Shostakovich: Symphonies 4 to 9 - Kirov Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg; Valery Gergiev

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Shostakovich: Symphonies 4 to 9 - Kirov Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg; Valery Gergiev

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Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphonies No. 4 in C minor, op.43; No.5 in D minor op. 47; No. 6 in B minor, op. 54;
No.7 in C major, Op.60 'Leningrad'; No. 8 in C minor, op. 65; No. 9 in E flat major op. 70 –
Kirov Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg (with Rotterdam Philharmonic on Op. 60); Valery Gergiev
Classical | 5 CDs | EAC Rip | 1,27 GB (3% recovery) | FLAC+LOG+Cue | Full scans | RS links
Publisher: Philips | Recorded: 2001 | Published: 2003

This is one of Valery Gergiev's finer performances on disc. His rhythmically taut, propulsive conducting makes for a powerful rendition of Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony–one that is strongly argued and purposefully projects the work's grand, dramatic sweep. Like Rostropovich, Gergiev successfully delineates the music's varied emotional states, vividly communicating its euphoria, melancholy, and despair, but also its defiance and determination. Gergiev is greatly aided by the combined forces of the Kirov and Rotterdam orchestras, which offer enthusiastic and deeply committed playing–and generate some exceptionally voluminous climaxes (although Bernstein makes even more noise with only one orchestra, namely the Chicago Symphony on his stunning DG recording).
Of course, it's not possible to tell from an audio-only presentation just how the orchestral duties were apportioned, but you do hear an extra phalanx of brass suddenly appear as the first movement's juggernaut abruptly changes key, and also in the closing passages of the finale. The wide-ranging recording captures the huge sonic mass of the combined orchestras as well as the character of the highly reverberant venue. In fact, the reverberation works against the sound in some tutti passages, where you occasionally hear what first appears to be distortion, but actually turns out to be the harsh clashing of echoes and re-echoes (perhaps the multi-channel SACD version will resolve this issue). No matter, this recording (which was made in conjunction with live performances by the assembled forces) makes for a uniquely enthralling experience of Shostakovich's grand wartime symphony.–Victor Carr Jr
***
Valery Gergiev gives the Fifth an admirably direct, clean performance full of excitement and intensity. He builds the first movement's central climax with unerring skill, makes due allowance for the Scherzo's ironic humor without overdoing it, and paces the great Largo just about as well as anyone ever has. He treats the finale as an unambiguous triumph, with crushing bass drum and timpani, and throughout the Kirov Orchestra gives a 100 percent effort. In sum, this is a very good rendition of an oft-recorded classic. It doesn't quite plumb the emotional depths in the way that Rostropovich, Sanderling, or Bernstein have, but I can't imagine anyone being disappointed.
The performance of the Ninth is more individual, in that Gergiev takes a very laid-back approach to the first movement, giving the woodwinds plenty of room to grunt and squeak, and then considerably picks up the pace in the remainder of the work. The central scherzo has particular brilliance and impetuosity. It seems to me that a touch more precision from the strings would have given the music just that much more character, but as a conception this works quite well. In both cases, Philips provides vivid, up-front sonics that don't really offer a natural picture of what these players sound like live–but that's not necessarily a bad thing when the result has such physical impact in all other respects. Good stuff.
–David Hurwitz
***
Valery Gergiev's Shostakovich Fourth has a textural clarity that reveals many rarely-heard details, such as the strings' shimmering Ravelian downward scale in the first movement's final bars. The symphony's many dance passages come off well in Gergiev's hands, whether the sardonic waltz of the first movement or the acerbic, quasi-Mahlerian scherzo. Also, Gergiev's emphasis on the music's Russian coloring (especially in the woodwinds, as in the finale's string-flutes-horn ballet) points directly to Tchaikovsky.
However, the conductor disappointingly holds back the reins in the music's more ferocious momments. The first movement's two early climaxes, and especially the great central fugue, sound tepid compared to Järvi's blistering account on Chandos. Likewise, the finale's brass- and percussion-drenched peroration comes off less than the powerful culmination it should be under Gergiev's sober direction.
The Kirov Orchestra's less than stellar playing–the bland brass in particular–blunts the music's impact (a quick listen to the Chicago Symphony under Previn reminds us just how enthralling this piece can be), while Philips' dry and shallow recording (with its distorted tutti passages in the finale–shocking for a modern-day production) underlines this impression. Given the many excellent Shostakovich Fourths available (by Previn, Järvi, Slatkin, Barshai, and Rozhdestvensky, among others), this one's just not a contender. –Victor Carr Jr