Shostakovich 8

[merlin]

Just read Barry's review of Shostakovich no. 8 with Petrenko/RLPO at amazon, and wondering if it is still highly recommended?  Do others have any suggestions?  I just finished listening to no. 5 with Bernstein/NYPO on CBS Masterworks, and want more!

I am only familiar with his violin concertos.

[barry guerrero]

Well, I'm still recommending it    Other good versions are Mravinsky (if you could find one), Rostroprovich (I prefer his first one on Teldec, or the Warner Classics reissue of that); Andrew Litton/Dallas S.O. (Delos); Slatkin/St. Louis S.O. (a low level recording that you must turn up to compensate). Some would say either of Andre Previn's recordings of S8, but I feel that he's waaaay too fast with the third movement.

Anyway, the whole Petrenko cycle has been consistently good. And by way, I think you should get a completely different 'interpretation' of the 5th symphony: either Rostroprovich (again, the earlier Teldec one is preferable) or - if you can find it - the Maksim Shostakovich/U.S.S.R. S.O. one on Melodya that was reissued by RCA. Petrenko would be good as well (and comes with a good 9th).

[merlin]

Thanks for the follow-up, Barry -- much appreciated!  Mravinsky is available at amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/SHOSTAKOVICH-Symphony-No-Leningrad-Orchestra/dp/B005IY3B5O/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1399307588&sr=1-2&keywords=mravinsky+shostakovich

Why a different version of no. 5, though?

[barry guerrero]

According to "Testimony" - and I believe this to be true - Shostakovich did not intend the coda of the finale to be played fast. It should be played slow enough that the steady 16th notes in violins sound real clear and real obvious. Also, the five bass drum 'thwaps' at the end should be real strong as well. It's a forced, completely hollow victory: "our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing".

[merlin]

Thanks for reminding me about the finale.  I have the live Bernstein, recorded in Tokyo, not his first version, which from reading reviews, definitely took the coda much too fast.

The Maxim Shostakovich discs are all way too expensive, however, and Rostropovich USSR symphony as well.  His later accounts with LSO did not fare well with reviewers.

[James Meckley]

I have the live Bernstein, recorded in Tokyo, not his first version, which from reading reviews, definitely took the coda much too fast.

All three Bernstein recordings (1945, 1959, and 1979) are very nearly identical in their final tempo (at Fig. 131): quarter note = 240 (which, along with André Previn's 1965 LSO recording, are the fastest of which I'm aware).

Evgeny Mravinsky—a friend of Shostakovich who conducted the premiere of the Fifth in 1937—made its first commercial recording in 1938. The final tempo on Mravinsky's recording is quarter note = 90! The tempo on Maxim Shostakovich's 1970 recording is quarter note = 106. These are both pretty authoritative sources and are reasonably close, suggesting that a very slow tempo was probably the composer's choice The problem is that the score—or at least the original and current editions of it—gives the tempo as quarter note = 188.

Amazingly, there were different editions of the score with radically different tempo markings at Figure 131:

First Edition of 1939 – quarter note = 188
Editions of 1947 and 1956 – eighth note = 184 (Mravinsky's tempo)
Critical Edition of 1980 – quarter note = 188

Fortunately, it's a great work which tolerates multiple interpretative choices.

James

[merlin]

Very, very interesting, James!  I did find versions of 5 and 8 with Mravinsky/Leningrad SO at a very reasonable price at amazon, and so can compare with Bernstein/NYPO/Tokyo/5 and Petrenko/RLPO/8.

I find that different interpretations can bring out other aspects of the music, in many cases.  For example, I can never hope to keep to most of the metronome markings and tempi whilst playing LvB sonatas, but the music is still wondrous!