Shostakovich String Quartets

[snyprrr]

I've earned my respite.

You have until Sunday!!

[kishnevi]

A rather ashy wooden and doom laden reading by that group, I suppose.

Blessed be!  I thought DD was engaging in a slight leg pull.  But he is not.
Figures though that they have recorded Schubert: Tod und das Mädchen.

[NorthNYMark]

Borodin'81 vs Shoatakovich: DIRECT COMPARISON 12-14

I played the Shostakovich on the box, and the Borodin'81 on the YT. Wouldn't ya know it- I could barely tell any difference as the two rolled together. The Borodin's acoustic is a little more orchestral (which suffered just slightly against the Shostakovich's more trimmed acoustic), and they have just a touch more high end, and the cellist is slightly more up front, but, otherwise, these two rolled as if they were one. The tone, and ardent character, was evident in both. Maybe the Shostakovich's first violin had a touch more sweetness, but the cellists sounded very similar (though, again, the Borodin's recording was a little more brightly lit down under, though the Shostakovich was, frankly, just as vivd, just a notch lower on the frequency spectrum).

So, THEY SOUND "EXACTLY" THE SAME!! ALL THREE- 12 13 14

really quite impressed

Whatever this experiment was, it waaas a total success!

Am I reading this correctly?  Are you saying you actually listened to the two recordings at the same time? 

[snyprrr]

Am I reading this correctly?  Are you saying you actually listened to the two recordings at the same time? 

can ya picture it?

I let one get two seconds ahead and then just twiddled the volumes,... surely comedy gold there!!

But yea, I've never heard two performances so similar in every detail (sort of).


I was starting to get a Cagean moment where I wondered HOW MANY we could play at the same time and it still work. Hmmm...




Well, I'm feeling I've come somewhat to the end of the Great DSCH SQ Challenge for the time being- as DD said, we have a respite (until Sunday!!). I believe I've got a better handle on any and all DSCH SQ recordings (ask me question!!)- obviously probably not,- but- I think I have reached My Understanding.

So far, the biggest surprises have been the St. Petersburg/SONY (not Hyperion 1/3 Cycle, and the Borodin'95's catatonic 15th. I was also surprised I was by my disappointment of the Sorrel (who do play things a bit slow at times).

I've also developed an aversion to most all modern Cycles- I will not have any glib DSCH, thank you. No one's going to be mitigating against my depressed DSCH! Even so, I do have that Pacifica/Mandelring siren going off- we'll see about them later...

oops... gotta go...

[snyprrr]

No.14 Op.142

Beethoven               8:15     8:09     8:38- 1st is just too fast and glib

Glinka                                                   - the samples indicated good perf./sound-'live'

Borodin'81          8:51    10:10    9:18- sounds just like the Shostakovich

Taneyev'74?   8:23      9:20     8:40- much more 'Classical' than either of its neighbors

Shostakovich      8:44      9:39     8:22- sounds just like the Borodin'81; slightly "better" sound

Fitzwilliam                 9:09      9:12      8:23- 1st just too slow

Kremer/ECM           8:24     11:23    10:05- got death? TheOne!


Emerson                 8:13      8:52      8:05- 1st & 3rd just too fast, Emerson-style

Hagen                    8:50       9:23     8:46


Manhattan              8:43       9:52     8:28

Brodsky                  9:06       9:02     8:50- 1st too slow, all-around ok, but stiff comp.

St.Petersburg         9:09- 1st just too slow

Cavani                   9:14- 1st just too slow

[snyprrr]

No.14 Op.142

Beethoven               8:15     8:09     8:38- 1st is just too fast and glib

Glinka                                                   - the samples indicated good perf./sound-'live'

Borodin'81          8:51    10:10    9:18- sounds just like the Shostakovich

Taneyev'74?   8:23      9:20     8:40- much more 'Classical' than either of its neighbors

Shostakovich      8:44      9:39     8:22- sounds just like the Borodin'81; slightly "better" sound

Fitzwilliam                 9:09      9:12      8:23- 1st just too slow

Kremer/ECM           8:24     11:23    10:05- got death? TheOne!


Emerson                 8:13      8:52      8:05- 1st & 3rd just too fast, Emerson-style

Hagen                    8:50       9:23     8:46


Manhattan              8:43       9:52     8:28

Brodsky                  9:06       9:02     8:50- 1st too slow, all-around ok, but stiff comp.

St.Petersburg         9:09- 1st just too slow

Cavani                   9:14- 1st just too slow

No.15 Op.144


*Beethoven'75?'77?- I don't know if there are two separate performances, but the awesome one of the ChantduMonde disc sounds different than the one on Doremi. Can someone clarify. The one on ChantduMonde is frozen and moross- as we would like it!! Doremi just sounds different-

*Kogan Edition'81- there is a 15 minute opener here! Even more death drenched than the Borodin.

*Borodin'95- a 14 minutes opener! Drenched in death, this may be TheOne.



The Danel and Eder also have longer 1sts, but it is unclear whether they sustain the level of desolation that the above Masters do. Anything less no sounds "too alive and kickin'"- most play this music competently enough, but the atmosphere needs to be oppressive and claustrophobic, which I can't credit the moderns with. Kremer-Ma-Kashkashian-Daniels/SONY doesn't make much of an overall impression, considering how impressive Kremer was in the 14th. Some have given the St. Petersburg much credit in the 15th, though, others say they take the opener much too quickly, robbing it of its necessary death gas. The Brodsky, too, failed to take me in after hearing the Borodin'95, though they are competent enough. I'll leave it to you to chime in on the Pacifica & Mandelring. Other than the SONY, I can't think of any other one-offs of the 15th.

So, my picks here are limited and to the point. Only those players above who breathed the air with Shostakovich even dare to make an impression. Please prove me wrong,... but, the we know all the usual suspects,... I can't think of any that rise to the occasion.

[snyprrr]

I am basking in the glow of the greatness of Shostakovich's SQ Cycle!

There's a moment in the 'Adagio' of No.14 op142 that sounds like Part's 'Festina Lente',... and then it's gone... a moment into the slow movement of No.5, a melody so pure it makes one repeat and repeat,... and then it's gone,... the little Serial section of the opening 'Allegretto' of No.12 immediately preceding the first ostinato section. The opening of No.9.... No.4... No.5... so unique and gripping, all.

Bravo maestro! Braaavo!!

I would love to talk 'minor sixths' with him!

[Dancing Divertimentian]

I did just read an unfavorable review of that one [Yggdrasil Quartet].

Really? BBC Music Magazine gives it five stars.

From the Penguin Guide: *** (highest rating). "This [disc] is an auspicious start with a bold and searching account of the autobiographical eighth, and intelligent and satisfying readings of its companions".

From American Music Guide in their Shostakovich Overview, March/April 2006: "They contrast styles simultaneously, as the composer does. They seem so very right in the three [quartets] they have recorded".

Then there's this interesting nugget from a fan on ArkivMusic:

"5 stars. I like this one! December 4, 2013 By David Smith (Oak Ridge, TN)

Of my 4 cycles of the complete Shostakovich string quartets, I prefer these Yggdrasil guys to any of my others, which include the Emerson and the Fitzwilliam. The present performers are more dynamic and make it far easier for me to get inside the music than my other recordings. This CD claims it's Vol. 1 of a complete Shostakovich cycle, but I have yet to see Vol. 2".

And after a re-listen nothing's changed about the way I, myself, feel about the Yggdrasil. Only that I now lament that the planned full cycle never made it past a single disc.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Blessed be!  I thought DD was engaging in a slight leg pull.  But he is not.

Oh, no. It lives.

[Mandryka]

I am basking in the glow of the greatness of Shostakovich's SQ Cycle!

There's a moment in the 'Adagio' of No.14 op142 that sounds like Part's 'Festina Lente',... and then it's gone... a moment into the slow movement of No.5, a melody so pure it makes one repeat and repeat,... and then it's gone,... the little Serial section of the opening 'Allegretto' of No.12 immediately preceding the first ostinato section. The opening of No.9.... No.4... No.5... so unique and gripping, all.

Bravo maestro! Braaavo!!

I would love to talk 'minor sixths' with him!

Have you seen this site?

www.quartets.de

[snyprrr]

Really? BBC Music Magazine gives it five stars.

From the Penguin Guide: *** (highest rating). "This [disc] is an auspicious start with a bold and searching account of the autobiographical eighth, and intelligent and satisfying readings of its companions".

From American Music Guide in their Shostakovich Overview, March/April 2006: "They contrast styles simultaneously, as the composer does. They seem so very right in the three [quartets] they have recorded".

Then there's this interesting nugget from a fan on ArkivMusic:

"5 stars. I like this one! December 4, 2013 By David Smith (Oak Ridge, TN)

Of my 4 cycles of the complete Shostakovich string quartets, I prefer these Yggdrasil guys to any of my others, which include the Emerson and the Fitzwilliam. The present performers are more dynamic and make it far easier for me to get inside the music than my other recordings. This CD claims it's Vol. 1 of a complete Shostakovich cycle, but I have yet to see Vol. 2".

And after a re-listen nothing's changed about the way I, myself, feel about the Yggdrasil. Only that I now lament that the planned full cycle never made it past a single disc.

well, ok then! I can't remember where the critical article was. I mean, I wooould have assumed that these guys would burn down the barn.

Have you seen this site?

www.quartets.de

I didn't see any talk about the individual SQs, just the keys, and comparing to the Syms.

[Mandryka]

well, ok then! I can't remember where the critical article was. I mean, I wooould have assumed that these guys would burn down the barn.


I didn't see any talk about the individual SQs, just the keys, and comparing to the Syms.

No, it's a very good site. When you click the link it'll come to a page with the title "Shostakovich: the string quartets" and below that you'll see a grey band which says " Shostakovich string quartet no. 123456789101112131415" each of those numbers is another link in disguise, so click on the one you'd like to read about. Here's part of  the entry for 14, since you like it so much.

. . .The second movement resembles a beautiful varnish covering a fathomless depth of anguish. It is a passacaglia in form though certainly an unconventional one with variations, fluctuations and embellishments. The movement commences with an unaccompanied theme on the first violin which is then joined by the cello. The cello begins by repeating the theme but then enters into a sparse, intense and lengthy dialogue with the violin. Finally the other instruments then join in with a viola pizzicato accompaniment, but the cello continues its lengthy song ending only when the second violin plays a series of As. Similarly the final section of the movement ends with a series of C sharps being played this time by the first violin. . .

. . . A vignette from a rehearsal is recalled by Fyodor Druzhinin3 :

When the rehearsal was over, Dmitri Dmitriyevich was visibly excited. He got up and addressed us with these words: 'My dear friends, this has been for me one of the happiest moments of my life: first of all, because I think the Quartet has turned out well, Sergei, and secondly I have had the good fortune to play in the Beethoven Quartet, even if I only played with one finger! And how did you like my Italian bit?' We immediately knew what he meant by this last remark, as in the second movement4 and in the Finale's coda, there is a short but wonderfully beautiful and sensual melody. It evokes a nagging but unquenchable ache of the heart, perhaps because this vocal phrase verges on banality. 5
Shostakovich referred to this melody, a duet with the cello playing above the first violin, as his 'Italian bit' because its style is reminiscent of the 'Angel's Serenade', Leggenda Valacca, by the Italian composer and cellist Gaetano Braga 6. Braga's serenade is mentioned near the beginning of Chekhov's short story 'The Black Monk' where the protagonist, Kovrin, hears it being played on the violin. The serenade, beautiful but death-ridden, is central to the story and reappears to herald Kovrin's death at its conclusion, just as the theme returns in the quartet's coda 7. At the time of writing the Fourteenth Quartet Shostakovich was adapting 'The Black Monk' for a one-act opera. This, his last opera project, would ultimately remain unfinished.

The Beethoven String Quartet had the honour of performing the première of the quartet three times. Once on October 30th, 1973 at the USSR Composers' Club in Moscow, then the public première in Leningrad on 12 November and finally the official Moscow première on 18 November 1973. The autograph score presented to Sergei Shirinsky on the 30th June 1973 is now kept by his family.

Shostakovich was awarded the Glinka Prize (the State Prize of the Russian Federation) for the Fourteenth String Quartet - and another composition, Loyalty opus 136, a work of eight ballads for male choir - in 1974. A transcription of the quartet for piano four hands exists written by Anatoli Dmitriev.

[snyprrr]

No, it's a very good site. When you click the link it'll come to a page with the title "Shostakovich: the string quartets" and below that you'll see a grey band which says " Shostakovich string quartet no. 123456789101112131415" each of those numbers is another link in disguise, so click on the one you'd like to read about. Here's part of  the entry for 14, since you like it so much.

i'll look again



struggling with the mailman today


OH- SERIOUS QUESTION!!

Is it the Chant du Monde CD (with the Glinka Quartet 14th) with the Beethoven 15 that sounds so death ridden, is that the exact same performance as on either their Doremi Box or the Consonance issues?

A Reviewer somewhere mentioned the Chant du Monde performance, and the samples did sound really 'dead', but the samples for the 15th on the Doremi Box sounded more 'alive'. HELP!! I really like what I heard from the C-d-M samples- I couldn't help but think they were another performance than on the Box,... anyone?

[snyprrr]

THE DIGITAL ERA


Brodsky (1989)                                                                                                                                                                                             SHOSTAKOVICH
Manhattan (1990)                                                                                                                                                                                                  EDER


                                                                        Borodin 3.0 (1,2,3,7,8,12,15)                   St. Petersburg/SONY (1,2,3,4,5,7)

                                                                               Hagen (3,4,7,8,11,14)

Emerson (1994-96; released 1999)                             Rubio

Sorrel (1999-)
St. Petersburg/Hyperion (2000-)


                                                                                                      Jerusalem (1,4,6,8,9,11)



Rubio

Alexander

Razumovsky

Danel                                       Aviv (4,8,9,10,13...)

Debussy                             some group on EMI Japanese Import whose name starts with 'M'

PACIFICA
MANDELRING

[snyprrr]

1 - Borodin'95
     Brodsky
     St. Petersburg/SONY


2 - Borodin'95
     Brodsky
     St. Petersburg/SONY                          I still feel the need to get that old Borodin/EMI 2-3
     Moyzes

3 - Borodin'95
     Brodsky
     St. Petersburg/SONY


4 - Moyzes
      Manhattan                                        Moyzes is the most down to earth
      Brodsky
      St. Peterdburg/SONY

5 - Manhattan
    Brodsky                                            Still looking... I actually thought the Beethoven came the closest, and the sound could be worse?
     Sorrel
     St. Petersburg/SONY
     St. Petersburg/Hyperion
     Borodin'83 (en route)

6 - Manhattan
     Brodsky                                           Still looking (Jerusalem, Pacifica, Orlando...)
     Sorrel
     Borodin'81 'live' (en route)


7 - St. Petersburg/SONY
     St. Petersburg/Hyperion
     Manhattan
     Brodsky                                           Emerson are REALLY good here.
     Borodin'83 (en route)
     Borodin'95
     Sorrel

8 - Sorrel
     Borodin'78
     Borodin'95
     Manhattan
     Brodsky


9 - Manhattan
     Brodsky                                            Still looking- Emerson are REALLY good here.
     St. Petersburg/Hyperion
     Borodin'81 'live'
     Sorrel

10 - Manhattan
       Brodsky
       St. Petersburg/Hyperion                 Still looking
       Borodin'81
       Sorrel

11 - Vogler                                    (Emerson)
       Brodsky


12 - Shostakovich
       Borodin'95                                     Still looking- Emerson are REALLY good here.
       Amati
       Brodsky
       St. Petersburg/SONY


13 - Kremer/Lockenhaus Edition-ECM
       Sorrel
       Shostakovich
       Brodsky


14 - Kremer/Lockenhaus Edition-ECM
      Shostakovich                                     Still looking
      Brodsky


15 - Borodin'95
       Sorrel                                               Beethoven + Kagan Edition No.30
       Brodsky
       Kremer-Daniels-Kashkashian-Ma/SONY

[Mandryka]

1 - Borodin'95
     Brodsky
     St. Petersburg/SONY


2 - Borodin'95
     Brodsky
     St. Petersburg/SONY                          I still feel the need to get that old Borodin/EMI 2-3
     Moyzes

3 - Borodin'95
     Brodsky
     St. Petersburg/SONY


4 - Moyzes
      Manhattan                                        Moyzes is the most down to earth
      Brodsky
      St. Peterdburg/SONY

5 - Manhattan
    Brodsky                                            Still looking... I actually thought the Beethoven came the closest, and the sound could be worse?
     Sorrel
     St. Petersburg/SONY
     St. Petersburg/Hyperion
     Borodin'83 (en route)

6 - Manhattan
     Brodsky                                           Still looking (Jerusalem, Pacifica, Orlando...)
     Sorrel
     Borodin'81 'live' (en route)


7 - St. Petersburg/SONY
     St. Petersburg/Hyperion
     Manhattan
     Brodsky                                           Emerson are REALLY good here.
     Borodin'83 (en route)
     Borodin'95
     Sorrel

8 - Sorrel
     Borodin'78
     Borodin'95
     Manhattan
     Brodsky


9 - Manhattan
     Brodsky                                            Still looking- Emerson are REALLY good here.
     St. Petersburg/Hyperion
     Borodin'81 'live'
     Sorrel

10 - Manhattan
       Brodsky
       St. Petersburg/Hyperion                 Still looking
       Borodin'81
       Sorrel

11 - Vogler                                    (Emerson)
       Brodsky


12 - Shostakovich
       Borodin'95                                     Still looking- Emerson are REALLY good here.
       Amati
       Brodsky
       St. Petersburg/SONY


13 - Kremer/Lockenhaus Edition-ECM
       Sorrel
       Shostakovich
       Brodsky


14 - Kremer/Lockenhaus Edition-ECM
      Shostakovich                                     Still looking
      Brodsky


15 - Borodin'95
       Sorrel                                               Beethoven + Kagan Edition No.30
       Brodsky
       Kremer-Daniels-Kashkashian-Ma/SONY

The lineup for 13 is made up of some outstanding musicians and it shows in the performance: Nobuko Imai, Gidon Kremer, Thomas Zehetmair, Boris Pergamentschikow. I much preferred it to the 14 and 15 with Kremer. I also, like you, enjoyed Sorrel in 13.

I've never enjoyed anything with Kashkashian. I've enjoyed pretty well everything I've heard with Nobuko Imai and Thomas Zehetmair.

[snyprrr]

The lineup for 13 is made up of some outstanding musicians and it shows in the performance: Nobuko Imai, Gidon Kremer, Thomas Zehetmair, Boris Pergamentschikow. I much preferred it to the 14 and 15 with Kremer. I also, like you, enjoyed Sorrel in 13.

I've never enjoyed anything with Kashkashian. I've enjoyed pretty well everything I've heard with Nobuko Imai and Thomas Zehetmair.

a) your email got sent to my spam- but your link want DOA- thanks for trying!

b)


I just into a No.13 listening fest... next Post.

[snyprrr]

No.13 Op.138

This one can sound matter-of-fact if played with less than an Apocalyptic viewpoint. I was quite impressed with Kremer's 22:22 rendition on ECM (the longest on record), and the Sorrel delivered some vicious chord jabs, so I thought I'd give my least favoured Late SQ another shot. For this particular piece, I think timings can be useful. Here's a short breakdown:


QUICKEST                                                                                                                                                      SLOWEST

Taneyev       15:18                                                                                                                                            Kremer/ECM        22:22

Beethoeven   18:06                                                                                                                                                Danel              21:44
Shostakovich  18:06                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                            Brodsky           20:54
Borodin'71     18:44                                                                                                                                                Rubio             20:44
                                                                                                                                                                             Eder              20:38

                                        @19mins.                                                                @20mins.

                                        Emerson                                                                            Borodin'81
                                       Fitzwilliam                                                                            Sorrel
                                    St. Petersburg
                                                                       Pacifica
                                                                    Mandelring




I think the long view is the way to go. The Kremer sounds so deliciously "dead" that it makes one have to agree that this is the best way. Surprisingly, the Brodsky's 20:54 is played with a fair amount of 'non-vibrato' technique, and with the slower, dead tempo, their rendition shoots to a close 2nd to Kremer. The Danel sample also points up a "dead" performance style for the piece.

Obviously, the obverse must be just as tantalizing. The Taneyev- I MUST hear them here somehow!- really provoke with their 15min. take.

But here things get interesting. Basically, the remainder seem to fall into three camps: 18mins., 19mins., and 20mins. The Shostakovich, at 18:06, points up a very impassioned, Borodin-like performance that I think may be too full of life and tension and passion; however, the Beethoven seem a bit more restrained at the same tempo.

The Emerson, and many others, have chosen a fairly middle-of-the-road tempo at @19mins., which keeps things moving, but I think probably suits to point out the piece's more Modernistic qualities rather than the Existential ones? The Sorrel, at 20:06, seem to have just enough of the "frozen"/slow elements, with enough of the "swing"/jazzy elements to ganther a Best of Both Worlds approach award.

I surely not saying that timings tell all the story. The Emerson and the Brodsky, at 19 and almost 21 minutes, respectively, still have a very steely, Modernistic approach that highlights the Psychedelia of the music through its alien-like atmosphere. Particularly, the Brodsky utilize a bit of 'non-vibrato' to heighten the strangeness. (I think the St. Petersburg do too?)

Sound, I think, is extremely important here, too. Kremer's 'live' rendition has such a mausoleum like acoustic that it really almost becomes a player. The Manhattan, however, are as if in a coffin, and I don't think that serves the music too well (the Danel also seem to have a very drab acoustic). Again, the Brodsky has some of the best sound going- I was really surprised by their very deep understanding of the atmospheres invoked here. The St. Petersburg, also, again, have that bizzare 3-D Hyperion sound that makes listening here another experience altogether.

1) Taneyev (15:18) vs Kremer (22:22) for contrast of extremes

2) St. Petersburg for ice-box sound + non-vibrato

3) Brodsky for pulling off a particularly thought provoking, icy, non-vibrato-like performance in Perfect Sound

4) Emerson for Modernism


Though I can enjoy the Shostakovich and Borodin'81 performances, both at 20mins., their impassioned style seems to be at odds with the piece's intent. However, they do add "life" to the music, if that's what you want. The Sorrel's 20mins. are quite different.

The Pacifica and Mandelring both seem to be squarely in the middle of the pack, and I noticed nothing out of the ordinary from the samples, though, the Mandelring seemed to have a bit more tonal sophistication?

What am I missing here? Being as Op.138 is quite rare on record (no one-offs?), I think it's safe to say that this little Post should cover most of the worthy bases. My choices above represent the some of the extremes (including the extremely involving sound for the Hyperion), with the Emerson as the standard MOR choice in the middle.

What say you?

[amw]

St Petersburg is the best

Kremer/Zehetmair/Imai/Pergamenschikow is the second best, probably
(really, why is this quartet not a full time thing, it would be like 200 times more awesome than the arcanto or chiaroscuro quartets)

Borodin (Kopelman) is the third best. Very 'human' though which is not ideal here.

Mandelring is like Borodin (Kopelman) but slightly more tragic and less weird

Taneyev is intense for sure, with lots of momentum, but I have yet to place it in the lineup properly. Also the final sfffz is wimpy.

the others are okay, I guess.

(my favourite Shostakovich quartet! which bumps it up to 3rd favourite Shostakovich work after the 14th Symphony and Jazz Suite No. 2. prior to hearing St Petersburg, it was significantly lower in my estimation)

[snyprrr]

St Petersburg is the best

Kremer/Zehetmair/Imai/Pergamenschikow is the second best, probably
(really, why is this quartet not a full time thing, it would be like 200 times more awesome than the arcanto or chiaroscuro quartets)

Borodin (Kopelman) is the third best. Very 'human' though which is not ideal here.

Mandelring is like Borodin (Kopelman) but slightly more tragic and less weird

Taneyev is intense for sure, with lots of momentum, but I have yet to place it in the lineup properly. Also the final sfffz is wimpy.

the others are okay, I guess.

(my favourite Shostakovich quartet! which bumps it up to 3rd favourite Shostakovich work after the 14th Symphony and Jazz Suite No. 2. prior to hearing St Petersburg, it was significantly lower in my estimation)

13th, right? So, you agree that what I heard on that St.P samples was something different, eh? Yea, I have 'problems' with the St.P/Hyperion Cycle, but the presentation is soooo compelling- the playing and the sound both work together to give you that IMAX Experience! Well, looks like I'll have to...

Have you heard the Sorrel in 13? Not as CinemaScope as the St.P, but they dig deep into the abyss here- which they don't always succeed in doing in other works.

And yes, one CAN be too 'human' in this piece- it needs to be totally abstract.

Yes, I think it's easy to lock down 13 to the major players- the ones we have been mentioning. You MUST have something a little extra special cool here if you want to stand out.

thanks for the input!!