Shostakovich's Music: Personal Opinions, Performances, and Recordings
15 Symphonies
As I mentioned in my Shostakovich page,
I came to Shostakovich via his Symphony #1 first, followed by
#8, and then the rest.
All 15 Symphonies, as a collection,
largely defines 20th century symphonies,
as Beethoven's 9 defines the classical period
and overshadows the romantic period.
This set, to my satisfaction, burst the illusion of
pronounced death of symphony by 20th century "modernists".
Although there are some unevenness, all 15 are great works of art.
Personal favorites
My personal favorites include
#1, which introduced me to Shostakovich,
#4, which satisfies my appetite for large scale works along the line of
Mahler and Bruckner,
#5, which continues the long symphonic tradition started from Beethoven,
#8, which reaches the height in his grand arch consisting of 15 symphonies,
#10, which pairs extremely well with #8,
#13, Babi Yar, which is above all about people,
people I identify with,
and
#14, which looks at the depth of human suffering,
universal yet so individualized.
To me,
#8 and #10 represent the highest achievement of 20th century "pure"
symphony,
while #13 and #14 are right there with Beethoven's 9th,
the greatest "vocal" symphonies.
I was fortunate enough to experience #8 right after Rostropovich's
emotional trip back to then Soviet Union with NSO,
-- truly a performance of a life time!
Rostropovich/NSO performance (around 1989?) of #13 was mesmerizing as well.
Other symphonies
The rest of the 15 symphonies are enjoyable as well:
#2 and #3, full of youthful energy and experimentation;
#6, a modest beauty overshadowed by her immediate siblings;
#7, well, I didn't find the repetition tedious,
and enjoyed the Bernstein/CSO recording a lot
(also Bernstein's older one from 60s);
#9, witty and amazing at the same time,
I still can't believe his guts to produce such an anti-"9"
against the expectations of a grand, celebratory work
every time I listen to it;
#11 and #12, great powerful works;
and #15, such a bounce-back from #14's depth of despair that re-affirms
life in a whimsical way.
The 11th is the best Andrew Litton/Dallas Symphony concert I attended
(well, if I exclude Rostropovich/DSO/Litton).
Recordings
As far as the recording goes,
my personal favorite is the set by
Rostropovich with National Symphony
Orchestra (and other orchestras too).
Authenticity and raw power are the two key features of this set.
As an alternative, nice complement, Haitink/Concertgebeuw set
is excellent.
Probably more refined but still powerful.
Before Rostropovich/NSO became available,
I listened to Neemi Jarvi quite a bit as a substitute,
and liked what I heard quite a lot in his own right.
Bernstein/CSO set of #1 and #7 is quite enjoyable too.
The few Maryinsky recordings I have are all great despite
old recording technology.
Prepared by Jeff Tian
(tian@engr.smu.edu).
Created April 14, 2008. Last update April 15, 2008.
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