BaL 11.12.21 - Shostakovich: Symphony no. 7 "Leningrad"

[Bryn]

It’s not a surprise that the DG Bernstein won but I see that the late Michael Oliver raved about it in Gramophone when it was first released and declared it a clear winner. I only have his CBS version which is also very good.

Did you listen to last night's broadcast of the DG recording? If not, I would recommend accessing it via Sounds. In both performance and recording quality, I feel it trumps the CBS/Sony. That said, both are well worth hearing. I recently picked up the Olympia issue of Rozhdestvensky. However, I have not listened to it yet. I dread being hit by the 'dead air' between the movements which undermine other recordings from that series.

I am now, at last, listening to the Rozhdestvensky which turns out to be a fully digital recording from c. 1984. Still on the opening movement, so no inter-movement hiatus to listen out for, yet. I do hope they retained the venus ambience. I find it such an unpleasant shock to the ears when it drops into digital oblivion. I have not yet listened to all of the BaL but will do so after this finishes.

[Maclintick]

The conclusion to Ed Seckerson's Lennygrad BAL might have been pre-ordained, but he didn't take the opportunity to expand on the well-known story of DSCH 7 beyond its status as a work of wartime propaganda, or acknowledge its genesis as a single-movt requiem, with chorus & sop soloist, & texts from the Psalms of David, flowering in the completed symphony's adagio from a wind chorale almost overtly referencing Symphony of Psalms. The grieving monodic, unharmonised string cantilena which follows has no obvious parallel in DSCH's output as far as I'm aware, and has the character of a supplication intoned by a cantor. I would have relished a fresher and more nuanced angle from, say, Marina F-W.

[Darloboy]

I thought so too. I disagree with it.

I’ve just listened to the winner all the way through - God it’s slow

[Cockney Sparrow]

Having a clearout, long overdue, I turned up some of the "send a SAE A4 envelope" yearly lists of BAL recommended recordings from Sept 1988 to July 1992, and Sept 2000- July 2001. I have "Critics Choice" 1990 and 1992. Darloboy - as you perform the service of Rec Rev archivist to us, send me a PM if you want any of them.

As to this BAL.....

No answer to this but given that today's Bernstein winner wasn't released until later in 1989, I'll just assume he chose the NY Bernstein last time out.

Although I wouldn’t particularly argue with ES’s choice on this occasion, his penchant for anything Lenny has ever done has made his BaLs a tad farcical. You can understand a lot about ES from his view that Bernard Haitink lacked the temperament for Mahler and Shostakovich. I can figure where he’s coming from, but it’s such a shallow view.

One other point: having said that technology was important in this work because of its scale, he then chose a version which is a third of a century old. Now it doesn’t sound bad, far from it, but the extract from the Boston/Nelsons sounded glorious, leagues ahead. Shame that was considered ‘mannered’.

I’ve just listened to the winner all the way through - God it’s slow

.... it seems his opinion on Haitink, and concentration on Lenny's legacy have developed in the intervening years - in January 1989 Seckerson chose Neeme Jarvi/SNO/ Chandos - with Haitink/Decca/LPO as second.

[richardfinegold]

I've been listening to Paavo Jarvi with (an unfortunately Politically non Expediant) the Russian National Philharmonic lately. I haven't checked timings but it doesn't strike me as slow; it has a no nonsense feelthat suits the piece well and tends to downplay the bombast. Great contemporary multichannel sound from Pentatone, and I had purchased it well before the Ukranian invasion, but probably out of bounds for now...