Customer Reviews

Rostropovich Plays Khachaturian, Shostakovich & Tchaikovsky

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The interesting piece on this CD for me is the Khachaturian Concerto Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra. Reviews that I have read concerning this disc have downplayed this work as not very important but well played. I have loved Khachaturian's music for many years and find his melodies very appealing. Since 1948, when Soviet artists were denounced, it is said he has played it safe and written works acceptable to the Party. At times, he does extend his compositions a bit too long. While he may not be thought of as a great composer Khachaturian did write a lot of music that is fun to listen to.

I found the Concerto Rhapsody to be a good showpiece for the cello with some great writing for the orchestra. It dates from 1963 and was written for Mstislav Rostropovich and here he gives it a wonderful performance - the Western premiere of this piece. It goes without saying that Rostropovich turns in another remarkable performance of the Shostakovich Second Cello concerto, another work written for him in 1966. This is a darker work that the First concerto, a reaction to the heart attach Shostakovich suffered. This is also the Western premiere of this concerto following the Moscow performance conducted by Svetlanov.

Equally brilliant is the playing in the Rococo Variations of Tchaikovsky. Sir Colin Davis is the conductor in the Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky, and elicits some great playing from the BBC Symphony and the London Symphony. These are live performances but there is no audience noise beyond applause at the end of each work and the first movement of the Shostakovich concerto. The transfer is excellent.

In all, this is a great CD of particular interest for the Khachaturian but no less for the more familiar Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky.

I like this CD as much as the lead reviewer but not for the Khachaturian Concerto-Rhapsody, which was premiered in spectacular fashion by Rostropovich and then quickly went to a merciful death. To call is brass-plated junk would probably be too candid. Let's say that it is certainly a showpiece, featuring a long stretch of obligatto solos at the outset and constant demands for bravura technique. but the music itself, which has a strong flavor of melismatic folk melodies that sounds rather Arabic, is rambling and empty. Khachaturian had a secure place in the Soviet music establishment (not a badge of honor), giving him undue prominence at home with negligible respect abroad -- he was good at providing showy vehicles for soloists and muscular ballet scores, however. At 22 min., this particular concerto outstays its welcome, despite Rostropovich's sterling reading, by about ten minutes.

The standout on this program, where Rostropovich performs with British orchestras -- as opposed to the Soviet ensembles that dominate the BBC releases that feature him -- is the Western premiere of the Shostakovich Cello Cto. no. 2. When he came to write follow-ups to both his violin and cello concertos, the composer produced works that were too bleak to repeat the popular appeal of his first efforts. I find the Cello Cto. no. 2 the stronger work, bull of fascinating orchestral writing along with its mournful, probing solo part. We take a leap in podium talent with colin Davis leading the BBC Sym., but unfortunately there's a drop in sonics, with the soloist being miked a bit far away for real impact. One of Rostropovich's calling cards was the power and volume of his sound, which isn't felt here. As authoritative as this reading is, a better choice would be the studio recording on DG with Ozawa and the BSO.

Rostropovich also made a famous studio recording of Tchaikovsky's Rocco Variations with Karajan, but this live one under Colin Davis is elegant and charming, with a touch of modesty that's foreign to Karajan's approach. It's also in better sound than the Shostakovich, with the cello well placed in relationship to the orchestra. Given my various reservations, I can't go all out praising this CD, even though Rostropovich himself is impeccable, as usual.