Shostakovich Symphony No 13 - 50th anniversary

[Petrushka]

December 18 2012 is the 50th anniversary of the first performance of Shostakovich's Symphony No 13. That 1962 premiere was the last time that DSCH had major trouble with the Soviet authorities largely on account of Yevtushenko's text of Babi Yar as used in the first movement. Bass soloists refused to take part out of fear for the consequences and even Mravinsky fell out with Shostakovich and did not conduct the premiere. In the end, Vitaly Gromadsky was the bass soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and Kirill Kondrashin.

I have a recording of the second performance given by the same forces two days later and the tension is palpable. It really is quite extraordinary how powerfully it comes across. The CD was issued on Russian Disc and is a must for any DSCH fan.

Commentators have dubbed the 13th as being Shostakovich's most Russian work and it isn't performed all that often in the West even now. I've been present at just one performance - at the Proms in 2005 with Valery Gergiev.

I'll be playing that second performance on Tuesday night.

[teamsaint]

Thanks for that info Petrushka. That CD sound very exciting...would be great if R3 would give it a spin. I am sure that somebody like Rob Cowan would spin it, given a free hand.
I do think we should have a running thread on anniversaries.They do just add a little something.

[Ferretfancy]

I remember being at the Prom in the1960's when Yevtushenko gave a performance of Babi Ya with the symphony. I think it was the Moscow RSO, but I've forgotten who conducted. Can anybody shed light? I know that Yevtushenko was very much under a cloud with the Soviet authorities at that time.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I remember being at the Prom in the1960's when Yevtushenko gave a performance of Babi Ya with the symphony. I think it was the Moscow RSO, but I've forgotten who conducted. Can anybody shed light? I know that Yevtushenko was very much under a cloud with the Soviet authorities at that time.

According to the Proms Archive, the 13th wasn't performed at the Proms until 1992. I can't find any information about early performances of the work in the UK, but it's a safe bet that if it was a Russian orchestra playing it in the '60s, it was probably Kondrashin conducting - nobody else dared!

[richardfinegold]

According to the Proms Archive, the 13th wasn't performed at the Proms until 1992. I can't find any information about early performances of the work in the UK, but it's a safe bet that if it was a Russian orchestra playing it in the '60s, it was probably Kondrashin conducting - nobody else dared!

When did Barshai start conducting it? I thought that he was an "early adopter".
I have that Russian Did that Petrouchka references. The creator There is a great sense of occasion communicated but for repeat listening I prefer Masur or Kitaenko.

[umslopogaas]

I have a double Melodiya LP of the thirteenth, USSR Ministry of Culture Orchestra cond. Rozhdestvensky, with bass soloist Anatoli Safiulin. The set includes a recording of Yevtushenko reminiscing, but unfortunately it is (unsurprisingly) all in Russian. So are the poems, but I also have the Haitink version on CD, which has translations.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

When did Barshai start conducting it? I thought that he was an "early adopter".

I'm not sure, but he worked as a conductor almost exclusively with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra (which he created) almost exclusively until the late '60s - it was this that led to his being granted the premiere of the 14th Symphony.

[Bryn]

About to spin:



Not the most idiomatic of Shostakovich performances, true, but Anthony Hopkins is a winner.

[AjAjAjH]

I discovered this symphony when I bought the Barshai complete set of Shostakovich Symphonies. I played it over and over again, I was so deeply moved by it. It was played in Manchester some years ago in the 'Shostakovich and Friends' series.

[Ferretfancy]

According to the Proms Archive, the 13th wasn't performed at the Proms until 1992. I can't find any information about early performances of the work in the UK, but it's a safe bet that if it was a Russian orchestra playing it in the '60s, it was probably Kondrashin conducting - nobody else dared!

That's a puzzle, because I'm sure my memory is not at fault. It must have been a Prom because I was standing in the Arena, and my partner remembers it as well. Yetushenko was such a tall impressive figure, and his Russian reading was very histrionic.

[Boilk]

I discovered this symphony when...

Surely you mean "I discovered Symphony No.13 when..."? It's a symphonic song cycle so "symphony" should only be used with a capital S.

... what next, Beethoven's Choral Fantasy is a piano concerto?

[Petrushka]

Interesting info here about the work and the premiere: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphon...(Shostakovich)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

That's a puzzle, because I'm sure my memory is not at fault. It must have been a Prom because I was standing in the Arena, and my partner remembers it as well. Yetushenko was such a tall impressive figure, and his Russian reading was very histrionic.

I'd trust your memory above the accurasy of the Beeb on-line Archive any day of the week, Ferret!

[AjAjAjH]

Surely you mean "I discovered Symphony No.13 when..."? It's a symphonic song cycle so "symphony" should only be used with a capital S.

... what next, Beethoven's Choral Fantasy is a piano concerto?

Bit pedantic. Whether its a Symphony, symphony, symphonic song cycle or anything else you want to call it, it's a great, great work!!!

[Roehre]

Surely you mean "I discovered Symphony No.13 when..."? It's a symphonic song cycle so "symphony" should only be used with a capital S.

... what next, Beethoven's Choral Fantasy is a piano concerto?

I am afraid Shostakovich named this work "Symphony no.13" and therefore it is a symphony [whatever the form] and consequently AjAjAjH's words are correct.
Beethoven's opus 80 is not called a piano concerto, but Busoni's (with a male choir ending the piece) is.
Das Lied von der Erde is a symphony, as the composer told us so.

I take it for granted then that in your view Mahler 8 or Mendelssohn 2 are not symphonies , Boilk?