Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich
Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Andris Nelsons
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalogue: 4795201
Release: 2016
Size: 2.55 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70
01. 1. Allegro
02. 2. Moderato
03. 3. Presto –
04. 4. Largo –
05. 5. Allegretto
Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
06. 1. Moderato
07. 2. Allegretto
08. 3. Largo
09. 4. Allegro non troppo
Hamlet – Concert Suite from incidental music, Op. 32a
10. 1. Introduction And Night Patrol
11. 2. Funeral March
12. 3. Flourish And Dance Music
13. 4. The Hunt
14. 9. Ophelia’s Song
15. 10. Cradle Song
16. 11. Requiem
Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65
17. 1. Adagio
18. 2. Allegretto
19. 3. Allegro non troppo
20. 4. Largo
21. 5. Allegretto
Andris Nelsons is the Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and in fall 2015 he was announced as Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, commencing in the 2017/18 season. With both appointments, and in leading a pioneering alliance between these two esteemed institutions, Andris Nelsons is firmly underlined as one of the most renowned and innovative conductors on the international scene today.
Andris Nelsons even though he is only in his mid 30ies has had a long journey with Shostakovich. He is one of the last conductors of his generation who still grew up in the Russian and, more especially, the Soviet musical tradition ever since he started his training as a conductor. He studied in St Petersburg with Alexander Titov and also with Mariss Jansons. His new orchestra has had a great tradition in performing many of Shostakovich’s works in America for the first time.
This recording provides a kaleidoscope of Shostakovich’s struggle with historical events and political pressures. The pre-war eclectic but accessible and popular 5th, in which he would seem to bow to political pressure, ensured his temporary rehabilitation. The beautiful but dark and gloomy mid-war 8th provoked yet again his fall from favour and instead of providing the political authorities with a triumphant post-war 9th Symphony, Shostakovich wrote a light Haydnesque work which would not be performed until after Stalin’s death. Selections from the Hamlet Suite, possibly Shostakovich’s best film score, rounds out this 2 CD set.
How to encapsulate the incredible life and times of Dmitri Shostakovich? His story of tragedy and triumph is the stuff of Hollywood political thrillers. Rocketing to stardom at 19, the Soviet Union’s leading composer later runs afoul of Stalin and fears for his life until the dictator’s death — all while writing music of extraordinary intensity (and occasional insignificance), eventually becoming an enigmatic legend whose motivations continue to puzzle fans and scholars today.
If you’re new to Shostakovich’s 15 symphonies, this new double-disc album is a pretty good starter kit. It contains the Fifth, his most famous symphony, the Ninth, his most approachable and which looks backward toward the classical period of Haydn, and the Eighth, one of his boldest and most unconventional. The set also includes an example of another Shostakovich specialty, writing for films and plays, with a suite of excerpts from a production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
The bonus is that these works are played with insight and panache by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and its music director, Andris Nelsons, who are recording all the Shostakovich symphonies live. The first installment in the series, featuring the Symphony No. 10, was released last fall and won a Grammy.
When Nelsons was born in Latvia, his country was firmly under Soviet rule. One could imagine a distinct sympathy for both Shostakovich and Shostakovich Under Stalin’sShadow, the title the record company has attached to the album series. Judging from these two releases alone, Nelsons is poised to become the next big thing in an ever-crowded field of Shostakovich conductors. The playing he coaxes from his musicians is at the highest level and the deep soundstage of the recording makes it an excellent album for headphones.