Shostakovich Symphonies, Cycles & Otherwise

Started by karlhenning, April 25, 2007, 12:02:09 PM

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vandermolen

Looks like an interesting new release:

"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).

jlaurson

Quote from: erato on January 12, 2009, 02:10:47 PM
Holy c..p, three languages in one sentence! Is this some kind of board record?  ;D

Oh contraire, my friend--it simply follows, mas o menos, the current Zeitgeist. Vero?

George

Quote from: erato on January 12, 2009, 02:10:47 PM
Holy c..p, three languages in one sentence! Is this some kind of board record?  ;D

If it is, I bet our Karl held the prior one.  ;D


The new erato

Quote from: jlaurson on March 15, 2009, 03:30:04 AM
Oh contraire, my friend--it simply follows, mas o menos, the current Zeitgeist. Vero?
C'est vrai.  Capische.  Versteht's.

vandermolen

I have been enjoying the new Naxos Liverpool version of Shostakovich's 11th Symphony (mentioned above), conducted by Vasily Petrenko - a terrific recording and excellent performance - unlike any other in some ways, it has great Mussorgsky like depth and power and the quieter sections are very effective. It comes with a cardboard sleeve featuring a photo of the (rather smug looking) young conductor, but once you remove this the CD itself features a fine photo of Shostakovich in his Moscow flat (appartment to you Americans  ;D) in 1957.
"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).

Renfield

I have that too, Jeffrey. But the first time I gave it a go, I got distracted by something; maybe I'll actually spin it later today. :)

vandermolen

Quote from: Renfield on March 23, 2009, 04:51:01 AM
I have that too, Jeffrey. But the first time I gave it a go, I got distracted by something; maybe I'll actually spin it later today. :)

I just listened to it again. The last few minutes from the mournful cor anglais melody to the cataclysmic ending really are quite something in this recording - had me on the edge of my seat. Will be interested to hear what you make of 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).

George

#728
Can we talk for a bit about Mravinsky's many recordings of the 5th symphony? I am in the market for one, maybe two.

I understand that there are something like 8 recordings of this work
by the conductor. I am only aware of seven:

1. Doremi - 1937
2. Melodiya - studio recording 1954
3. Russian Disc - live  Nov. 1965
4. Russian Disc - live 1966
5. Praga or Chant du Mode - labeled incorrectly as 1967 - is actually the same performance as #6 below:
6. EMI - recorded live in Vienna with the Leningrad June 12, 1978
7. Erato - with Leningrad 1984

I haven't heard any of them and would love to hear form those who have.  :)

Also, which one is in the recent Brilliant Classics box?

jlaurson

#729
Quote from: George on June 27, 2009, 01:34:33 PM

4. Russian Disc - live 1966
5. Praga or Chant du Mode - labeled incorrectly as 1967 - is actually the same performance as #6 below:
7. Erato - with Leningrad 1984

I haven't heard any of them and would love to hear form those who have.  :)

I've got those three.
#4 I just don't remember much about, apparently never established an opinion about it... and it's not around to do that now.
#5 I can't tell you if the 'original' offers better --or just as bad-- sound quality, but I quite like the rabid performance to which the significant distortion and extraneous noise quite fits. Well, in my book, it does. In any case, the Chant du Monde disc should be picked up in any case, simply because the 9th with Kosler on it is so exceptional.
#7 Is a nicely driven interpretation... but I'll have to give it another spin (maybe in the next few days) to really say something about it that could be helpful to you.

George

Quote from: jlaurson on June 27, 2009, 06:19:12 PM
I've got those three.
#4 I just don't remember much about, apparently never established an opinion about it... and it's not around to do that now.
#5 I can't tell you if the 'original' offers better --or just as bad-- sound quality, but I quite like the rabid performance to which the significant distortion and extraneous noise quite fits. Well, in my book, it does. In any case, the Chant du Monde disc should be picked up in any case, simply because the 9th with Kosler on it is so exceptional.
#6 Is a nicely driven recording... but I'll have to give it another spin (maybe in the next few days) to really say something about it that could be helpful to you.

Thanks Jens! Did you mean #6 or #7?

Archaic Torso of Apollo

Can somebody please opine on these Skrowaczewski performances of DSCH 5 & 10? Random googling uncovers positive reviews, but on the other hand the MusicWeb guy was very lukewarm:

formerly VELIMIR (before that, Spitvalve)

"Who knows not strict counterpoint, lives and dies an ignoramus" - CPE Bach

Brian

Contents Under Pressure, I very much enjoy the Skrowaczewski 10th, which I picked up in a previous issue on Carlton Classics (I think) - very "concert hall" acoustic, and great playing all-around. Even if I prefer Karajan and Barshai in the finale, the opening clarinet solo is beautiful, the first movement is very well handled, and the second is a real rip-roaring performance, at about 4:10. I only paid $3 for it, but I would gladly have paid more.

Brian

New release:



Listening notes copied from the listening thread:

The Fifth is really interesting (in a very good way). The first movement is very slow - 18 minutes - and in a way it really works, especially from about minute 5 to the end of the big climax, although the final coda was not as magical as I usually feel like it is: an uneasy moment of repose, looking back on the carnage of the movement so far and wondering how worried to be. The second movement was a little too fast for my taste - very Russian but not very sarcastic.

On the other hand, the symphony's "second half" was just fantastic - the finale is totally devastating, with an almost unbelievable climax and some fantastically emphatic percussion playing, and the rush of strings at the climax of the slow movement, just before the xylophone's entrance, was AMAZING. Fantastic playing from Liverpool. Vasily Petrenko is going to be a star, and it's fantastic that, with artists like this, Naxos can do more than just add music to its catalog - it can offer bold new artistic statements too.

As for the Ninth, it's a terrific performance with the best finale I've ever heard. Love the violin solo in the first movement recap - and, although the slow movement is so slow it really starts to wear me out on its way to the 9 (!) minute mark, the payoff is worth it when the chipper little dance begins afterwards. As for the finale: That is by far THE coolest performance of the end of Shostakovich No. 9 that I've ever heard! Granted, I've only heard a few (Bernstein, Barshai, Fricsay, Kreizberg), but the way that Petrenko plays with the tempo - the way the brass belt out the silly main theme with ever-increasing silliness - the way the whole orchestra sounds like kids stealing candy from a candy shop - holy Toledo!!

~~~~~~~

In sum, buy this for the experience.  8)

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: Brian on October 12, 2009, 06:42:31 AM
New release:

Listening notes copied from the listening thread:

You sold me. I just ordered it.

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Coopmv

I need to get more of Shosty's works, which currently number not much more than a half-dozen recordings.  A composer who had the courage to stand up to Uncle Joe has won tremendous respect from me ...

George

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on October 12, 2009, 07:26:30 AM
You sold me. I just ordered it.

Sarge

I bet you only needed to read this far:

Quote from: Brian on October 12, 2009, 06:42:31 AM
The Fifth is really interesting (in a very good way). The first movement is very slow....

;D

Brian

#737
Hope you like it as much as I did, Sarge! I'll put it on again this afternoon to make sure.  8)

Quote from: Coopmv on October 12, 2009, 07:29:15 AM
I need to get more of Shosty's works, which currently number not much more than a half-dozen recordings.  A composer who had the courage to stand up to Uncle Joe has won tremendous respect from me ...

Hmmm - where to start? I'd advise you to pick up the two piano concertos, a box set of the string quartets (the Borodins' 6 CDs can be had for $30 in the US), and the Symphonies 5-10. MDT currently has two complete symphony sets under $40 (Barshai $38, Jansons $32), so you have no excuse!  :D  I haven't heard the 24 Preludes and Fugues, but word on the street is they are just plain fantastic. You might need Karajan's Shosty 10 if you don't have it already.

Brian

Quote from: George on October 12, 2009, 07:52:06 AM
I bet you only needed to read this far:

;D


;D ;D
If that's the case, Sarge will love it. Petrenko definitely likes juxtaposing really fast material with really slow material; thus 5.i, parts of 5.iii, the second half of 5.iv, and especially 9.ii are really slow, while the other parts of 5.iii, the first half of 5.iv, 5.ii and 9.iii are really fast. Contrast, contrast, contrast!  :D

Archaic Torso of Apollo

Quote from: Brian on October 12, 2009, 06:37:08 AM
Contents Under Pressure, I very much enjoy the Skrowaczewski 10th,

Thanks for the feedback, I just remembered that I heard this one years ago on the radio and was impressed by it. Skrow is a prince among underrated conductors  0:)

Quote from: Coopmv on October 12, 2009, 07:29:15 AM
A composer who had the courage to stand up to Uncle Joe has won tremendous respect from me ...

I fear opening this can of worms, but it's open to debate whether (or to what extent) he actually "stood up to Uncle Joe." A better reason to listen to the music is because it's good.  :)
formerly VELIMIR (before that, Spitvalve)

"Who knows not strict counterpoint, lives and dies an ignoramus" - CPE Bach