his performance: the way that he stretches and teases the tempo of the finale, and especially its main tune, brings out more than any other performance the idea that this tune contains (in the words of Monty Python) howls of derisive laughter.

Gergiev is more overrated than Petrenko. That guy has always had too many irons in the fire. Not very consistent, so excuse my skepticism when I say that I highly doubt Gergiev's performance was a "shattering experience."

Well... Karl was there for it.

[Mirror Image]

Speaking of Kreizberg, have you heard his 11th with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, Brian? Not too shabby.

[Mirror Image]

Yes, exactly that feeling. Who would you suggest for a starter? Perhaps my mystery performer is one of them 

Try Caetani's 11th, Brian. I thought it was especially good. The Ninth of January movement was especially enthralling. Caetani employs quite a unique orchestra for his Shosty cycle: the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi.

[Fafner]

Petrenko's Fifth was a disappointment for me as well, but nowhere near as bad as you make it appear. I did not like Kreizberg very much, but I only listened to it once. I'll have to compare the two.
I rather like Petrenko's Fifteenth and I really like his 6th/12th.

[Mirror Image]

Petrenko's Fifth was a disappointment for me as well, but nowhere near as bad as you make it appear. I did not like Kreizberg very much, but I only listened to it once. I'll have to compare the two.
I rather like Petrenko's Fifteenth and I really like his 6th/12th.

I had to use some dramatic effect in commenting on Petrenko's 5th. It's not as bad as I made it out to be, but it's certainly a lackluster performance with not much going for it. His 6th was okay. Nothing special, but then again, I've always found Haitink's to be my preferable performance for the 6th. The 12th I don't like much at all as a piece of music, but Rostropovich on Warner (formally Teldec) turned in a great performance as did Haitink.

[Brian]

Thanks for the reminder Fafner, I haven't bought Petrenko's 6/12 yet!

Speaking of Kreizberg, have you heard his 11th with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, Brian? Not too shabby.

Take a look at the URL of that image. That's the cover of my personal copy of the CD!

This was one of the last recordings Yakov Kreizberg made before passing away at the age 51. He had previously made his mark in Shostakovich with a truly distinctive pairing of the Fifth and Ninth symphonies, conducting the Russian National Orchestra; my colleague Tony Haywood was not as fond of it as I was. This excellent Eleventh makes clear yet again what a loss to the musical world it was when he died in 2011. Kreizberg has the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo sounding perfectly suited to this music, in an interpretation which brings the symphony across with conviction and power.

The program, as put forth by Shostakovich - or to him by the authorities? - necessitates an adagio first movement ('The Palace Square') of eerie and hushed suspense. It sets out a few motifs which will recur through the whole symphony: the violins' opening line, the ominously distant drumbeat, the equally disembodied-sounding trumpet tune. The atmosphere in this performance is terrific, although compared to the Liverpool Philharmonic under Vasily Petrenko, the Monte Carlo trumpeter seems a bit too chipper, too forward. Then comes the massive second movement, with its depiction of a bloody massacre by the tsarists. There's really no way to bring this off on CD due to the movement's enormous dynamic range: if you can hear it live - as I was lucky enough to do when Petrenko presented it with the London Philharmonic - the sheer bloody violence and loudness of the climax are more or less the most terrifying thing one can hear in a concert hall. On disc it's hard to get the dynamic range of the piece done right, and this recording is no exception. The playing is superbly bone-chilling and the orchestra sounds possessed, but I yearn for the gut-punch that the massacre really only delivers live.

The adagio which follows, a lyrical "In Memoriam," is another story: here Kreizberg brings a flowing account which briefly even permits beauty and hope to rise to the surface. It's the highlight of a very good performance. After that, there are passages in the middle of the finale, including a reprise of the first movement, which do, here, feel overlong and outstay their welcome; it's a minute longer than Petrenko in the same section. Then we get the final "twist," as Shostakovich's coda returns to the terrifying horror-music of the tsarist oppressors. Kreizberg paces this perfectly and builds the coda with tremendous power, the orchestra giving him exactly what he wants. Again, the CD medium just can't contain the full force of this music.

Nobody is going to listen to the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo here and think they sound anything but Russian. That alone is a tribute to Kreizberg's skill as a musician, but throw in the excellence of this account and we have a really worthy tribute. Vasily Petrenko's accomplishment with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is similar, though - transforming an unexpected orchestra into a Shostakovich powerhouse - and, among recent recordings by émigrés, his more concise reading may be preferred. Even Naxos is a bit frustrated by how to record the symphony, though.

This may not have been his very finest, but I wish Yakov Kreizberg could have given us much, much more.

Brian Reinhart

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2013/Jan13/Shostakovich_sy11_OPMC005.htm#ixzz2KEZ9pYk9

[Karl Henning]

I've said this earlier, but on revisiting the Petrenko Fifth, I found it in fact a very strong performance.

. . . Who would you suggest for a starter? Perhaps my mystery performer is one of them 

Maksim Dmitriyevich remains unsurpassed for me.

Also excellent, I find: Haitink/CSO & Jansons/Bavarian Radio Symphony.

[Mirror Image]

Silly me, I had forgotten you did some Shostakovich reviews and this was one of the recordings you reviewed.

[Karl Henning]

Well... Karl was there for it.

Why should that fact prevent John from spouting fatuity? ; )

[Mirror Image]

Why should that fact prevent John from spouting fatuity? ; )

Not all experiences are shared, Karl. I was just surprised that Gergiev gave a good performance considering his track record, but he's certainly able to give them. I don't have the opportunity, or luxury, of living in Boston, so I don't get to see any classical concerts. The ASO seem only interested in playing Beethoven these days and so where does that leave me? I've got recordings on my shelf and a stereo system worthy to play them. If this is my only outlet to hear the music that I want to hear, then it's damn fine outlet I think.

[Brahmsian]

After re-visiting the Petrenko/RLPO 5th, it is nowhere nearly as I bad as I once thought.  The only (and it's my own personal viewpoint) 'problem' I have is with the coda to the symphony, which I find Petrenko/RLPO take it a little too slow (it is missing that propulsive momentum).

Having said that, I don't think I've heard a better performance of the 9th and 10th symphonies, than Petrenko/RLPO's take on it.

A very close to perfect 10th (for me) is Ormandy/PO (it is paired with the 4th - American premiere) on Sony Classical, but it is unfortunately out of print.

[Brian]

Ray, I'm hoping Sony does a super cheap box set of Ormandy's Shostakovich so I can grab that 4/10 duo, which has been on my want list since I was a college student! Agreed, Petrenko is my go-to for the 9th and 10th.

Not all experiences are shared, Karl. I was just surprised that Gergiev gave a good performance considering his track record, but he's certainly able to give them. I don't have the opportunity, or luxury, of living in Boston, so I don't get to see any classical concerts. The ASO seem only interested in playing Beethoven these days and so where does that leave me? I've got recordings on my shelf and a stereo system worthy to play them. If this is my only outlet to hear the music that I want to hear, then it's damn fine outlet I think.

You'll find, if you ever have the opportunity, that many a live concert can make a tremendous impression even if it need not have done so, critically speaking. When my university orchestra did Sibelius' Fifth, I was floored, and my brain veritably exploded, but now when I hear a recording of that exact concert, I think "what a pitiful, clogged performance." Never mind, though, it converted me to a Sibelius addict, so it did the trick!

[jlaurson]

Brian & Jens, what opinions do you hold of the Petrenko account of the Op.103?[/font]

I'm consistently disappointed at a very commendable level by Petrenko, due to high expectations. The great being the enemy of the good and such. That said, I still enjoy his DSCH... and the 11th is one that I will return with higher hopes (based on a memory of an impression, more than a memory of the performance [which is important to distinguish every so often]). That unlikely triplet of 9, 10, and 11, seems strongest so far.

[Brahmsian]

Ray, I'm hoping Sony does a super cheap box set of Ormandy's Shostakovich so I can grab that 4/10 duo, which has been on my want list since I was a college student! Agreed, Petrenko is my go-to for the 9th and 10th.

Brian, do you know if Ormandy/Philadelphia record most of the DSCH symphonies?

I had the extreme pleasure attending a live performance of the DSCH 10th, of our former Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra conductor, Andrei Boreyko, a few years ago.  It was an experience I will treasure forever.

It was an all 'Russian' concert, featuring Prokofiev's Violin Concerto and also made me fall in love with Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture (which is now one of my favourite orchestral pieces by any composer!) 

FWIW, Bruce in NY attended a live concert as well with Boreyko and the NY Phil conducting the DSCH 4th symphony.  He said it was one of the best performances of the 4th he's ever heard! 

[Karl Henning]

Not all experiences are shared, Karl.

Which is why it is not particularly intelligent on your part to highly doubt Gergiev's performance was a "shattering experience" when you weren't there.

Take as much rope as you require, John.

[Brahmsian]

So Brian, if I read correctly (please correct me if I'm wrong), but the recording of Petrenko/RLPO 4th will be a 'live' recording?  All the other recordings so far have been studio, correct?