Shostakovich Symphonies, Cycles & Otherwise

[The new erato]

Are you sure they are not referring the the (slightly mythical) Melodiya recording - and not the Supraphon one?

Yes. But I don't have time to retrieve the magazine (need to walk the dog), it's in a comparative review done sometime during 2008.

[Sergeant Rock]

So much choice, these days, when you also consider Kitajenko...

I keep eyeing that box at JPC...only €29 for 12 SACDs! Reviews have been mixed. ClassicsToday praised it for the beauty of the lyrical episodes while damning it for playing down the barbaric and sarcastic elements. Your thoughts, Jens? (I couldn't find a review at IONARTS, just this mention of it while you were discussing Prokofiev cycles: "Kitajenko has put down a new cycle (Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, Phoenix Edition) which, if it is as good as his Shostakovich cycle (Capriccio), will be a hot item.")

Sarge

[jlaurson]

I keep eyeing that box at JPC...only €29 for 12 SACDs! Reviews have been mixed. ClassicsToday praised it for the beauty of the lyrical episodes while damning it for playing down the barbaric and sarcastic elements. Your thoughts, Jens? (I couldn't find a review at IONARTS, just this mention of it while you were discussing Prokofiev cycles: "Kitajenko has put down a new cycle (Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, Phoenix Edition) which, if it is as good as his Shostakovich cycle (Capriccio), will be a hot item.")
Sarge

Problem is that I don't have it at hand and have never done comparative listening. I remember the 5th being a total dud (who cares - we have loads of 5th on our shelves, no?) and the others to be uniformly excellent. I don't remember biting sarcasm, so ClassicsToday may be right on that, but obviously do remember being very happy with what I had. A flowing 8th that didn't drag, very musical 7th (more "Neuschnee" than "Schneematsch", though, if you know what I mean), for example. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Can I speak to it with sufficient authority at this point? Not quite.
 
 

[Sergeant Rock]

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Can I speak to it with sufficient authority at this point? Not quite.

Thank you. I will buy it even though I don't really need another Shostakovich box right now. I already own Jansons, Barshai and Rostropovich plus most of Rozhdestvensky and Haitink's cycles (the CDs purchased individually during the 90s). But that price is too good to pass up. I know if I wait, it will disappear. And besides, CD purchasing is never about need; it's about want 

Sarge

[George]

And besides, CD purchasing is never about need; it's about want 

Sarge

You ain't kiddin' 

[Dancing Divertimentian]

However, as much as I question other posters' enthusiasms I happen to think it doesn't work very well to challenge people the way you do. I don't think that's the idea of GMG.

It really all depends on the intent - or force - of the original message. When someone comes on so strong - as you did with your Maxim comments - it's perfectly natural to expect equally strong rebuttal. I certainly don't enjoy this. But it most definitely IS part of GMG.

And if you find my contributions unilluminating, or not as illuminating as your own, just skip 'em. There's probably something in the GMG guidelines to that effect.

I trust you'll remember this the next time a GMG "Listening Group" thread fires up. 0:)

[Dancing Divertimentian]

I have yet to sample his fourth on disc -- but in concert it was little short of awesome. The DSCH recordings I have of him (although not yet sampled in depth) are well above average. More bombastic than Barshai's cutting, chilling (not to be mistaken for the Haitink-clean-yet-sumptuous way) recordings.

So much choice, these days, when you also consider Kitajenko... (and almost not to mention Caetani and the MDG cycle from Bonn - both of which have gotten rather mixed reviews.)

Yes, some of Bychkov's old BPO Shostakovich (on Philips) is worthwhile, too. Not often we get the chance (on disc) to hear this orchestra in Shsotakovich.

[karlhenning]

Re: Craft. I'm not entirely sure how Karl listens to these symphonies. Perhaps perusing the scores meanwhile?

Not never, but hardly ever.

[karlhenning]

I hope to soon get back to finishing my Kondrashin box for the first time. I doubt I will keep up with your pace, but it would be nice to compare notes along the way.

For me, as well, George.

[karlhenning]

Not never, but hardly ever.

To clarify:  Most of my score-reading is not while listening;  most of my listening is attentive not divided by following the score in real time.

I do find it a valuable exercise to follow a score while listening to a piece, but this is quite a small fraction of either activity.

[Herman]

So we just happen to like different types of conductors sometimes.

My guess is the conductors union is very happy with this.

[Sergeant Rock]

So we just happen to like different types of conductors sometimes.

Which is normal; we ain't sheep but individuals. If Karl is the lone evangelist for Maxim, I might be Rostropovich's John the Baptist (no one else on this forum admits to owning his Shostakovich cycle anyway). The forum needs folks like Karl and me...way too many Kondrashinites around here 

Sarge

[jlaurson]

Which is normal; we ain't sheep but individuals. If Karl is the lone evangelist for Maxim, I might be Rostropovich's John the Baptist (no one else on this forum admits to owning his Shostakovich cycle anyway).

I, for one, wouldn't be caught dead with it, in the darkest of nights.   

(I do have his Violin Concertos [with Vengerov], though, which I consider must-have material.)

[Sergeant Rock]

I, for one, wouldn't be caught dead with it, in the darkest of nights.   

Exaclty what I said..all by my lonesome in the wilderness, crying the gospel of Rostropovich   

Sarge

[Renfield]

Which is normal; we ain't sheep but individuals. If Karl is the lone evangelist for Maxim, I might be Rostropovich's John the Baptist (no one else on this forum admits to owning his Shostakovich cycle anyway). The forum needs folks like Karl and me...way too many Kondrashinites around here 

Sarge

What does that make me!? I admire Shostakovich Jr's cycle and own the Rostropovitch.

Although truth be told, I've never listened to it - this due to it having been behind in Crete after I bought it while I was in the process of moving to Athens, ca. 2006. And the Kondrashin, Jansons, Shostakovich Jr., Haitink, and also-barely-listened-to Barshai have meant my hands were full enough for me to live without it. Should I pursue its recovery and dispatch to Scotland?

[Sergeant Rock]

(I do have his Violin Concertos, though, which I consider must-have material.)

With Vengerov? Yes, great performances.

Sarge

[Christo]

And besides, CD purchasing is never about need; it's about want 

That's a real eye-opener to most of us here! 

[Sergeant Rock]

What does that make me!? I admire Shostakovich Jr's cycle and own the Rostropovitch.

I have no idea!!!    You are an unusual dude    I want Junior's box too (not only because of Karl's advocacy but because the reviews, even the negative reviews, make it sound intriguing). But the price has been a barrier.

Should I pursue its recovery and dispatch to Scotland?

I hate making recommendations because my taste in music is rather odd (as I've discovered in these forums). I love 1, 2 and 3 (he almost convinces me the Third is actually good music rather than the trash it really is...that's a remarkable achievement!). His Fourth isn't among my absolute favorites but definitely scores with me. His Fifth (along with Bernstein live in Tokyo) is my favorite Fifth. The Sixth is a major disappointment; his Seventh failed to convince (but then no one's Seventh has convinced me that this is anything more than wartime propoganda schlock. Bernstein/Chicago awaits in the wings, ready to prove me wrong). His Eighth is solid and moving. I can't recall the Ninth but the Tenth disappointed. His 11th, 12th and 14th are stunning. His 15th a dud. Sanderling/Cleveland's 15th sweeps all before it; no one else is in the running...not in my Shosty race anyway  

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

That's a real eye-opener to most of us here! 

I have a genius for stating the obvious 

Sarge

[Renfield]

I have no idea!!!    You are an unusual dude    I want Junior's box too (not only because of Karl's advocacy but because the reviews, even the negative reviews, make it sound intriguing). But the price has been a barrier.

Really? I remember picking it up ridiculously cheaply in Athens, a couple of years ago - in the region of €20! And intriguing is certainly a word for it.

I hate making recommendations because my taste in music is rather odd (as I've discovered in these forums). I love 1, 2 and 3 (he almost convinces me the Third is actually good music rather than the trash it really is...that's a remarkable achievement!). His Fourth isn't among my absolute favorites but definitely scores with me. His Fifth (along with Bernstein live in Tokyo) is my favorite Fifth. The Sixth is a major disappointment; his Seventh failed to convince (but then no one's Seventh has convinced me that this is anything more than wartime propoganda schlock. Bernstein/Chicago awaits in the wings, ready to prove me wrong). His Eighth is solid and moving. I can't recall the Ninth but the Tenth disappointed. His 11th, 12th and 14th are stunning. His 15th a dud. Sanderling/Cleveland's 15th sweeps all before it; no one else is in the running...not in my Shosty race anyway  

So we have a very good 5th, a good 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 11th, 12th, 14th, a bad 6th, 7th, 10th, 15th, and the 9th and 13th are AWOL.


I do have Rostropovitch's later 11th, which I quite like. Maybe I should contact the parent unit and request dispatch...

(In fact, I had forgotten about that set, or I might have asked them to send it over earlier. It's almost strange I'd left it behind, to begin with.)