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Showing posts with label Shostakovich Dmitri. Show all posts

Friday, September 21, 2012

Franck & Shostakovich: Violin Sonatas

“The Khachatryans, brother and sister, make a formidable team. The recording is exceptional, too: finely balanced and with a wide dynamic range. The sound is so beautiful that one wondered, at moments during the Shostakovich, whether a harsher, more direct sonority might paint this dark work's bleak sound-picture more accurately, though it must be admitted that this duo is able to give the maximum intensity and force (as they clearly do in the ferocious second movement) while maintaining top tonal quality.

At all events, this Shostakovich performance is extremely impressive, the technical difficulties seemingly of no account, and the vast design of the final passacaglia compellingly sustained with playing that ranges from precise and delicate, through mysterious and poetic, to the highest degree of force and energy (in the two solo variations).

There's outstanding playing, too, in the Franck, especially in the first movement, where the tonal range of Sergey Khachatryan's lyrical phrases gives them a powerful emotional pull. However, the performance as a whole doesn't quite fulfil this initial promise. The second movement lacks the passionate drive that some bring to it: it's a mistake, too, to allow the dynamic level to drop at the appearance of the soaring second theme – Franck only marks a diminuendo some bars later.
In the following Recitativo-Fantasia, the composer again provides many clues; by virtually ignoring his poco accels and molto lentos the Khachatryans miss a crucial improvisatory element. It remains an enjoyable performance, however – very accomplished sonata-playing.” --Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

Friday, September 7, 2012

Shostakovich & Britten: Cello Concerto No.1, Symphony for Cello and Orchestra

“both these virile, confrontational works benefit from [Moser's] terrific energy and impetuous attack. He slices into the Shostakovich at speed...His ringing, acrobatic cadenza and urgent Allegro make this an exciting performance, the equal of any. The WDR Symphony Orchestra have two vital ingredients to bring to the Britten Cello Symphony: fabulous horns and lively timpani.” --BBC Music Magazine, July 2012 *****

“[Moser is] a truthful guide, hitting timings very close to the composer's own, and keeps a judicious balance between discipline and feeling. In the long cadenza he typically finds time for thoughtful expression, not just a display of technical skills. The darker resonance that envelops this performance comes largely from the more mellow orchestral playing” --Gramophone Magazine, April 2012

“Moser's formidable technique surmounts every obstacle with apparent ease...but conductor Pietari Inkinen is seldom convincing...Moser's reading of the Shostakovich cello concerto is again tautly argued and concise, with classy orchestral support and an especially good solo horn player” --International Record Review, June 2012

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Russian Cello Sonatas

“The meaty piano parts in the Rachmaninov and Borodin benefit hugely from [Sudbin's] near-orchestral range and depth, and his sculptor's sense of form and phrase. Not that he outshines cellist Alexander Chaushian, who displays a deeply instinctive connection with this repertoire...This is a near-ideal performance of Rachmaninov's magnificent work that stands alongside those by the greatest.” --BBC Music Magazine, February 2012 ****/*****

“Chaushian and Sudbin shows that it is actually possible to deliver Rachmaninov's Sonata full-throatedly without making it sound like a piano concerto with cello accompaniment. And they demonstrate equally that Shostakovich's Sonata does not need hysterical exaggeration of its subtexts in order to be richly communicative.” --Gramophone Magazine, August 2011

“Chausian and Sudbin provide a majestic overview of chamber-style sensitivity. Every phrase is beautifully sculpted, Sudbin subtly tames Rachmaninov's swirling solo line, and Chaushian plays with a bewitching restraint and technical clarity that works wonders, especially in the rarely-heard Borodin Sonata.” --Classic FM Magazine, June 2011 ****

“There is no lack of personality and temperament, and the bigness of [Chaushian's] sound contributes to the music's symphonic aspirations...no one plays these sonatas quite like Russian performers do. Chaushian is no exception, bringing interpretative insight and native soulfulness into play with his technical mastery...His basic sound is appealingly buzzy - that is to say, human.” --International Record Review, May 2011

Friday, August 24, 2012

Shostakovich: Preludes & Fugues for piano (24), Op. 87 (complete)

“Few pianists have shown themselves to be so sensitive to music which is the response of a complex visionary to the corrosive banality of Soviet life at the time...[Melnikov] responds to all this with an impeccable all-Russian mastery and with a poetic commitment few could equal.” --Gramophone Magazine, August 2010

“In this muscular, virile account, [Nikolayeva's] fellow Russian Alexander Melnikov makes you wonder why these works are considered monotonous or didactic. In his virtuosic hands, each one glints.” --The Observer, 25th April 2010

Radio 3 CD Review
Critics' Disc of the Year - December 2010

BBC Music Magazine Awards 2011
Instrumental Award Winner

“Melnikov unquestionably gives an impression of freshness and daring, as if he's discovering the music for the first time...Certainly one's bound to feel, listening to such superb playing, that this is indeed one of the greatest contrapuntal cycles since Bach. Overall, then, a magnificent achievement.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2010 *****

“Melnikov is consistently alert to (and in control of) the music's dizzying variety of idioms and tones of voice...[He] conveys the scope of the collection as a totality with such consistent penetration and invention that this expertly engineered set can be enthusiastically endorsed for anyone seeking a complete recording” --International Record Review, October 2010

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10

“The Tenth is a symphony into which many have been tempted to read parallels with Shostakovich's life...The refreshing thing is that Petrenko treats it as a great symphony in its own right...All dynamics and metronome marks are scrupulously observed, but details never impede the progress of this rippling, human tragedy.” --BBC Music Magazine, December 2010 *****

“Petrenko's Shostakovich cycle goes from strength to strength...[his] instinct for pacing enables the power of Shostakovich's symphonic design to register to maximum effect. If there has been a finer account of the Tenth in recent years, I confess I must have missed it.” --Gramophone Magazine, January 2011

“Petrenko and the RLPO have achieved a triumph. The orchestral playing is ripe, detailed, lithe, concentrated and intense. Petrenko has full measure not only of the symphony’s overarching architecture but also of the individual facets that make it such a fascinating conundrum.” --The Telegraph, 5th November 2010 *****

“Petrenko’s masterly performance builds inexorably from the ruminating brooding of the low strings and lamenting wind solos to the most shattering climax, as the full orchestra erupts in howls of anguish and rage. His whipcrack tempo for the scherzo is one of the most menacing I can recall...A thrilling performance.” --Sunday Times, 21st November 2010 ****

“Petrenko shapes the long first movement - nearly 23 minutes - very well, paying close attention to phrasing and emphases...The orchestra plays for all its worth at the climaxes...The 'Stalin' Allegro is as brutal as you will find anywhere, and there's plenty of excitement and wit in the Finale.” --Classic FM Magazine, January 2011 ****

“Petrenko and his band show us that the music has greater timbral interest than we often imagine...there's barely a page of the symphony where we don't hear some telling orchestral detail...Solo work is subtle throughout, especially in the symphony's more introverted passages.” --International Record Review, December 2010

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9

“…Petrenko's interpretation of the Ninth unleashes the full ferocity of threatening developments and proves that the Moderato, however spare, remains as eloquent a slow movement as any in Shostakovich's works. Superb playing all round, too, not just from the spotlit bassoon in the crucial recitative but also from first oboe, piccolo and the pairs of subtly phrasing clarinets. In the Fifth Symphony, the principal flautist is representative of Petrenko's care in making sure every phrase sounds absolutely right for the context...” --BBC Music Magazine, December 2009

“Petrenko's… Fifth is remarkable for the tight discipline and detailed characterisation of musicians plainly on the up. The five-movement Ninth has sufficient energy and muscle to make it more than a mere divertissement. …Petrenko takes his time with the second movement, imparting almost too much aching reflectiveness, notwithstanding the loveliness of the playing. ...a whizzing Presto, demonstrating just how far the RLPO's corporate virtuosity has developed in a relatively short time. The finale puts on a cartoonish burst of speed at its pompous apex. Though you may not like this or that effect, the performance as a whole is deft and undeniably persuasive.” --Gramophone Magazine, December 2009

“Petrenko’s strategic planning pays off with terrific tension, frightening crescendos and sharply defined emotional moods...The slow movement shivers in desolation. In the finale, woodwinds bring tendrils of hope; then comes the moving, contemplative coda. The series’ best release so far.” --The Times, 2nd May 2010 *****

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Shostakovich & Tchaikovsky: Trios

Wow! This is music making on a cosmic scale. You may hear some jaded critic offer up the following generic comment about this release: "These three players, gathered together for only the second time, naturally can't equal the subtle give and take of more established chamber ensembles." Bull. All three artists rank among the most inspirational and experienced chamber players of our time, and here they set the notes on fire in performances of shattering intensity, improvisational spontaneity, and (in the Tchaikovsky) Herculean grandeur.

Argerich's performance of the concerto-like piano part of the Tchaikovsky Trio is especially impressive; she seems to know instinctively when to dominate the proceedings and when to let her partners take over; and the final "Theme and Variations"--a huge movement half an hour in length--seldom has sounded so cohesive and meaningful. As to the Shostakovich, well, what can I say? This is one of the most profoundly moving experiences in music, and how well this trio knows it!

The three players find the perfect tempo for the third movement Passacaglia, then build the tragic finale as inexorably as fate itself. These beautifully recorded performances are special in every way, as much an event as the concert itself must have been. --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

MP3 320 · 172 MB

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Shostakovich: Violin Concertos

“Born in 1985 in Yerevan, Armenia, Sergey Khachatryan… is a real rival to Maxim Vengerov in this repertoire: the Shostakovich No 1 is his party piece as well. Interpreting it with a less unyielding intensity, he too satisfies its demands as few have done since the great David Oistrakh. Rock-solid intonation is combined with wonderfully sweet tone.” --Gramophone Magazine

“Though still only a teenager, the Armenian-born Sergey Khachatryan is a shining beacon among today’s young violinists, a persuasive interpreter with a musical personality all his own.” --The Independent

“Do we need another pairing of the Shostakovich violin concertos? The answer is an unequivocal yes when the playing is as sensational as this.

Not just a preternaturally gifted teen, Sergey Khachatryan is a real rival to Maxim Vengerov in this repertoire: the Shostakovich No 1 is his party piece as well. Interpreting it with a less unyielding intensity, he too satisfies its demands as few have done since the great David Oistrakh.

Rock-solid intonation is combined with wonderfully sweet tone.

Kurt Masur's accompaniment is characteristic of him. You'll hear the important tam-tam contributions in the first movement, which Rostropovich and/or his sound team fail to clarify, but you shouldn't expect minatory timp thwacks when the third movement passacaglia launches with kapellmeisterish restraint. Masur's lack of theatricality puts the focus on the way the music is put together. One drawback hereabouts is a microphone placement that captures soloistic sniffles, distracting if you do your listening on headphones.

The finale is aptly lighter in style, with a dash to the finishing-line perfectly calculated to win prizes and bring the house down.

Authoritative booklet-notes portray the companion concerto as something of an also-ran, an impression the performance perhaps does too little to allay. There are some exquisite effects but Vengerov, Rostropovich and the LSO take us to another, darker place. In Paris the accompaniment has too much politesse and is backwardly balanced. Strongly recommended even so.” --Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

MP3 320 · 152 MB

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Russian Wind Band Classics

'The Chandos recording has immediacy, good dynamics, and rich Tutti band sonorities. Band music fans definitely need to check this one out.' --Fanfare

'..the performances get the thumbs up. Chandos' recording engineers have done their work with the necessary bravado.' --International Record Review

'Stravinsky's Circus Polka, Prokofiev's brilliantly balletic Marches for Military Band and a suite from Khachaturian's score for the film The Battle of Stalingrad complete a disc that is as enterprising in repertoire as it is spirited and polished in performance.' --Telegraph

'The band sound truly stunning in the best moments of the score, even through the more hard-driven sections, and on the whole the performances on this disc are highly recommendable. They possess a more transparent and flexible sound than the Stockholm band under Rozhdestvensky, and their trademark lightness (especially noteworthy in the percussion) and crisp articulation give this programme a wonderful shine. If your tolerance for marches and Socialist Realist music is high enough, this could be an enjoyable excursion after all.' --DSCH Journal

'The playing of the RNCM Wind Orchestra is of the highest quality, it's hard to imagine any group could have done it better. Another quality product on the Chandos label' --Brass Review

MP3 320 · 150 MB

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Shostakovich: Piano Trios & Songs

'One might be forgiven for wondering whether the market for this particular repertory has already reached saturation point. Fortunately such concerns are tempered when considering the Florestan Trio's hugely impressive track record and their unwavering capacity to shed new light on familiar repertory … The Florestans fully capture the youthful adour and impetuosity of the First Trio. They are in equally inspired form in the Seven Blok Romances providing mesmerising and powerfully etched accompaniments to Susan Gritton's achingly beautiful singing' --BBC Music Magazine

'This isn't the first CD to group Shostakovich's two piano trios with his late Romances to poems by Alexander Blok but, for the freshness and excellence in every aspect of performance and production, it would be my pick' --Gramophone

'A recording to cherish then from a trio of musicians who, from one recording to the next have always played to the highest standards' --Classical Music Sentinel

'The Florestan Trio performs with terrific presence, precision, immediacy and palpable atmosphere. They delve beneath the surface to find and project the nuances of expression that lend these works their special flavour of soul searching. Even the First Trio – a work dedicated to one of Shostakovich’s loves, Tatyana Glivenko – seems to inhabit a world coloured more by nostalgia and anxiety than out-and-out ardour. In the Second Trio these feelings are intensified even further' --The Telegraph

MP3 320 · 134 MB

Friday, April 20, 2012

Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1, Etc

BBC Music Magazine Awards 2008 - Orchestral Award Winner
CD Review - Critics Disc of the Year - December 2007

“This excellent disc, consisting of live performances from the 'Progetto Martha Aregerich' at the 2006 Lugano Festival, has a spontaneity and sheer pleasure in music-making one doesn’t often hear in Shostakovich.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 *****

“Recorded at the 2006 Lugano Festival, Argerich's virtuosity is breathtaking. There's also a vivid, dramatic performance of the Piano Quintet.” --Gramophone Magazine, November 2008

“Argerich's 1994 DG reading of the Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings is already a benchmark version among modern recordings, complementing the composer's own technically fallible yet still indispensable 1958 account. But now there is a more natural flow in the slow movement, some previously slightly forced rubati are smoother, and although the textures are a fraction more richly pedalled, as often needs to be the case for projection to a big audience rather than the microphone, there is no more than an infinitesimal loss of clarity.

So if anything Argerich's playing has the tiniest of edges even over her former self. More decisively, Sergei Nakariakov brings an extra dash of wit and soloistic presence to the trumpet part, not to mention an astonishing feat of (circular?) breathing in the slow movement. There is a fraction more flair from orchestra and conductor too, while the recording brings everything further forward, so that the electricity of the playing crackles around the room.

The two-piano Concertino is a little piece of high-quality Gebrauchsmusik for the then 16-year-old Maxim Shostakovich son to romp around with; Argerich and Zilberstein give it a wonderfully characterful rendition.

Much of the Piano Quintet also emerges as one has only always dreamt of hearing it – vivid from moment to moment, yet with a long musical line and dramatic overall conception. Occasionally the nervous energy of the playing is too much of a good thing, as in the tricky bridge from Intermezzo to finale – from darkest profundity to deceptive easy-going cheeriness – and as in the piano's first statement of the fugue theme in the second movement. So, recommend ed alongside the safer Ashkenazy/Fitzwilliam recording rather than above it. As for the disc as a whole: a sure-fire winner.” --Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

MP3 320 · 144 MB

Friday, April 13, 2012

The Unknown Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich was a tireless worker who composed while standing in elevators and took breaks from composing by rearranging the works of others. Best known among those efforts are his Mussorgsky orchestrations, including the 'Songs and Dances of Death' and the opera 'Khovanshchina.' Like Mussorgsky, Robert Schumann was considered suspect as an orchestrator by some critics, and just before writing his Second Cello Concerto, Shostakovich reworked Schumann's Cello Concerto as a vehicle for Mstislav Rostropovich, making it bigger and darker in sound, exchanging delicacy for drama and placing the work more in the sphere of late romanticism.

There are no such suspicions concerning the quality of the Cello Concerto of Boris Tishchenko, but Shostakovich felt his pupil's all wind and percussion orchestration was too radical and recast it for a more conventional ensemble while retaining much of the work's haunting expressive power.

MP3 320 · 129 MB

Monday, April 2, 2012

Russian Music from Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Prokofiev

". . . an amazing recital, the ultimate demonstration of how two artists with individual ideas and the technical wherewithal to realise them in practice can tease, cajole, pull or push the line, toy with dynamics, experiment with rubato, in a word (all senses), really play . . . It's all there in the Introduction, Mischa Maisky's purring tone singing atop Argerich's stiletto staccato, the tiny delays, heightened colours." --Gramophone

"This is the most energetic and detailed ¿Suite Italienne¿ I have ever heard . . . This concert was clearly an event and I¿m glad DG gave it to us. These two are among the most involved and technically agile players in the business." --American Record Guide

"This is very much a "de luxe" treatment of the "Suite italienne" . . . their performance has an immense range of expression and colour. Very effective and quite exhilarating, making the most of the opportunities Stravinsky gives them, and indeed making some of their own . . . incredible energy this cerntainly has." --International Record Review

MP3 320 · 158 MB

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Shostakovich: Cello Concertos Nos 1 & 2

"This is a forceful and fairly outgoing interpretation, beautifully recorded and a suitable coupling for the disc's star act—the finest available studio recording of the Second Concerto. In fact, I'd now rate this CD as the prime recommendation for the two concertos coupled together." --RC, Gramophone Magazine

MP3 320 · 138 MB