This intense work by a Shostakovich pupil brings a passionate performance.
The most noteworthy item here is the Chamber Symphony of 1940 by Georgy Sviridov, receiving its first recording. Sviridov was one of Shostakovich’s first pupils in the late 1930s and later became famous in his own right as one of the finest and most popular of song composers in the Soviet Union. The flow of influence between teacher and pupil went both ways; but in this early work, as in the Piano Trio of 1945, the teacher’s hand on the shoulder is understandably evident.
Nevertheless, this is a serious and intelligent work, its moods wiry and intense almost throughout. It starts with strong echoes of the opening pages of Mahler’s Seventh Symphony, continues with a slightly jaunty but also slightly melancholy allegro that soon acquires considerable toughness, and concludes with a finale that deflects from its initial energetic paths into more thoughtful moods. According to Manashir Yakubov’s essay, the manuscript was ‘mislaid for several decades’ but was prepared by the composer in a new edition especially for Bashmet. The performance conveys a fine passion and sense of authority.
The first of Vainberg’s four chamber symphonies is for the most part a gentler, almost autumnal affair, and its subtle shades are beautifully appreciated by Bashmet and his top-class ensemble. Misha Rachlevsky’s more overtly expressive account, coupled with Vainberg’s Third and Fourth Chamber Symphonies, is by no means displaced, though I should record that Bashmet, unlike Rachlevsky, does observe the first movement repeat. At any rate, it is heartening to think that Bashmet’s advocacy may bring this marvellous score to a wider audience.
The 18-strong Moscow Soloists are an impressive cohort and no mistake. There are few more finely played accounts than this of Barshai’s arrangement of Shostakovich’s Eighth Quartet. However, there are plenty that are more musically perceptive. Bashmet’s inability to resist soloistic nuances leads to a laboured impression in the outer movements, and had he thought to check the score of the original he would surely have corrected a glaring misprint in Barshai’s transcription at 1’33” in the last movement.
Nevertheless, for the Sviridov alone this is an issue not be missed by the specialist collector, and it comes in an admirably judged recording.
David Fanning
Gramophone, January 2006
The catalogue of arrangements of Shostakovich’s string quartets for chamber orchestra is becoming quite well populated. The principal arranger, Rudolf Barshai, has recorded as many as five of them on DG with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, not counting his earlier recordings on EMI. Yuri Bashmet has started to record some of them and has in the past coupled them with repertoire which has been fascinating to hear. On his earlier disc, on Sony, the String Quartet No. 13 was featured, coupled with the Brahms Clarinet Quintet arranged by Bashmet for viola and strings. Now, with a change of record label, he is back with his chamber orchestra in an all-strings disc. This time he couples the Barshai arrangement of String Quartet No. 8, with similar string works by Sviridov and Vainberg. The Sony disc won some awards when it was issued, and I would be surprised if this one doesn’t do the same.
The recording quality is absolutely superb, and the playing of the Moscow Soloists is beyond reproach, making this a very desirable issue.
The Shostakovich symphony is an arrangement of String Quartet No. 8, Op. 110, written whilst the composer was visiting Dresden, primarily to soak up the atmosphere for music for a film based upon the destruction of this city. The film music (Five Days, Five Nights) was the result, but more importantly, such was the impression that the ruined city made on the composer, he wrote the eighth string quartet as well as the film score. It is a deeply felt utterance and has become one of the composer’s most popular quartets. It was an obvious first choice for Barshai when starting on his arrangement of the quartet for strings. The additional rich timbre of the massed strings has added to the original, and to some, it is more popular in this format.
The Moscow Soloists make as good a job as I have heard. I enjoyed it very much. The incisiveness of the playing is outstanding, and this is aided and abetted by the extreme clarity and warmth of the recording.
The couplings are fascinating, both of them written by so-called pupils of the composer. Sviridov was described by Shostakovich as having "an enormous talent." Although Sviridov attended composition classes held by Shostakovich, he never considered himself a disciple. In his private diaries, Sviridov showed an almost pathological hatred of Shostakovich, although in public, he gave the older composer his due both as composer and teacher. Given this hatred of Shostakovich, it is fascinating to compare the Symphony for Strings with the Shostakovich/Barshai work. There is a very strong influence of Shostakovich throughout. This is a work that was originally thought to have been lost, but having been found again, it was arranged by the composer especially for this recording.
The Sviridov opens with a dramatic tutti, followed by a gentle lyrical cantilena. The scherzo introduces Jewish-sounding themes (a feature of many of Shostakovich’s works), and then the lyrical centre of the work moves into a broad restrained melody. The finale has a very impressive resolution to what has gone before and brings the work to a stirring conclusion.
The last work on the disc is by Vainberg, who was born in Warsaw in 1919 and educated at the Warsaw Conservatory. He escaped to the Soviet Union in 1939, escaping the advance of the Nazi troops. Vainberg, unlike Sviridov, never studied under Shostakovich, but always considered himself a disciple of the older composer. This symphony is of a different character to the other two, being more classically orientated; more or less in the style adopted by Prokofiev for his First Symphony.
All of the works here are thoroughly enjoyable, and I hope the disc enjoys the success which it deserves. I look forward to hearing the next instalment.
John Phillips
From: MusicWeb, February 2006