Essential Shostakovich Discs

[Pulcinella]

These were the orchestral sounds he knew would be produced at the premieres of the works - the performances he knew would occur - so the recordings of those performances do privilege us by taking us closer to the sounds he worked with; whether or not we like them or can tolerate the recorded sound quality.

I'm pretty sure that it was in another DSCH-related thread that Richard B mentioned doubling of the harps, and think that he said it was because of their (Russian instruments) relatively thin sound compared to that of Western ones, so presumably two were needed to produce the sound/volume he (DSCH) wanted.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I'm pretty sure that it was in another DSCH-related thread that Richard B mentioned doubling of the harps, and think that he said it was because of their (Russian instruments) relatively thin sound compared to that of Western ones, so presumably the composer needed two to produce the sound he wanted.

Oh, yes - I'd forgotten that! Presumably, the harps in the Tchaikovsky ballets, playing with a (again I presume) smaller pit band wouldn't've needed such doublings?

[Alison]

Must admit I've not heard the second HvK

Cheers to Dave and Rfg too

[Petrushka]

I remember one startling experience I had in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, when the St Petersburg Philharmonic and Mariss Jansons came to play the Shostakovich 'Leningrad' in 1993. I was sitting at a table enjoying a pre-concert coffee and cake, as you do, when five burly men came in and sat with me. They were so obviously Russian and I guessed they were players in the orchestra. Their English was as non-existent as my Russian but in talking to them I somehow managed to discover that they were horn and brass players. At that time, some of them must have worked under Mravinsky, but the language barrier proved too much in finding out more which was a pity as there was a lot of potential questions sadly unasked there that evening. Great performance, too, by the way.

[EdgeleyRob]

Today I listened to the Chicago/Solti 8th (Decca London) for the first time in ages.
Apologies if the recording has already been mentioned in the thread.
A very intense and gripping performance,should have been included in my essential suggestions I think.

[Bryn]

Thanks jlw, I have attempted to cancel my Browns Books order but it may be too late. I will hold back from the QOBUZ route until I get the hoped for confirmation of the cancellation. By the way, I may not be able to download any of the symphonies separately, but with my sub. I can at least listen to them streamed in 320kbps mp3 format.

[Yep. Too late. Just had an email from amazon.co.uk informing me the Browns Books have dispatched the order and it should be arriving on Thursday next, or shortly thereafter.]

The 110th Anniversary Edition was delivered to my neighbours yesterday while I was rehearsing for last nights Cafe OTO event. I collected it from them this morning and am happy to report that I am now pleased I was unable to cancel the order. Melodiya have now learned from the mistake of the horribly flimsy Soviet era style boxing used for the Kondrashin and Borodin Quartet sets. This time we get a decent Digipak® style case for each disc (or pair of discs in the case of 11 and 12) and a 128 page hardback booklet in Russian and English (around 50 or so pages in each language, plus a selection of photographs of the composer and some of the key musicians involved in the recordings), all housed in a tough card box. Now to start listening to them.

[BBMmk2]

Anyone know what the DG LSO/Previn Shostakovich 10th is like?

[Bryn]

Anyone know what the DG LSO/Previn Shostakovich 10th is like?

DG? As far a I am aware his only recording of that work with the LSO was for EMI/Warner. Good, but there are better.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

DG? As far a I am aware his only recording of that work with the LSO was for EMI/Warner. Good, but there are better.

Previn & the LSO re-recorded the work for DG in 1994:

http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/gb/cat/4378192

... I've not heard it, either. Some enthusiastic comments on Amazon, FWTW.

[Bryn]

Previn & the LSO re-recorded the work for DG in 1994:

http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/gb/cat/4378192

... I've not heard it, either. Some enthusiastic comments on Amazon, FWTW.

That's the 8th. Bbm was referring to the 10th.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

That's the 8th. Bbm was referring to the 10th.

There is that, of course ...

[Bryn]

Further re. the 'new' Melodiya "All Symphonies" boxed set, the Kondrashin and Mravinsky recordings are from the same masters as those in their respective Melodiya boxes. However, they have all been newly re-mastered for this issue. I leave it to jlw, who has vastly superior playback equipment to me, to comment on whether the new re-masters offer significant improvements. At least the glitch at the end of the Kondrashin 4th is not in evidence this time, though now you get no "October" Op. 131 as a fill-up.

[Bryn]

Slightly OT, but if you have ever wondered about the 16+ logo on CDs, etc. emanating from Russia, it appears that the Shostakovich Symphonies, for instance, are considered unsuitable for audition by those under 16 years of age! For more info, Google "Федеральный_закон_от_29.12.2010_№_436-ФЗ" (without the quote marks) and opt to translate the first hit if required. So nothing to do with quantization depth.

[pastoralguy]

Slightly OT, but if you have ever wondered about the 16+ logo on CDs, etc. emanating from Russia, it appears that the Shostakovich Symphonies, for instance, are considered unsuitable for audition by those under 16 years of age! For more info, Google "Федеральный_закон_от_29.12.2010_№_436-ФЗ" (without the quote marks) and opt to translate the first hit if required. So nothing to do with quantization depth.

Really?!

I didn't know that and presumed it was another recording fad. Not suitable for under 16s, eh? Probably due to the poetry in no. 15!

[Bryn]

Really?!

I didn't know that and presumed it was another recording fad. Not suitable for under 16s, eh? Probably due to the poetry in no. 15!

It also applies to Melodiya Tchaikovsky discs I have seen. One might speculate re. homophobia regarding that one, but I suspect it is just bureaucratic paranoia.