Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 10; Concerto for Piano, Trumpet & Strings; Mussorgsky: Songs & Dances of Death

On this CD:

1. Symphony No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 10
Composed by Dmitry Shostakovich
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

2. Piano Concerto No. 1, for piano, trumpet & strings, in C minor, Op. 35
Composed by Dmitry Shostakovich
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra with Ole Edvard Antonsen, Mikhail Rudy

3. Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93
Composed by Dmitry Shostakovich
Performed by Philadelphia Orchestra

4. Songs & Dances of Death (Pesni y plyaski smerti; 4), song cycle for voice & orchestra, orchestration by Shostakovich
Composed by Modest Mussorgsky
Performed by Philadelphia Orchestra with Robert Lloyd

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 10; Concerto for Piano, Trumpet & Strings; Mussorgsky: Songs & Dances of Death, Music, Robert Lloyd, Modest Mussorgsky, Dmitry Shostakovich, Berliner Philharmoniker, Philadelphia Orchestra, Mikhail Rudy, Ole Edvard Antonsen, 20th/21st Century Symphony, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Concerto, Orchestral & Symphonic, Piano Concerto, Symphonic, Vocal, Vocal Music
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 7
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • A must have.
  • A fantastic Performance...
  • You Should Have Been There!
  • Once and never more.
  • The only pairing of Bernstein and the CSO, in good performances
 Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 7

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. Schostakowitsch: Symphonie No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93
  2. Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9
  3. Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8
  4. Shostakovich: Symphonies no 5 and 9 / Haitink
  5. Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

ASIN: B000001GB2
Release Date: 1989-10-20

Tracks:

  1. No. 1 Op. 10; 1. Allegretto - Allegro non troppo
  2. 2. Allegro - Meno mosso - Allegro - Meno mosso
  3. 3. Lento - Largo - [Lento] (attacca:)
  4. 4. Allegro molto - Lento - Allegro molto - Meno mosso - Allegro molto - Molto meno mosso - Adagio
  5. No. 7, Op. 60

Tracks:

  1. No. 7, Op. 60
  2. 3. Adagio (attacca:)
  3. 4. Allegro non troppo

Amazon.com essential recording

One of the most thrilling musical experiences of my life was seeing Leonard Bernstein and the Chicago Symphony play Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony live. As Bernstein wrung every last ounce of pathos from the slow movement, I found it incredible that anyone could ever have thought this less than great music. The ending was so loud you could hardly even hear the cymbals! Happily, every bit of that experience--including the full dynamic range--has been captured on this recording, along with a terrific First Symphony. This is one of the great ones. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A must have........2007-02-02

While I must admit that this is the only recording I've heard of Shosty's 7th symphony, I can't imagine a more impressive performance. Seriously, this might be the greatest brass playing ever...ever! I highly recommend this recording!

5 out of 5 stars A fantastic Performance..........2007-02-02

Up until I heard the live performance of Berstein and the CSO playing the Shostakovich 7th, I had not been a fan of Bernstein, especially because of his NYPO recording of the Shostakovich 5. However, I was so completely taken aback by the live performance of the 7th, that as soon as I could, I purchased the CD set. The 7th is a seemingly overgrown work, too overt and cumbersome, (think of Bartok making fun of it in his Concerto for Orchestra) yet it delivers an emotional jolt that makes one want to stand up and cheer. This Berstein recording got me back onto his side in 1989. It is sad that he had so little time left, however.

5 out of 5 stars You Should Have Been There!.......2006-03-10

Yes, this "Leningrad" does indeed rate five stars, as most, if not all other writers here have given it. Despite some distortion in the louder passages, this recording certainly is a classic document. (I like Bernstein's 1962 recording on Columbia as well, but this simply has more impact.) One reviewer asked how the brass section did what they did. Having had the honor of being at this performance, I can tell you: the already world class regular section was augmented by extra players. If you think the finale is loud on the CD, you should have heard it when it was taking place!

I must correct one writer who said these performances were done in Medinah Temple in Chicago. They were both done in Orchestra Hall, Chicago, the First Symphony recorded without the audience, the Seventh done live. I was privileged to have been there. I'll never forget it!!

5 out of 5 stars Once and never more........2006-02-01

This is the only recording, as far as I know, Leonard Bernstein did with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a group of players with a very long tradition in the American music and with a great technical playing good enough to play quite all the repertoires.

Like in the case of his Mahler's 9 with Berlin, Bernstein only recording with this orchestra is a miracle that happens once and never more, because of many reasons, the first one because this is a live recording in the Medinah Temple and the emotions felt in this CD could not happen again.

I always thought Chicago is a very appropriate orchestra to play DSCH's music, because of the characteristics of the orchestra and of Shostakovich's music, very hard and very sensitive at the same time. One of the symphonies it's better to this couple DSCH & CSO is the 7th that it's not the most complex between DSCH's works, from the technical and musical point of view, but that demands a great and powerful orchestral response, something you can listen perfectly in this amazing recording, in which CSO gives his best, with a baton that understand very well the score, as far as he can... I think no one could understand completely the meaning of the Leningrad not being in the place of the siege or in the scenario described in the double-program of the symphony, probably linked to the oppression Stalin made with his politics to the pre-communist life of Saint Petersburg. I remember Goethe's words, when he said that reading a book is more complex than reading a book. Of course good Goethe talked about understanding a work, and Lenny, even not living that situation gives us a description of the fears, sadness, oppression, etc, really convincing from the very first bar.

Symphony Nº1 is a piece from DSCH's conservatoire years, from 1926, when the composer was only 19 years old and he was suffering a very disturbing economical situation, after his father's death and in the poor CCCP after the Revolution and the Civil War. It's known DSCH had to work in a cinema, under very hard conditions to eat, and that Glazunov took care of having some official assistance for his conservatoire pupil in order to Dimitri gave attention only to composer. The piece is not a great work like symphonies 5, 7, 8, 10, 13... but it shows some details and the personality of the maestro clearly. It was a great success from the same premiere and it made appear Shostakovich as the emergent figure of the new soviet composers, formed in the communist conservatoire... That was what the regime said, because in fact Leningrad conservatoire was mainly what it was before communist regime.

Leonard Bernstein performance of this symphony is a glory from all the points of view, perfectly played and recorded, the piece is fresh, full of tension and emotion, and even that parts not so fine orchestrated shine with real genius. The fourth and final movement is specially outstanding and the way the symphony ends is so good that sometimes I repeat the last minute when it finish. I really don't know any other version played with this very deep conviction on CD.

Seventh Symphony "Leningrad" is OUTSTANDING too, in every movement the orchestral playing and Lenny's conducting is breathtaking. The gigantic crescendo of the first movement is really a monument in the way Lenny control the dynamics perfectly, having an end that is really impossible to repeat, with the scales of the metals and drums full of terror, like watching the face of the death in front of you, in front of the city.

Central movements are wonderfully described too, the dynamics and the control of the tempo is amazing, as we listen in the second movement, a clear example of alternation between fortissimos and pianissimos, as between an atmosphere were everything is like suspended in fears and moments of pain.

The last movement is another Bernstein's `show', because of the way he proclaims the victory of the initial motif, which we could say is not completely affirmed in order to create that two-senses possibilities in the symphony reading. From the very dark beginning of the movement Lenny creates a crescendo that finally leads an explosion in the last bars, outstanding one more time.

The recording is fine, very present, full of body and not so clean like his recordings with Vienna in the 80's (I think about his DSCH's 6 & 9, for example), but it worth very, VERY, very much.

I could not say this is the only possible version, as I read in other reviews. I know about 5 or 6 performances (Rostropovich, Jansons, Haitink, Barshai...), apart from some others life, and of course this is the one I like much more, but not the only possibility, I try to discover always new ways in art, specially in music performances. Jansons' version in EMI is very good too, and we can not forget DSCH music always use to ask for the soviet performances, which are a very different way of understanding the works generally. Kondrashin or Rozhdestvensky shows another ways too.

Nowadays you can buy this 1st and 7th in this double top price CD or in a very interesting 6CDs box which contains Bernstein performances of DSCH's symphonies 6th and 9th with the Wiener Philharmoniker for not to be missed. That 6CDs box offers too his recordings of Stravinsky for DG. I have all of them and I think it worth too, but you remember the best thing in that box are DSCH's performances.

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

4 out of 5 stars The only pairing of Bernstein and the CSO, in good performances.......2006-01-22

Bernstein was only 70 when he made this, his only recording with the Chicago Sym., but he was already debilitated and tired. Given his bad health, it's a wonder that these performances of the Shostakovich First and Seventh Sym. are as vital as they are. From anyone else, I would give the Seventh five stars. It is a galvanzing reading captured in great sound. But Bernstein's first Seventh, made in 1962 with the NY Phil., was a miracle of spontaneous, totally committed music-making. If you want maximum sonic impact, buy this CSO recording instead, but get it in the new bargain box from DG that contains all of Bernstein's later Stravinsky and Shostakovich recordings. The latest remastering is impeccable throughout.

Paying full price for this 2-CD set would hurt less if the Sym. #1 were better. I find it lacking in mood and color; it sounds very well played and nicely detailed but little more. When it was over I felt neutral, whereas the earlier NY Phil. version is quirky and digs in more. Again, the sonics are excellent, far better than before.
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 15
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Brash in one and spectral in the other
  • A 15th to rival Haitink (and better than all others)
  • Astonishing 15th Symphony
 Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 15
Jesus Lopez-Cobos
Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  1. Ovation--Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 / Haitink
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  4. Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 7
  5. Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

ASIN: B00005N57Z
Release Date: 2001-07-24

Tracks:

  1. I. Allegretto / Allegro Non Troppo
  2. II. Allegro
  3. III. Lento -
  4. IV. Allegro Molto
  5. I. Allegretto
  6. II. Adagio -
  7. III. Allegretto
  8. IV. Adagio / Allegretto

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Brash in one and spectral in the other.......2003-04-25

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975) arguably made the most significant contribution to the twentieth century development of the symphony after the work of Gustav Mahler. Like Mahler, he never avoided the popular appeal of near-cinematic drama or tunefulness and, again like Mahler, he sought to integrate folk material with the forms of the polyphonic tradition stemming from Bach. Shostakovich wrote fifteen symphonies in all. Two of them, the Second and the Third, deviate strongly from the norms of the genre and have been described as "poster-art symphonies" (later in life, their composer preferred to ignore them); but all the others correspond to expectation: they are in three, four, or five movements (or multiple movements in the case of the Fourteenth, a song-cycle with chamber orchestra) and the opening movement is usually an expanded sonata. Indeed, Shostakovich's breakthrough came with a symphony, his First (1925) in F-Minor, submitted as his graduation exercise from the then Petrograd Conservatory, where he studied with the world-weary but avuncular Alexander Glazunov. Shostakovich's early work shows the influence partly of Stravinsky and partly of Hindemith. We thus hear echoes of "Petrouschka" on the one hand and of the various "Kammermusiks" on the other. Present in embryo, so to speak, is the irony that pervades the composer's much later work, and a good performance of the First Symphony succeeds by bringing this element to the foreground. Jesús Lopez-Cobos and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra perhaps bite less ferociously than they might, but they do discover a brooding quality in the slow and quiet passages of the second and third movements that suggests another powerful Shostakovich affinity - the Alban Berg of "Wozzeck," which had been performed in Russia in the 1920s. The Third Movement (Lento) benefits especially from this treatment. Listening to the Lopez-Cobos traversal of this score, I am made aware of how closely it forecasts the same composer's Ninth Symphony (1945). From the other end of Shostakovich's symphonic career, Lopez-Cobos offers the Fifteenth Symphony (1972) in A-Major, one of the last scores that the composer completed. The classic recording of the Fifteenth is the first, from 1974 or 75 (if I am not mistaken), with the composer's son Maxim leading the Moscow Philharmonic: the raw sound of the Russian orchestra, especially the rattling brass and sharp-voiced, satirical woodwinds, fits the music beautifully. Non-Russian orchestras invariably bring a smoother sound to the interpretation (with this score and with every other by the composer) than do Russian ones and the present case is no exception. What Lopez-Cobos lacks in mocking raspberry, however, he more than makes up for in dark luminosity. The Fifteenth - with its network of encoded musical and autobiographical allusions - belongs with the last three String Quartets in its gnomic and entirely "personal" quality. Lopez-Cobos takes the opening Allegretto quietly, in a way that distinguishes his reading from others and emphasizes the "interior" character of the music. The obvious quotations from Rossini (the "William Tell" Overture made famous for Americans by its association with the cowboy character of the Lone Ranger) and Rimsky-Korsakov ("The Golden Cockerel") acquire a ghostly, phantasmagoric quality; the bizarre fugato passages seem especially nocturnal and alienated. The longish Adagio, which follows, includes prominent parts for solos, such as the cello, the trombone, and the flute; Lopez-Cobos builds to the great climax in the brass most effectively. Between the slow movement and the Finale comes a typical Shostakovich scherzo, full of irony and weird turns. The Finale itself is a set of variations on the "Fate Theme" from Wagner's "Ring." It bears some resemblance formally to the variations-finale of Carl Nielsen's Sixth (and last) Symphony. As in the Fourteenth Symphony, percussion are to the fore, especially the xylophone, with its skeletal, hence mortal, implications. Telarc's engineering is superb. It well serves the conductor's entirely valid interpretation of the work. For a more mordant view, one might seek out Maxim Shostakovich or Mstislav Rostropovich. But Lopez-Cobos can stand on his own merits. No one coming to the Fifteenth Symphony would do badly by this disc.

5 out of 5 stars A 15th to rival Haitink (and better than all others).......2003-04-16

Wasn't sure what to expect apart from great sound. The sound is certainly good as well as realistic. Perhaps the last ounce of sparkle (e.g. on triangles and cymbal) is missing, but i may just be being picky.

Certainly, the performances have rapidly grown on me. I'm a big fan of the (seemingly unfashionable) Haitink recording of the 15th. because of its sanity, but this version adds a touch more flair to the sanity and also seems more organic and possibly even more coherent as a performance. To my surprise, this goes to the top of the heap (very easily over Rostropovich but also over Kondrashin and even over Maxim Shostakovich) and after a few more hearings may even supplant Haitink.

And, of course, you get the bonus of a very good recording of the 1st symphony, which is probably more approachable to most people than Haitink's coupling of the songs from jewish folk poetry).

Recommended, though if you wait a little longer it will probably come out on SACD, being a DSD recording and maybe that ultimnate sparkle in percussion may be there after all.

5 out of 5 stars Astonishing 15th Symphony.......2001-08-06

If we consider there is a time span of 45 years between the conceptions of Shostakovich's symphonies no. 1 and no. 15 (his last) it is incredible to ascertain that everything that made him a great and universal composer was present right at the beginning of his career. In most of his symphonies (which, as in Mahler's case, can be considered as a gesammtkunstwerk with numerous repetitions and interweaving threads) the sense for jocular esprit and brooding melancholy are a consistent factor, the rhythmic use of the instruments and above all, the great melodic parts for the solo instruments, never stop to surprise. In comparison with Bernstein's interpretation of the first Symphony on Sony Classical (SMK 47614) in SBM-format (recording of 1969) the Lopez-Cobos interpretation is played with less vigour and stamina, but the details of the composition blend more accurately with the totality of the work.
Due to the exeptional recording quality of this Telarc disc in DSD and a total playing time of almost 77 minutes you can't go wrong with this one!
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 "The First of May"
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 "The First of May"

    Manufacturer: Naxos
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    ASIN: B0000013V3
    Release Date: 1994-02-15

    Tracks:

    1. Allegretto
    2. Allegro
    3. Lento
    4. Allegro Molto
    5. Allegretto-Allegro-Andante-Allegro-Largo-Moderato
    Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • A bitter, rather coarse Sym. #1, a sober, inward Sym. #6
    		 Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6
    Dmitry Shostakovich , Leonard Bernstein , and New York Philharmonic
    Manufacturer: Sony
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    ASIN: B0000027NM
    Release Date: 1993-09-21

    Tracks:

    1. Sym No. 1 In f, Op. 10: Allegretto-Allegro Non Troppo
    2. Sym No. 1 In f, Op. 10: Allegro
    3. Sym No. 1 In f, Op. 10: Lento
    4. Sym No. 1 In f, Op. 10: Allegro Molto
    5. Sym No. 6 In b, Op. 54: Largo
    6. Sym No. 6 In b, Op. 54: Allegro
    7. Sym No. 6 In b, Op. 54: Presto

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars A bitter, rather coarse Sym. #1, a sober, inward Sym. #6.......2005-09-11

    Bernstein conducted Shostakovich better than anyone outside Russia (I wonder if someone holds that title for conducting American music outside the U.S.?) His later recordings for DG are a bit ponderous in their effort to dig out every bit of meaning from Shostakovich's idiom. But LB's earlier performances with the NY Phil. are just as personal.

    This Sym. #1 is quirky, exposing more edge and bite than most conductors find in the score. Very little here is saucy or witty. Bernstien's view is already bitter, foreshadowing the persecuted Shostakovich rather than the show-off prodigy. The 1972 sonics are also edgy and hard, in fititng alliance with the reading.

    The 1965 recording of Sym. #6 sounds much more open and natural--it's one of the best that Bernstein's Shostakovich ever received. The opening Largo becomes a tragic outcry in Mravinsky's hands; no one else strikes quite that depth of emotion, including Bernstein, but he conducts it with solemn beauty, and the orchestra is at its best in producing haunting spare lines of melacholy reflection. Perhaps because the rollicking Scherzo is often criticized for sounding trivial by comparison, Bernstien takes it fairly slowly and draws deeper tone than usual. This allows him to gallop through the finale, but even here he reins in the high spirits. A sober air hangs over the entire work, which is quite valid. Of the two readings, I prefer this one to Sym. #1, but both are gripping and cnvincing.
    Shostakovitch: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6
    Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
    • Temirkanov delivers, but he doesn't rise to the heights
    • Just above average
    		 Shostakovitch: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6

    Manufacturer: RCA
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    ASIN: B00000JLNB
    Release Date: 1999-07-13

    Tracks:

    1. Festive Overture, Op. 96
    2. Symphony No. 1, Op. 10: Allegretto
    3. Symphony No. 1, Op. 10: Allegro
    4. Symphony No. 1, Op. 10: Lento
    5. Symphony No. 1, Op. 10: Lento; Allegro molto
    6. Symphony No. 6, Op. 54: Largo
    7. Symphony No. 6, Op. 54: Allegro
    8. Symphony No. 6, Op. 54: Presto

    Amazon.com

    This disc contains a surprise and a disappointment. The surprise is Yuri Temirkanov's jaunty run through Shostakovich's youthful Symphony No. 1, written when the composer was just 19. The St. Petersburg Philharmonic seems to take great delight with the diverse palette of orchestral colors the symphony presents; it also takes well to its sudden mood changes. However, the Sixth Symphony here is a botch. Everyone seems to be having an off day. The pacing of the magnificent opening movement is much too fast and the sound dynamics of the recording studio allow for too much shrillness in the woodwinds and flatness in the percussion. Adrian Boult's take on the Sixth is still the best; and the First still belongs to Bernstein. --Paul Cook

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Temirkanov delivers, but he doesn't rise to the heights.......2006-07-02

    Although he became RCA's house conductor for the Russian orchestral classics, I wonder if the American public realizes how great Temirkanov is. Unless you happened to live in Baltimore during his brief tenure there, or attend his occasional visits with the St. Petersburg orchestra to Carnegie Hall, Temirkanov has little presence here (and his name is harder to remember than Gergiev). This 1996 Shostakovich CD features a very alert, beautifully played Sym. #1. Temirkanov doesn't see the work as youthful high jinks (neither does his chief competitor, Gergiev, whose Kirov Orchestra now outshines the once-illustrious St. Petersburg Phil.). He plays it rather seriously but with lots of detail, aided by BMG's very clear, natural recording, which is blissfully free of shrillness in the upper range.

    The Sym. #6 performance is far from a 'botch,' as the Amazon reviewer claims, but I expected more than Temirkanov delivers. The opening Largo is one of Shostakovich's great slow movements, but it depends on repeating the same two themes, and to be fully successful, the conductor must build one long span of emotion that rises to tragic utterance. Temirkanov, besides being a bit fast, doesn't dig into the music's intensity enough. The only reading that has ever overwhelmed me was in the LP era, when Mravinsky and the same orchestra released a Melodiya recording on Angel. I don't think that version has eve resurfaced, unfortunately. The last two movements are done very well by both Temirkanov and hsi musicians, though he doesn't evoke the manic thrills of Mravinsky in the Scherzo.

    In all, the reviewer who calls this CD 'just above average' hits the nail on the head, but we're talking about the average set by a great conductor. I thinnk I'll try his remake of both symphonies, just released on Warner classics.

    3 out of 5 stars Just above average.......2002-06-05

    I bought this CD from ... because it was the only CD they had in their local store that featured the Festive Overture, a truly great piece. I don't have anything bad to say about the overture itself--the music is great and they play it well. I just sense that something is lacking. It's not quite robust enough for my tastes. The symphonies, while lacklaster, do have a couple worthwhile nuggets, such as the finale from the 6th. This is not a bad CD by any means, but I would suggest to search for another.
    Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6 [Hybrid SACD]
    Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    • Gorgeous Playing, Less Gorgeous Sound, Pale Interpretation
    		 Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6 [Hybrid SACD]

    Manufacturer: Pentatone
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    ASIN: B000EBEH4A
    Release Date: 2006-03-21

    Tracks:

    1. Allegretto-Allegro Non Troppo
    2. Allegro
    3. Lento-Largo
    4. Allegro Molto-Largo-Piu Mosso-Presto
    5. Largo
    6. Allegro
    7. Presto

    Customer Reviews:

    3 out of 5 stars Gorgeous Playing, Less Gorgeous Sound, Pale Interpretation.......2006-05-04

    I have been increasingly an admirer of the conducting of Vladimir Jurowski (who is, as most know, the son of veteran conductor Mikhail Jurowski, himself a Shostakovian of note) and fully expected to like this recording. But to some extent any positive response is tempered by what I perceive as an emotional reticence on the part of the conductor to let this music speak fully. This is no fault of the Russian National Orchestra, surely one of the world's finest. It could to some extent be a function of the CD's recorded sound which, although rich, lush and lifelike, tends to have a bass-laden autumnal glow around it that cuts into the music's immediacy. (I did not listen to the SACD layer. My views are based on listening to the plain vanilla CD layer only. It is possible that the SACD layer might reveal things I couldn't hear.)

    I guess I could sum up my complaints in one sentence: These performances are too civilized, too restrained, too polite. I think I know why Jurowski got this effect -- he was going for suppressed, rather than extrovert, anguish in those sections that contain that emotion. And to some extent he obtains it. But where are the rough and tumble moments, the raw emotions that should come rushing to the surface? Listen to the Allegro of the Sixth Symphony. It is all silken bustling, but it is also lifeless, even in those passages that have the urgent brass interjections. Listen to those wind portamenti; they are so perfectly played that one doesn't get the sense of emotional stress that surely Shostakovich intended. Instead, one admires the player's ability to play them smoothly. As for the slow movements, there is too little life in them. They trudge, not because of angst but because they have no inner rhythmic tension.

    The recorded sound is partly to blame. The dynamic range is extremely wide and when one cranks up one's volume to hear the soft passages, the loud passages become almost unbearably so. And no matter what volume one uses, there is still that fuzzy nimbus around the sound so that there is little linearity, little cut-glass clarity.

    Scott Morrison
    Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1, 5, 6 & 9
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1, 5, 6 & 9

      Manufacturer: Melodiya
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      SymphoniesSymphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
      Modern & 20th CenturyModern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
      All Works by ShostakovichAll Works by Shostakovich | Shostakovich, Dmitri | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
      ASIN: B000025I3S
      Release Date: 1997-01-01
      Schostakowitsch: Symphonies Nos. 1,5,6,8, 10, 15 [Box Set]
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        		Schostakowitsch: Symphonies Nos. 1,5,6,8, 10, 15 [Box Set]

        Manufacturer: Berlin Classics
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD

        SymphoniesSymphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
        GeneralGeneral | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
        Modern & 20th CenturyModern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
        GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
        All Works by ShostakovichAll Works by Shostakovich | Shostakovich, Dmitri | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
        ASIN: B000025R32
        Release Date: 2007-03-13
        Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          		Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6

          Manufacturer: Polygram Records
          ProductGroup: Music
          Binding: Audio CD

          SymphoniesSymphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
          Ashkenazy, VladimirAshkenazy, Vladimir | ( A ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
          GeneralGeneral | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
          Modern & 20th CenturyModern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
          GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
          All Works by ShostakovichAll Works by Shostakovich | Shostakovich, Dmitri | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
          Similar Items:
          1. Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 9 & 15
          2. Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4

          ASIN: B00000E442
          Release Date: 1990-05-22
          Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 15 [Hybrid SACD]
          Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
          • "Exquisite Groundbreaking Performances"
          		 Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 15 [Hybrid SACD]
          Shostakovich , Orch Sinfonica Giuseppe Verdi Di Milano , and Oleg Caetani conductor
          Manufacturer: Arts Music
          ProductGroup: Music
          Binding: Audio CD

          SymphoniesSymphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
          GeneralGeneral | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
          Modern & 20th CenturyModern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
          GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
          All Works by ShostakovichAll Works by Shostakovich | Shostakovich, Dmitri | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
          ASIN: B000GIN53K
          Release Date: 2006-10-24

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars "Exquisite Groundbreaking Performances".......2007-01-11

          Finally we have a recorded performance of Shostakovich's competent and extremely credible First symphony! I've always known that this composition had so much going for it but every other orchestra/ conductor and label/production failed to pull off an inspired performance. Recorded live in 3/2004 Oleg Caetani and the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi give us a recorded performance with swirling woodwinds and string solos that will give you chills.
          The composers 15th symphony recorded in the same venue in 6/2005 receives yet again an exquisite performance with a consistent precise tempo and solos.
          Recorded orchestral balance is superb with both symphonies. To this date I have never heard these two symphonies with such grandeur!

          Frank Pandel

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          3. String Quartets 3 Op 73 7 Op 108 12 Op 133
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          6. Up & At 'Em: Chamber & Electroacoustic Music by Eric Moe
          7. Violin Concertos By Mozart, Beethoven & Brahms [Import]
          8. Vivaldi: Il Pastor Fido
          9. Wagner: Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg
          10. Wilder: Suite; Sonata No1

          Music Review

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