Track Listing

1. Symphony No.5 In D Minor, Op.47
2. Symphony No.6 In B Minor, Op.54

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #167247 in Music
• Released on: 2006-05-19
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Customer Reviews

Mravinsky, the original interpreter of Shostakovich
There is something extraordinary about hearing Mravinsky conduct Shostakovich -- beyond the fact that he was the original conductor of many of the symphonies, I can't get over the realization that *this is the way Shostakovich first heard his own works.*

The first performance of the 5th Symphony was by the Leningrad Philharmonic, Mravinsky conducting, on November 21st, 1937. It was met with a prolonged standing ovation, and there are those who believe that it was only this popular acclaim that saved Shostakovich. He wrote it after withdrawing the phenomenal 4th at a time when he was under attack by the regime for his "modernist, formalist" tendencies. So the 5th was his attempt at rehabilitation, and the subtitle was "a Soviet artist's answer to justified criticism." In retrospect, it seems that Shostakovich was unrepentant and that his answer was a work that spoke ("to those with ears to hear") plainly of the horrors of Stalin's regime. But Stalin & Co. apparently chose to project all the grotesquerie and evil in the music onto Hitler and interpret the finale, a triumph of evil power, as Soviet heroism. The music of Shostakovich's 5th, as well as its social context, make it one of the great works of the 20th century.

Shostakovich afficionados view recordings by Mravinsky as being in a class of their own, given his role in establishing the interpretations in the Soviet Union. Unfortunately these recordings are mainly obscure and difficult to locate (see the dschjournal online for information). This recording is from Mravinsky's last years -- April 4th, 1984, four years before his death. This Elatus disc is a reissue of the 1992 Erato disc that is now unavailable Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5, but expanded with the addition of the Rostropovich recording of the 6th Symphony.

I have read that Mravinsky's interpretations tended not to change much over time, and so it seems we can hear an echo of what Shostakovich first heard even with this recording from nine years after DSCH's death. It is a superb performance -- the strings and horns of Leningrad especially. The live recording from the Leningrad Philharmonic Large Hall is interrupted frequently, though, by loud coughing. It's not nearly as bad as the BBC recording of Mravinsky leading the 8th in 1960 Shostakovich: Symphony 8 (see my review), but it is the reason for the four-star rating instead of five. [There is only one recording that I consider superior to this one, both its interpretation and its sound, and that is the 1983 recording of Mstislav Rostropovich leading his National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C., recorded for DG Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5/Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet Suite No. 1 (see my review -- now available only as an ArkivMusic reissue). Rostropovich captures the tragedy and the terror in a way that is simply unparalleled by any other version I have heard.]

Mravinsky takes the 5th at a brisk tempo. Clearly Bernstein was influenced by this. Rostropovich gains emotional power by slowing down the tempo. Mravinsky just storms the allegro non troppo -- at first it struck me as far too fast, but I had to remind myself, this is the original interpretation! A crucial difference between Mravinsky and Bernstein emerges in the finale that makes all the difference in the world -- Mravinsky slows the tempo at the end, making clear that the triumph is hollow. Rostropovich takes it even slower, and with great force. Bernstein, though, rushes right through, missing the tragic element entirely.

This is not an ideal recording, but if you are a serious Shostakovich devotee it is essential until a superior, earlier Mravinsky recording becomes available. The Elatus reissue adds a perfectly fine version of the 6th, one of DSCH's minor works, from Rostropovich and the NSO.

See my list SHOSTAKOVICH: A LISTENER'S GUIDE for more reviews and recommendations.