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General Category => Gustav Mahler and Related Discussions => Topic started by: barryguerrero on February 19, 2021, 07:42:15 AM
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At Spotify I've stumbled across a new Shostakovich 4th Symphony that V. Gergiev has recorded with the Munich Phil. It's a complete 180 turn from his earlier St. Petersburg one. That one wasn't bad, but this new on is much darker, more powerful and - as a result -more pessimistic sounding, albeit a bit slower in the two outer movements as well. To me, this is much more like the real deal! It reminds me a bit of Haitink's re-recording of it with Chicago, although his even slower than Gergiev's. Here, there's absolutely no ambiguity about the meaning of the finale's coda.
And why is it that you folks probably should care? . . . because S4 was not only the first of Shostakovich's 'tombstone' symphonies for the Russian people, it was very much a tribute to Mahler as well.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6jzmrhTOvVrdcj8spYNPlH?si=mAleNFXMRteF_qByXOuksQ
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Barry,
I agree. This is a tremendous Shosy 4th! MPO plays like men possessed with demons!
But it's available only in download not on CD.
John
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The final builds up literally blew my pants off! This is a total shocker from start to finish. Gergiev is the finest Shosy 4th I've heard in years.
Barry, thanks for bringing it up to our attention.
John
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I really liked Nelsons / BSO one from a few years back. This Gergiev one is better?
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I don't think "better" would be accurate. It is 'darker' sounding and very, very powerful. The timpani are more forward on the Gergiev/Munich S4, and a couple of times I thought perhaps a tad too far forward. But as John suggested, those forward sounding timpani help to make the finale's coda that much more 'over the top'. Another really good one is the Nezet-Seguin/Rotterdam one, included in the N-S/Rotterdam box set (DG).
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I’ll never be one to complain about timpani being too forward, being a player myself. I’ll give this a listen. I’ve never heard any of Gergiev’s other Shostakovich. I read that his Mariinsky recordings are a bit disappointing, though I could be misremembering.
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If you did a 'drop the needle' test, I never would have guessed that Gergiev was the conductor on this one. It truly is a 180 for him. Maybe being farther away from Putin has allowed him to be 'daring' with his Shostakovich - less a presentation of Shostakovich as just a Russian Haydn on steroids.
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Where can I find the CD??
John
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I found it at Spotify, but there's no listing anywhere of a CD release.
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I can't find the CD either. Too bad they decided not to release it on disc. I hope they know what they missed.
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John, I may be wrong about this, but I think they put Gergiev's Bruckner on Spotify before they released the CD's too. Sooooo, if that's true, perhaps they'll still release a CD of it.
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Barry,
Thanks for reminding me of that. Yes, let's hope they will release the Shostakovich on CD soon. Did they record more Shosy symphonies other than the 4th?
John
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Did they record more Shosy symphonies other than the 4th?
I've seen 9 and 15 available as digital downloads; there may be others.
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How is everyone liking Gianandrea Noseda’s recordings with the LSO? I think they are quite good. They don’t replace my favorites (Petrenko, Haitink, Barshai, etc.), but they are a fine addition. Same with Michael Sandering’s Dresden recordings.
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I liked the Noseda's Shosy cycle thus far. They aren't the best out there but are very decent albeit a bit sluggish in places. Sonics are excellent too considering the place in which they were recorded.
John
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Frankly, I think the British make too big of a deal out of how bad the Barbican's acoustics are. Their orchestras tend to be thin in the lower strings, regardless of where they play. Their woodwinds are far from being the best as well. It's obvious to me that their cellos and double basses use light weight bows. You never see their double basses use German style bows, ever. As a result, their orchestras tend to sound all middle and top range, with insufficient lower midrange and bass. Their tuba players, on the other hand, are often times quite good. They like the tuba. When John Fletcher was still in the L.S.O. and was using his big Holton 345 (copy of the Chicago York, more or less), the orchestra sounded all middle and high end, with John Fletcher on the bottom. The double basses never kept up with him. Compare that to most German orchestras, where the concept is just the opposite - the tuba generally blends in with the double basses. The Bavarian Radio Symphony is an excellent 'case in point'.