Customer Reviews

Shchedrin: Carmen Suite / Concertos for Orchestra Nos. 1- Naughty Limericks, & 2- The Chimes

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Russian composer Rodion Shchedrins Carmen Suite, after Bizet, is very familiar music indeed, but somehow slightly askew. This sometimes odd rhythmic reinterpretation and reorchestration (with much more percussion than Bizet used) was premiered as a ballet in 1967 in Moscow. Like so much music of that time and place, it was immediately banned; the grounds were that it was an insult to Bizets masterpiece and for its sexual treatment of the character of Carmen. Only through the intervention of Dmitri Shostakovich, no stranger to vagaries of Soviet critics himself, was the ban eventually lifted. Although Shchedrin, like Shostakovich (who was some 26 years his senior) struggled with the issues of artistic and personal freedom within the Soviet system, he eventually had great success. He succeeded Shostakovich as chairman of the Composers Union of the Russian Federation in 1973, and received both the USSR State Prize for Music and later the State Prize of the New Democratic Russia.

Perhaps the listener can read into the dichotomies of the finale Shchedrins conflicts between his personal desires and his public demands. But much of the piece is simply an exuberant and thrilling reinterpretation of Bizet--not only Carmen, but other bits of Bizet creep in, notably a length selection from LArlesienne. All of it is recast in the light of a twentieth century sensibility regarding orchestration and style, somewhat more conservatively than his contemporary Alfred Schnittke. At times Shchedrin turns Bizet jazzy, and he always colors the music with brilliant writing for a vastly expanded percussion section. I find the result extremely enjoyable, and certainly the performance by the Russian National Orchestra, conducted by Mikhail Pletnev, is very good. The tone quality of the strings is rich and full, intonation impeccable, and the ensemble (with a very few minor exceptions) demonstrates a rhythmic precision that should be the envy of any group.

In addition to the Carmen Suite, the listener is also given the first two of Shchedrins four (to date) Concerti for Orchestra. The first of these, subtitled Naughty Limericks, has an immediately apparent jazz influence, with the pizzicato walking bass, the use of glissandi, and the jazzy drums. Im also greatly reminded of Stravinsky, especially his Circus music. The CD notes tell us that the translation of the title, Naughty Limericks, is insufficient to give the full meaning of the original Russian, which carries a connotation of political satire and ridicule.

These two Concerti are a rather different conception of the form than the original Concerto for Orchestra by Bela Bartok. Whereas Bartoks idea is a grand lengthy multi-movement vision, Shchedrins is almost insubstantial by comparison, at least in terms of length. Both are single movement pieces, and the longest of the two (his Second Concerto for Orchestra, subtitled The Chimes) is only 10 minutes long. This work, the last on the CD, is by far the most adventurous and difficult. Many listeners may want to skip that track, but I find it fascinating. Although dissonant, it is full of color and drama, with rhythmic energy reminiscent of the primitivist works of Prokofiev and Stravinsky. Listeners familiar with the works of Alfred Schnittke will also notice similarities to those pieces. But no one should be put off by the inclusion of this work on the disc--if contemporary music ordinarily makes you want to cover your ears, simply consider listening to it an option that you might not want to exercise. Certainly most regular concertgoers will be delighted with the other two works.

Shchedrin's ballet on Bizet's Carmen seems to remain his most popular works, which is somewhat inexplicable - but that is a different matter. Written in 1967, Carmen Suite is scored for strings and (lots of) percussion. It takes Bizet's themes and expands on them, pulling out textures and sonorities that are merely hinted at (or not) in the original in rather effective and exciting ways. Shchedrin does not really recompose or reharmonize the music, and he doesn't really twist it or distort it; rather, he attempts to reemphasize certain strands of Bizet's original music, add color and drama and new layers of atmosphere. It is, I admit, rather exciting, but I seriously doubt the project has any lasting qualities.

The performances are rhythmically crisp and exciting, and the playing of the Russian National Orchestra pretty powerful and dramatic (the momentum and focus of the music may, I believe, come across as something of a surprise to those who know Pletnev's other often a little wayward and inexpressive performances). The strings are particularly full-bodied and potent, and the percussionists have a riot, it seems.

Yet the two (small) Concertos for Orchestra are surely the main attractions of the disc. "Naughty Limericks" has been recorded several times, and is indeed a rather entertaining, sarcastic and really humorous work, certainly well worth hearing, and the performances here are as effective as any. "The Chimes" is in one sense more serious - or at least less tongue-in-cheek smiling - but its funereal tragedy is more in the vein of cheap horror movies than anything actually emotionally harrowing (and that seems to be intentional). And again, the performances here make quite a lot of it. Not an essential acquisition, by any means, but a lot of fun nonetheless, and well worth considering. The sound is good.

When you are beaten out as a conductor by Arthur Fiedler, you're in trouble. That's what happens here to Pletnev, never one of my favorites, but in the Carmen Ballet he is particularly fussy and uninvolving. Fiedler didn't exactly catch fire in this piece, but the engineers at rCA gave him a sonic spectacular, and the conducting is good enough to carry the work with some excitment, unlike what one hears on this CD.