Neeme Järvi

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Shostakovich's Second and Third Symphonies are crudely propagandistic affairs, dealing, respectively, with the October Revolution and May Day. They're among the least played of his works. But for all their faults, they show flashes of the young composer's genius and retain interest until they sink in the mire of the closing choruses, which loudly declaim their drivel. Coming after the brilliant First Symphony, these two are a big letdown, but admirers of the composer should hear them, since they have smudged fingerprints of stylistic traits later developed more fully and satisfactorily. The Bolt is a suite derived from a satiric 1931 ballet. Its eight movements include some deliciously funny episodes and spirited high jinks. The entire program is played with committed advocacy by Neeme Järvi and his excellent Swedish orchestra. Shostakovich completists will want this; neophytes should start with later masterpieces, like the Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Tenth Symphonies, reflective of the composer at his best. --Dan Davis

Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 2, Op. 14 "To October" / Symphony No. 3, Op. 20 "The First of May" / Suite from "The Bolt", Op. 27a - Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra / Neeme Järvi, Music, Dmitry Shostakovich, Neeme Järvi, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, 20th/21st Century Symphony with Chorus, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Orchestral, Orchestral & Symphonic, Suite for Orchestra, Symphonic

Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 2, Op. 14 "To October" / Symphony No. 3, Op. 20 "The First of May" / Suite from "The Bolt", Op. 27a - Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra / Neeme Järvi
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Early Shostakovich

My favourite versions for these symphonies.

Spectacular Shostakovisch

Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 2, Op. 14 "To October" / Symphony No. 3, Op. 20 "The First of May" / Suite from "The Bolt", Op. 27a - Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra / Neeme Järvi

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000056ILM
Release Date: 2001-03-13

Tracks:

Symphony No. 2 Op. 14, 'To October': Largo
Symphony No. 2 Op. 14, 'To October': = 152 (Rehearsal No. 13)-
Symphony No. 2 Op. 14, 'To October': (Rehearsal No. 29)-
Symphony No. 2 Op. 14, 'To October': Meno Mosso (Rehearsal No. 56) - Moderato (Rehearsal No. 58)-
Symphony No. 2 Op. 14, 'To October': 'i sli, mi prosili raboti i khleba' (Rehearsal No. 69)
Symphony No. 3 Op. 20, 'The First Of May': Allegretto-
Symphony No. 3 Op. 20, 'The First Of May': Andante (Rehearsal No. 44)-
Symphony No. 3 Op. 20, 'The First Of May': Allegro (Rehearsal No. 52) - Allegro molto (Rehearsal No. 79)-
Symphony No. 3 Op. 20, 'The First Of May': Andante (Rehearsal No. 88)-
Symphony No. 3 Op. 20, 'The First Of May': Moderato (Rehearsal No. 98) - 'v pervoye, Pervoye maya'
Suite From The Ballet 'The Bolt' Op. 27a: Overture: Adagio - Allegro
Suite From The Ballet 'The Bolt' Op. 27a: Bureaucrat's Dance: Allegretto
Suite From The Ballet 'The Bolt' Op. 27a: Drayman's Dance: Moderato non troppo
Suite From The Ballet 'The Bolt' Op. 27a: Tango: Allegro - Andante - Allegro
Suite From The Ballet 'The Bolt' Op. 27a: Intermezzo: Allegretto
Suite From The Ballet 'The Bolt' Op. 27a: The Colonial Slave Girl's Dance: Andante - Presto
Suite From The Ballet 'The Bolt' Op. 27a: The Appeaser: Andantino
Suite From The Ballet 'The Bolt' Op. 27a: General Dance And Apotheosis: Allegro

Amazon.com

Shostakovich's Second and Third Symphonies are crudely propagandistic affairs, dealing, respectively, with the October Revolution and May Day. They're among the least played of his works. But for all their faults, they show flashes of the young composer's genius and retain interest until they sink in the mire of the closing choruses, which loudly declaim their drivel. Coming after the brilliant First Symphony, these two are a big letdown, but admirers of the composer should hear them, since they have smudged fingerprints of stylistic traits later developed more fully and satisfactorily. The Bolt is a suite derived from a satiric 1931 ballet. Its eight movements include some deliciously funny episodes and spirited high jinks. The entire program is played with committed advocacy by Neeme Järvi and his excellent Swedish orchestra. Shostakovich completists will want this; neophytes should start with later masterpieces, like the Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Tenth Symphonies, reflective of the composer at his best. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Early Shostakovich.......2006-04-05

The three works on this disk: Symphonies 2 & 3 and the Ballet Suite from The Bolt, show the effect of Soviet propaganda on Dmitri Shostakovich, especially in his early years. Symphony 2, a celebration of the October Revolution, was commissioned by the propaganda department of the State Publishing House; Symphony No. 3, an evocation of the worker's holiday on May 1st; and the ballet The Bolt, about a factory saboteur, is unusually varied and optimistic. While Shostakovich disowned these pieces later in life, they provide a glimpse into his early Soviet sound, and a historical view of his musical progress.

The 18-minute Symphony No. 2 "October" and the 27-minute Symphony No. 3 "First of May" have some common elements; both have only one movement and both end with a victorious Russian chorus. That being said, it can even be surmised that both works follow the same sort of progression: workers, surrounded by chaos and hunger, are released from their state of being by Lenin, and a moving Russian chorus heralds those achievements. Indeed, Symphony No. 2, begins in very low strings (chaos-like) and adds higher-voiced strings one by one, until a major arrival and climax is happened upon. This symphony also has some interesting solos, virtuosic chamber settings, some battle-like music, not to mention an eruption into a dance. Symphony 2 ends in a celebratory manner, heralded by a factory whistle, a sung chorale, pealing bells, dramatic pedal points; all in all a satisfying and glorious conclusion. Symphony No. 3, while more tuneful than No.2, still has dissonance leading into the satisfying conclusion. The work begins with a pastoral mood with a walking bass line under the melodies, a march and scherzo follow, with some indication of folk-like, musical settings. While there is a definite dance in the middle of the work, the resolution only occurs when the chorus enters at the end, a grand march ensues complete with fanfares, and the tension built from beginning to end, minor to major, chaos to release, is very satisfying. More fleshed out than No. 2, there are many more dramatic moments, and more variety of musical styles.

The 30-minute Bolt Suite is in eight parts: Overture, Bureaucrat's Dance (Polka), Drayman's Dance (Variation), Kozelkov's Dance and his Friends (Tango), Intermezzo (Destroyer), Dance of Colonial Bondswomen and Slave Girl's Dance, Conciliator (Yes-Man), and General Dance and Apotheosis (Finale). Each are inventive, tuneful, and varied miniatures: loud brass calls over a military snare and orchestra hits open the work. Two tongue-in-cheek dances, polka and variation, (the polka featuring piccolo, clarinet, bassoon, trombone, and tuba) vie between playfulness and seriousness. Kozelkov's Dance is slightly sensual with a definite Russian sounding melody, and even a jazzy, syncopated feel, a struggle between popular and Russian sounds. The Intermezzo is a gentile dance, whereas the slave girl's dance is an exotic presto. The humorous Conciliator has a slinky melody, including xylophone, moves to an ominous march. There is a riotous ending dance with a grand conclusion.

Neemi Jarvi and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Chorus give some dynamic and boisterous performances. The orchestra is committed to the music and really dig in and give some gritty Russian sounds, not to mention their great sense of ensemble. Jarvi chooses the extroverted route, and the youthfulness of Shostakovich's early compositions come through; spontaneous and virile interpretations. The chorus is OK; they fare better on Symphony No. 3 than on No. 2; some tuning and support issues, especially in the high range sopranos; in No. 3, however, they perform well. The DG sonics have a good ambient presentation, making the ensemble sound naturally full and vibrant; and 75 minutes long, the CD is full of music. While this probably shouldn't be the starting point for those wanting to experience Shostakovich for the first time, these are hot-blooded performances of his early works, a neat glimpse into the young fiery composer. An interesting buy and certainly recommended.

My favourite versions for these symphonies........2006-01-30

I'm not a great fan of Neeme Jarvi, even he had recorded some very good performances for DG, but I have to say this is a very good CD, very well played and fine recorded.

The most important thing we have here are the two symphonies, number 2 and 3, from the modernist period of Shostakovich, very influenced by works like Berg's Wozzeck, which the own DSCH listened in Leningrad in his youth years. Of course these works are not so great like the symphonies he wrote some years later (specially from the 5th) but are very important to listen because they show how good composer DSCH was when he was in his 20's. The kind of composition DSCH wrote here is not developed in many works after, even you can recognize his print in the very first movement of the Second, like it happens in his First Symphony.

The world that emerge from the Symphony Nº2 is the world of the Russian workers in a tone-poem which is in fact a propagandistic work for the soviet regime, anyway I have no doubts about the very bad situation of the Russian proletarian, but some times in this kind of works it sounds like a cliché. The final texts in both symphonies are clear, easy to understand, exalting Lenin's figure in order to become art for the people, art with a political purpose. I think art have this kind of roles too, apart from many others and it's very interesting to listen it from our days, like watching Battleship Potenkim, Einsestein's masterwork from that same years.

The performances are very clear, very well done from the technical point of view with an orchestra that know fairly well DSCH language, like the own Neeme Jarvi, who signs his best Shostakovich's recording in this CD.

Sound is great, really wonderful and I would say this is the best CD to know these works, even we have a magnificent recording for The Bolt, with Rozhdestvensky in Chandos.

Spectacular Shostakovisch.......2002-02-12

This Cd is a spectacular one, because Järvi put Shostakovich hymns to Lenininsm on this record, his no.2 and no.3 + ballet suite from "The Bolt". Shostakovich 2 & 3 symphonies and "The Bolt" is GREAT pieces of early modernism and IF he did go for Lenin hymns in those it was probably because he wrote this when he had hopes for communism at that time (something most of his other symphonies def. NOT show any sign of).

This was before Stalins terror had reached its "peak" (sorry for this eventually bad choosen word.. Im in no way like to offend people by this word, but cant find a better synonym in english), five year plans and so on. He never wanted this symphonies and "The Bolt" to be played after Stalins five year plans, Stalins terror and his dissapointment about russian politics was hunting him for the rest of his life.

About the music: all this recorded here is early modernistic masterpieces, and Järvi handle this with great insight as a former USSR native (even if his real native country is Estonia... a country incorporated/occupied by USSR under Järvis grown up period).

Järvis Gothenburg orchestra and choirs perform this pieces ecxellent, bombastic as it was meant to be (and "The Bolt" trying to be "fun").

The sound is fantastic and its both fun listen to and in the same way bizarre symphonies and ballet suite presented on this disc, thinking of subjects as "To october" (in symph no. 2) and "the first of may" (in symph no. 3) with choruses going on like "Comrade Lenin gives us everything" and stuff like that.

Shostakovisch was intellectual and emotional tortured by the USSR regime soon after this two symphonies and put his next symphony, in my opinion his greatest no. 4 in his desk and that probably saved his life because of its modernism and it had probably NOT be appriciated by USSR cencors and Stalin.

THIS disc is a must have for all of You intrested in Shostakovisch, his life, his music (you could followed his anger of USSR "development" and his fear for Stalin after this if you listen to his other symphonies followed), music history in general and early "techno" modernism. This is, togheter with his first, fifth and fourth, Prokofievs no 3 and 4, 5, Stravinskys early work and Bartoks fantastic music from this time.

Järvi and Gothenburg (and DG) has made a very good record of this Shostakovich and russian music period (as a swede, I am NOT biased :-).

Highly recommended

Shostakovich: Symphony No 14, etc / Varady, Fischer-Dieskau, Wenkel; Haitink
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A Richly Nuanced Performance of Shostakovich's Symphony of Death

Please note: This isn't in Russian

Shostakovich And Matters Of Death

Utterly spiritual!

Surprisingly, Perhaps, a Dimly-Burning Wick of Hope

Shostakovich: Symphony No 14, etc / Varady, Fischer-Dieskau, Wenkel; Haitink
Dmitri Shostakovich , Bernard Haitink , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Julia Varady , Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam , and Ortrun Wenkel
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000IP3J
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Tracks:

Symphony No.14, Op.135: De profundis
Symphony No.14, Op.135: Malaguena
Symphony No.14, Op.135: Loreley
Symphony No.14, Op.135: Le Suicide
Symphony No.14, Op.135: Les Attentives I
Symphony No.14, Op.135: Les Attentives II
Symphony No.14, Op.135: A la Sante
Symphony No.14, Op.135: Reponse des cosaques zaparogues...
Symphony No.14, Op.135: O Delvig, Delvig!
Symphony No.14, Op.135: Der Tod des Dichters
Symphony No.14, Op.135: Schluss-Stuck
6 Poems Of Marina Tsvetaeva, Op.143a: My Poems
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6 Poems Of Marina Tsvetaeva, Op.143a: The Poet And The Tsar
6 Poems Of Marina Tsvetaeva, Op.143a: No, The Drum Beat
6 Poems Of Marina Tsvetaeva, Op.143a: To Anna Akhmatova

Customer Reviews:

A Richly Nuanced Performance of Shostakovich's Symphony of Death.......2006-02-04

Despite the fact that there are multiple recordings of Shostakovich's deeply moving Symphony No. 14, this rather old but remastered recording is unique in the quality of performance: Bernard Haitink conducts his Concertgebouw Orchestra and elected to use non-Slavic singers Julia Varady and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau who in turn sing the poems in their original languages rather than the Russian translations used in the original premiere. The effect is staggeringly beautiful and if one must choose a single recording of this symphony, this would be the one that captures the essence of Shostakovich's vision.

Written in 1969 while ill, Shostakovich was naturally achingly concerned about his impending death and in response to his admiration for Moussorgsky's 'Songs and Dances of Death' he wished to make his musical statement about the end of life. 'They wanted the finale to be comforting, to say that death is only the beginning. But it's not a beginning, it's the real end, there will be nothing afterwards, nothing.' And with this grim concept he selected eleven poems by a varied group of poets who mostly died young: Garcia Lorca, Guillaume Appollinaire, Wilhelm Kuchelberger, and Rainer Maria Rilke. The poems are sung by soprano and baritone solo and in duet, and the beauty of Varady and Fischer-Dieskau intoning the words in Spanish, French, Russian, and German somehow gives the poetry more immediacy.

The orchestration is for twenty-one performers: two percussionist, celesta, and eighteen strings. The writing is transparent and delicate with some of the most gorgeous sectional ensemble playing (particularly for cellos and double bass) Shostakovich ever wrote. Haitink serves the score well. As an additional bonus on this CD, Haitink conducts the `Six Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva' beautifully sung by Ortrun Wenkel. For this reviewer the experience of hearing this chamber work that speaks so profoundly about death in the wonder of the acoustic of Disney Hall in Los Angeles makes this symphony emphatically one of Shostakovich's finest works. Esa-Pekka Salonen with the LA Philharmonic approached the work with such humanity and utter clarity of performance, using as soloists Matthias Goerne and brilliant young Russian dramatic soprano Tatiana Pavlovskaya to breathe meaning and incredible atmosphere that the effect was one of those once in a lifetime experiences. If only THAT performance could be added to the recorded repertoire.... Highly recommended. Grady Harp, February 06

Please note: This isn't in Russian.......2005-09-29

I haven't researched the various versions of the Shostakovich 14th, but my other CD under Bernstein is sung entirely in Russian, even though the poems come from other languages as well. I believe that's the standard way, but here Haitink's singers adapt to French, Spanish, etc. as these languages come up. This gives the original poets their native voices back, which i like. It also eliminates one layer of Slavic lugubriousness, which frankly can become quite oppressive when the texts are performed entirely in Russian.

Shostakovich And Matters Of Death.......2005-08-06

Like Gustav Mahler before him, Dmitri Shostakovich, towards the end of his life, began concerning himself with matters of death in his works. Here was a composer who had seen the horrors of two world wars, seen his artistic ambitions constricted by the demands of Joseph Stalin, and seen his older contemporary Sergei Prokofiev suffer the tortures of the damned under Stalin's reign of terror, and yet Shostakovich had survived and succeeded, largely thanks to sage champions on this side of the Iron Curtain such as Bernstein, Stokowski, and Ormandy.

But in his own ironic way, by the 1960s, he was dealing with Death itself, as can be gauged from his Fourteenth Symphony, a work in eleven parts that utilizes texts from writers such as Federico Garcia Lorca, Guillaume Apollinaire, Wilhelm Kuchelbecker, and Rainer Maria Rilke. The symphony, which requires soprano, bass, percussion, and string orchestra, was composed by Shostakovich in 1969 and premiered by his fellow composer Benjamin Britten in England in 1970. It remains thoroughly modern, but its subject is timeless. The same is true for the song cycle "6 Poems Of Marina Tsvetaeva", which he first scored for contralto and piano in 1973 and orchestrating them the following year, one year before he passed away.

Featuring Julia Varady, Ortrun Wenkel, and the legendary Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau, this recording is equally stunning for the conducting of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam by its longtime music director Bernard Haitink. Though these works were recorded a quarter century ago as part of Haitink's complete survey of Shostakovich's symphonies (a set that also included the London Philharmonic), the recording has aged fantastically well, and the three-prong combination of vocalists, orchestra, and conductor are superb in bringing Shotakovich's visions to the forefront, though they don't skip over the ever-present irony that was a trademark of the composer. A must-have for anyone with a taste for modern music in general, and Shostakovich in particular.

Utterly spiritual!.......2005-07-26

Mondelli and kph37's reviews are really into the spirit of the work, and I have no complaints with them at all.

There are political considerations on two levels. Let me dispose of the first quickly, though I don't mean to do so, because Haitink is truly one of the great conductors of the 20th century. But let's face it that he got caught up in the conductor contest of the Post-Reiner era, when recording companies were elevating Their Man over the others in a marketing joust. Poor Bernard was, in my opinion, a victim in this competition. He was the one who saw the value in letting us hear the inner parts, apart from the raging brass of Solti and colorful antics of Bernstein. Mercy!

As for Fidi's shortness of breath or trailing line, well, I think this was the reason for staging him in the work. Imagine, by contrast, bringing in, say, the great Erich Kunz. The bass-baritone portions of this work are those of resignation, not of confidence. For the sake of the poetry, Fidi was perfect. He is not supposed to be the bombast vocalist. His is the voice of sad resignation.

Now, the other political level, that of the composer. Shostakovich lived under Stalin's thumb, to an extent that no composer today can imagine. Some understanding of history is in order. Dmitri was in a life and death struggle with the homicidal maniac controlling the former Soviet Union. Some understanding of art requires an understanding of history. And, therefore, of empathy with Dmitri.

All told, this is a sublime recording. In future generations, the work will be reviewed only from the technical point of view. It takes musicians who lived through that ghastly horror of the German invasion of Russia, of one racist terrorist regime invading another.

This is a very perturbing work. Who could have done it better than those who lived through it?

Then, Ortrum Wenkel's performance of the Tsvetaeva songs should be given more attention. Yes, they are pretty literal readings. But aren't the works written the same dead pan way? These are hardly folksongs in the sense of Mahler or Britten, but introspective pieces. I really like her work here.

Buy this CD it while it lasts.

Surprisingly, Perhaps, a Dimly-Burning Wick of Hope.......2002-01-24

This is a clean and exciting performance of the fourteenth symphony; I still remember the chills I felt, hearing it the first time some seventeen years ago. This is the sort of piece which only Edward Gorey would like to listen to on a daily basis, but it is an exquisitely artistic outpouring of grief, rage, despair ... yet not, I think, of absolute resignation.

Most of the texts have to do with death, and almost none of the texts regards death in any light other than hopeless, or at the least sardonic. But there is one note something discordant to the otherwise unremitting gloom.

"O Delvig, Delvig!" always struck me as the heart of the fourteenth symphony, all the more for its warm, passionate cello choir, standing in stark contrast to the "flint-faced" sardonicism ("Malagueña," "Les Attentives I & II," "Réponse des cosaques zaporogues") and the externally-dramatic bleakness ("Lorelei," "À la Santé," and the bookends "De Profundis" and "Der Tod des Dichters") of most of the rest of the symphony.

And here at what, musically, I have always felt to be the quiet, self-effacing heart of the piece, we find a text which differs, not sharply perhaps, but significantly, from the unrelieved tone of despair-at-darkness of all the rest of the texts, which (with epochal significance) are more recent ... the sharp-relieved word-paintings of Garcia Lorca, the urbane rationalism and withering wit of Appolinaire. Here, in the company of some of the world's most highly-regarded poets (to add Rilke) we find a highly personal dedicatory poem, written by the unknown-outside-Russia Küchelbecker.

Baron Anton Antonovich Delvig (1798-1831) and Wilhelm Karlovich Küchelbecker (1797-1846) were both friends of Pushkin's, from their school days at the Imperial Lyceum at Tsarskoye Selo (where there still stands a magnificent palace with extensive grounds). All three were poets, men of education and refinement. Delvig was packed off to Siberia, and executed as a revolutionary.

O Delvig, Delvig! What reward is there
for noble deeds and verse?
Where and what is the joy in talent
amongst villains and fools?
In Juvenal's austere hand
the dreaded lash whistles at the villains
and wipes the color from their cheeks.
The power of the tyrants trembled

O Delvig, Delvig, what is persecution?
Immortality is the reward
both of valiant, inspired deeds
and of sweet singing!
Thus our union will not die,
proud, joyful and free!
In happiness and grief, firm is the union
of lovers of the eternal Muse!

The poem fits into Shostakovich's work with conveniently thorough aptness. The two obscurer poets were friends of Pushkin's, himself not only the Great Man of Russian letters, but an artist who found that his works needed to pass a censor. Delvig was a poet who got caught in the wheels of politics, and paid with his life.

Yet the message of the poem is not gloom alone; it is not simply a weeping at the injustices of society against Art and the Individual. It is an assurance that noble deeds and sweet singing are rewarded with immortality, and that the artistic bond of the friends will never die, either. The poem is actually a positive response to external grief.

For all the unrelenting gloom of the rest of the symphony, for all that Shostakovich is quoted as saying, "Death is it, after death, there is nothing" ... for all this, I don't believe that Shostakovich could have LIVED like that ... and certainly here in the fourteenth symphony, he did not quite write like that. This text, its musical treatment, and its place in the shape of the symphony, all this together is the dimly burning wick which would not be blown out.

And too, the one text set in the symphony which has nothing in particular to do with death ("Réponse des cosaques zaporogues") is about rage at, and contempt for, despots, expressed by a fiercely proud, free people. This reminds me that another piece of Shostakovich's which I have long meant to investigate is "The Execution of Stepan Razin," a cossack folk-hero who is a symbol of the spiritual power of free resistance against an oppressor.

And the ending of the fourteenth symphony is not the bleak, still resignation of "De Profundis/Der Tod des Dichters" ... but an ironic clip-clop "Conclusion"... and the closing musical gesture is a clipped, tutti, raging in the strings.

Certainly a great deal of his experience would teach Shostakovich despair, and it would have taken an extraordinarily strong and determined character to resist learning so.

Yet in this work, I see more than just the cynicism. You can be taught to say things, taught even to feel things as though they are practically inside you, and a lot of the life you step through can be about those things ... and yet, down underneath all the accreted layers, you may feel that, really, it isn't, cannot be, true.

Tracks:

Serenade For String Orchestra In C Major, Op. 48: I. Pezzo in forma di Sonatina. Andante non troppo - Allegro moderato - St. Petersbug Consevatory Chamber Orchestra : Tchaikovsky
Serenade For String Orchestra In C Major, Op. 48: II. Valse. Moderato. Tempo di valse - St. Petersbug Consevatory Chamber Orchestra : Tchaikovsky
Serenade For String Orchestra In C Major, Op. 48: III. Elegia. Larghetto elegiaco - St. Petersbug Consevatory Chamber Orchestra : Tchaikovsky
Serenade For String Orchestra In C Major, Op. 48: IV. Finale (Tema russo). Andante - Allegro con spirito - St. Petersbug Consevatory Chamber Orchestra : Tchaikovsky
Serenade For String Orchestra In E Major, Op. 22: I. Moderato - St. Petersbug Consevatory Chamber Orchestra : Tchaikovsky
Serenade For String Orchestra In E Major, Op. 22: II. Tempo di valse - St. Petersbug Consevatory Chamber Orchestra : Tchaikovsky
Serenade For String Orchestra In E Major, Op. 22: III. Scherzo. Vivace - St. Petersbug Consevatory Chamber Orchestra : Tchaikovsky
Serenade For String Orchestra In E Major, Op. 22: IV. Larghetto - St. Petersbug Consevatory Chamber Orchestra : Tchaikovsky
Serenade For String Orchestra In E Major, Op. 22: V. Finale. Allegro vivace - St. Petersbug Consevatory Chamber Orchestra : Tchaikovsky

Tracks:

Romeo And Juliet, Fantasy Overture After Shakespeare - Romantic Favorites
La Traviata: Introduction To Act III - Romantic Favorites
Manon Lescaut: Intermezzo - Romantic Favorites
Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun - Romantic Favorites
Pavane For A Deceased Infanta - Romantic Favorites
Adagio For Strings - Romantic Favorites
Vocalise In F Major, Op. 34, No. 14 - Romantic Favorites

Tracks:

Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: I. Andante sostenuto - Moderato con anima - Moderato assai, quasi andante - Allegro con anima - Romantic Favorites
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: II. Andantino in modo di conzona - Romantic Favorites
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: III. Scherzo. Pizzicato ostinato - Allegro - Romantic Favorites
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: IV. Finale. Allegro con brio - Romantic Favorites
Romeo And Juliet, Fantasy Overture After Shakespeare - Romantic Favorites

Tracks:

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18: I. Moderato - Romantic Favorites
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18: II. Adagio sostenuto - Romantic Favorites
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18: III. Allegro scherzando - Romantic Favorites
Variations On A Theme By Corelli, Op. 42 - Romantic Favorites

Tracks:

Symphony No. 2 In E Minor, Op. 27: I. Largo - Sergei Rachmaninoff
Symphony No. 2 In E Minor, Op. 27: II. Allegro molto - Sergei Rachmaninoff
Symphony No. 2 In E Minor, Op. 27: III. Adagio - Sergei Rachmaninoff
Symphony No. 2 In E Minor, Op. 27: IV. Allegro vivace - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Average customer rating:

Rough-Edged, but Compelling

Shostakovich: The Complete Symphonies
Dmitri Shostakovich , Ladislav Slovak , and Czecho-Slovak Symphony Orchestra
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Shostakovich: The String Quartets

ASIN: B00005QISC
Release Date: 2002-02-19

Tracks:

Allegretto - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Allegro - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Lento - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Allegro Molto - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Allegretto-Allegro-Andante-Allegro-Largo-Moderato - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus

Tracks:

Symphony No.2 In B Major, Op.14 'October' - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Allegretto - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Adagio - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Allegretto - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Adagio - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus

Tracks:

Allegretto Poco Moderato
Moderato Con Moto
Largo-Allegretto

Tracks:

Moderato
Allegretto
Largo
Allegro Non Troppo
Allegro
Moderato
Presto
Largo
Allegretto

Tracks:

Largo
Allegro
Presto
Revolutionary Petrograd
Razliv
Aurora
Dawn Of Humanity

Tracks:

Allegretto
Moderato (Poco Allegretto)
Adagio
Allegro Non Troppo

Tracks:

Adagio
Allegretto
Allegro Non Troppo
Largo
Allegretto

Tracks:

Moderato
Allegro
Allegretto
Andante: Allegro

Tracks:

The Palace Square
The 9th Of January
In Memoriam
The Tocsin

Tracks:

Babi Yar - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Yumor (Humor) - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
V Magazinye (At The Store) - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Strakhi (Fears) - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Karyera (Career) - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus

Tracks:

De Profundis - Magdalena Hajossyova
Malaguena - Magdalena Hajossyova
Loreley - Magdalena Hajossyova
The Suicide - Magdalena Hajossyova
On The Alert - Magdalena Hajossyova
Look Here, Madame! - Magdalena Hajossyova
At The Sante Jail - Magdalena Hajossyova
Zzaporozhye Cossacks' Reply To The Sultan Of Constantinople - Magdalena Hajossyova
O Delvig, Delvig! - Magdalena Hajossyova
The Poet's Death - Magdalena Hajossyova
Conclusion - Magdalena Hajossyova

Amazon.com

Newly repackaged in a space-saving, super-bargain box, the Naxos Shostakovich cycle may entice shoppers looking to acquire the 15 symphonies cheaply and all at once. Certain performances are better than others. The First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, 10th, and 12th require more dynamism and heft than the Czecho-Slovak Symphony Orchestra give Ladislav Slovák, notwithstanding marvelous first-desk solos. By contrast, the caustic wit and slippery chamberlike qualities of Nos. 9 and 15 are expertly realized. Bass Peter Mikulas and soprano Magdaléna Hajóssyová enliven and brilliantly characterize texts in the two "song symphonies," Nos. 13 and 14. Slovák, in turn, revels in the disjunctive sound worlds of the Second and Third, and traverses the Fourth, Seventh, Eighth, and 11th with an eagle-eyed overview of their sprawling canvasses. You shouldn't be without key individual recordings like Bernstein's 1959 New York Philharmonic Fifth, Berglund's 11th, or Haitink's 13th, and Rudolf Barshai's bargain cycle on Brilliant Classics offers greater sonic impact and more personalized conducting. Still and all, the present set's finest moments are worth the modest investment. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

Rough-Edged, but Compelling.......2002-03-07

I like this set. I'm not about to claim that it's perfectly played or beautiful to listen to; Inbal on Denon, Haitink on Decca and Rostropovich on Teldec all command better - and more opulent sounding - orchestras than the Slovak Radio Symphony. But there is a certain raw honesty about these Naxos performances that I find tremendously appealing. The Shostakovich symphonies, after all is said, aren't 'haute cuisine' music. They reflect some of humankind's ugliest experiences and their beauties always come packaged in scar tissue. For that reason, I've always enjoyed the 'rough and ready' Shostakovich played by east european and Russian orchestras: the performances just seem more truthful. That's the case here, although I intend no disrespect toward Inbal, Haitink and Rostropovich (especially the latter who was, of course, a great friend of the composer). But Ladislav Slovak has his own Shostakovich credentials and they are solid. He worked in the 1950s with the great Yevgeny Mravinsky at the Leningrad Philharmonic when it was one of the world's greatest orchestras. Mravinsky was one of Shostakovich's favorite conductors and he performed most of these symphonies, some for the first time, and many under Shostakovich's direct supervision. So Slovak saw a lot and up close. Nevertheless, Slovak's performances aren't slavish copies of Mravinsky. He has his own ideas. For example, listen to the richly barbed irony Slovak projects in symphonies 1 and 9, or how well he conveys eloquence, without pomposity, in the problematic 7th ('Leningrad') symphony. Or listen to Slovak's tight and cogent performances of two of Shostakovich's most fascinatingly diffuse scores, symphonies 4 and 11 ("The Year 1905"). In short, Slovak is never less than thought-provoking and if his orchestra were better, I think his achievement would be more widely acclaimed. As it is, the orchestra plays quite competently, with particularly alert and characterful woodwinds (usually; they miscalculate the magical opening of the last movement of Symphony 13). If the orchestra suffers from a consistent fault, it's that there aren't enough strings to sound comfortable playing "above the stave," as the British say. No matter; the imagination, intensity & spirit of these performances are what count with me. In fact, I think there's only one out-and-out failure in the set: a performance of Symphony 12 that's just too slow and heavy, making a tedious piece seem even more tedious than usual. (Mravinsky played this symphony at breakneck speed; surely the only way to make it endurable!) I wish I could say that the digital sound quality is consistently fine, but it varies too much from performance to performance. It's never less than good, but variable. Still, don't get me wrong: warts and all, this set's a real bargain. Eleven (11) cds come packaged in a compact box with an extensive booklet that includes full texts and translations. Final word: cheap without quality is false economy. In spite of the shortcomings I've mentioned, there's real quality here.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

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