Shostakovich op 34 preludes

Started by Mandryka, July 06, 2021, 06:14:52 AM

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staxomega

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on July 06, 2021, 10:34:42 AM
I have that in the Decca Shostakovich Chamber Music box.  I should give it a listen at last. Come to poke around, I've also got Margarete Babinsky, so I could do a comparison.

Karl can you say if this was supposed to come with a booklet? I found a really cheap copy, mostly interested in hearing Ashkenazy's Op. 87 but there was no booklet.

staxomega

#21
Quote from: Mandryka on July 16, 2021, 08:08:44 PM
Mustonen makes them into a hotchpotch, a rag bag of  unconnected pieces of music, Elisso makes them flow and cohere. I wondered why Elisso is one track, now I know: it's part of her conception. Mustonen's touch is more brittle.

I did end up ordering the CD after a second listen. They're interesting for sure, I thought they might have been slightly too eccentric on first listen.

Edit: I can't say I'll be too fond of it being a single track. It's possible to index them while keeping it gapless.

Mandryka


Quote from: hvbias on July 17, 2021, 09:02:10 AM
I did end up ordering the CD after a second listen. They're interesting for sure, I thought they might have been slightly too eccentric on first listen.

Edit: I can't say I'll be too fond of it being a single track. It's possible to index them while keeping it gapless.

My advantage, or disadvantage, is that I don't know enough about Shostakovich to know what's eccentric and what isn't!
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Karl Henning

Quote from: hvbias on July 17, 2021, 09:01:04 AM
Karl can you say if this was supposed to come with a booklet? I found a really cheap copy, mostly interested in hearing Ashkenazy's Op. 87 but there was no booklet.


Mine came with no booklet.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

Quote from: hvbias on July 17, 2021, 09:02:10 AM
I did end up ordering the CD after a second listen. They're interesting for sure, I thought they might have been slightly too eccentric on first listen.

Edit: I can't say I'll be too fond of it being a single track. It's possible to index them while keeping it gapless.

Shostakovich wrote the Opus 34 in 1932 & 33, a nervy, uncertain time for Soviet artists. Brittle is arguably a valid tack. Approaching the Opus 34 through the lens of the Opus 87, arguably anachronistic.  Of course the musical result of the performance will put the case.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Mirror Image

Quote from: hvbias on July 17, 2021, 09:01:04 AM
Karl can you say if this was supposed to come with a booklet? I found a really cheap copy, mostly interested in hearing Ashkenazy's Op. 87 but there was no booklet.

Decca put a booklet in all of their Shostakovich reissue box sets. I think there were like three boxes in total? I can't remember, but, yes, there are booklets in all of these sets.

staxomega

Quote from: Mirror Image on July 27, 2021, 12:01:55 PM
Decca put a booklet in all of their Shostakovich reissue box sets. I think there were like three boxes in total? I can't remember, but, yes, there are booklets in all of these sets.

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on July 18, 2021, 08:36:57 AM
Mine came with no booklet.

Thanks guys, turns out my question was moot; the seller slapped a shipping label on the box itself with some sort of permanent glue and the postal service pretty much destroyed it.

The new erato

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on July 18, 2021, 08:36:57 AM
Mine came with no booklet.
That's the 5 CD Decca set, right? A booklet in mine.

Todd

The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Mandryka

#29
Quote from: Todd on September 06, 2021, 05:53:26 AM


Very good, thanks for mentioning. Very well recorded too, and he can do timbre, which is nice when it's caught so beautifully. I kept thinking it would be nice to hear him do Schumann, it's as if he brings out the contrasting Florestan and Eusebius in these preludes.

Why can't all piano recordings sound as good as this?!
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka

#31


This is worth your time when you're in the mood.  Polina Osetinskaya.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

#32
Quote from: Mandryka on January 25, 2023, 12:22:07 PM

This is worth your time when you're in the mood.  Polina Osetinskaya.


Oblique, sick and thrillfull. Gorgeous. Sometimes her rhythm is a little similar to Weichert, but Polina has a lot more nuances and shadows. I think in contrast, Koroliov and Berman are on the lyrical side.
The recording by Elena Varvarova was not well-received, but somehow I like some of her interpretations.

Madiel

I don't think I'd ever be in the mood for such a cranky-looking cover. Really playing up the Shostakovich misery there.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

I briefly checked the albums below. They all sound good, especially Petrushansky and Marshev. Still Polina remains my favorite.




















Verena

No love for Elena Rozanova's version? I quite like it, it's poetic; but I haven't heard other versions recently.
Don't think, but look! (PI66)

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

Quote from: Verena on January 29, 2023, 06:46:51 AMNo love for Elena Rozanova's version? I quite like it, it's poetic; but I haven't heard other versions recently.

Will check. Classics Today gave 3/10 rating. It must be a good recording. 😄



Verena

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on January 29, 2023, 07:50:42 AMWill check. Classics Today gave 3/10 rating. It must be a good recording. 😄




Yes, I've seen that  ;D . Can't be that bad indeed  ;D  Incidentally, I think the recording got high/highest ratings in some other well-known magazines. Gramophone on the other hand wasn't too impressed either.
I'm curious what you think of her interpretation.
Don't think, but look! (PI66)

Mandryka

Quote from: Verena on January 29, 2023, 06:46:51 AMNo love for Elena Rozanova's version? I quite like it, it's poetic; but I haven't heard other versions recently.

Well I for one prefer it to Osetinskaya's - because of the impish lightness she can do so well. Did the bad review have anything interesting to say?

Osetinskaya is a bit too heavy and perfumed for me.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Verena

Quote from: Mandryka on January 29, 2023, 08:49:55 AMWell I for one prefer it to Osetinskaya's - because of the impish lightness she can do so well. Did the bad review have anything interesting to say?

Osetinskaya is a bit too heavy and perfumed for me.

Not too interesting overall. I don't agree with the Gramophone reviewer who thinks that she is expressive but lays it one with a trowel as it were. Distler from Classics Today is actually rather positive about her Shostakovich (mostly) and primarily criticises Rozanova's interpretation of the other works on the disc.
The most interesting observation for me was Distler's comment that her rubato occasionally weakens the music's caustic impact. I guess that's true, but it's not a problem for me.
Don't think, but look! (PI66)