SHOSTAKOVICH
Symphonies Nos. 5, 8 & 9
Boston
Symphony Orchestra
ANDRIS NELSONS
Deutsche
Grammophon 479 5201 (2 CDs)
*****
Titled Shostakovich Under Stalin's
Shadow, the Boston Symphony Orchestra's new cycle of symphonies by Dmitri
Shostakovich (1906-1975) got off to a great start with the Tenth Symphony receiving the 2016 Gramophone Award in the
Orchestral category.
The second release featuring live performances of three
symphonies is no less fine, however it necessitates three changes of discs to
listen to the works in a chronological order. This makes the best sense if one
wishes to follow the trajectory of the Soviet composer's changes in fortunes
with regards to the totalitarian regime's policy upheavals and quixotic tastes.
Begin with the Incidental Music to
Hamlet (1932) on Disc 2, with Shostakovich's alternating witty with sombre
music, and then flip to Track 6 of Disc 1 for the outwardly triumphant Fifth
Symphony (1937). This had been warmly received by the authorities and
public alike as “a Soviet artist's reply to just criticism”, despite its hidden
barbs.
Then go back to Disc 2 for the grim wartime Eighth Symphony
(1943) with its “toccata of death” movements and a strangely laid-back finale,
before returning to Disc 1 for his biggest joke of all. The slapstick Ninth
Symphony (1945) is a mocking sneer at final victory in the Great Patriotic
War. Listen for the terrific brass of the Boston Symphony, their pride and joy
in this memorable album.
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