Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 7

Dmitry Shostakovich (Composer), Leonard Bernstein (Conductor), Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Leonard Bernstein
• Composer: Dmitry Shostakovich
• Audio CD (October 20, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000001GB2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,952 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #15 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Symphonies > Modern & 20th Century
  • #17 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > Forms & Genres > Symphonies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One HECK of a Leningrad, August 8, 2003

By 

cmk3001 "classical music kid" (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 7 (Audio CD)

This is the performance of Shostakovich's Leningrad that I've been waiting for. Some people have said that this is not one of his finer symphonies. I dare you to listen to this recording and not come away moved. You simply will not hear this music played with more involvement or virtuostic power. The Chicago Symphony simply plays the living HECK out of this music.

The First movement opens brightly and broad. There's a real feeling of setting out on a great and magical journey. At the final variation of the march theme in the first movement, right before the music beings to collapse, the bass drum has never been captured better. If you've got a good sub, prepare for your floor to rattle! The 2nd movement is taken very slowly. This is no moderato. But the slower tempo gives it a somber, almost meditative like quality. His Adagio is the most heartfelt I have ever heard, and most surprising(thank God), completely lacking in that infamous melodrama via massive rubato that came with so many of Bernstein's later recordings. And then the Coda of the finale....as other reviews have mentioned, it is amazing. When I first heard it, I just kinda sat there for a few minutes and didn't do or say anything, totally stupified by what I had just heard. It is so LOUD! This one will have the neighbors going crazy. That bass trombonist is a MONSTER! As to the question whether the symphony ends in real triumph or manufactured triumph, Bernstein's is definately in the real triumph camp.

Bernstein's overall timing is the longest ever recorded, clocking around 84 minutes, about 10 minutes more than average. This is the only recording I know of that requires a second disc to hold it. In particular, the 2nd movement clocks in at nearly 15 minutes, quite a stretch from the usual 11 or so. But, his orchestra is so involved and electrifying, that the broad tempi do not decrease the excitement in the least. Indeed, throughout the entire performance, Bernstein's tempi will only astounish you rather than offend you. Taken as a whole, the interpretation is one of the freshest and most original out there.

While I would not be without some other faster recordings, if you're looking for a single Leningrad, I would recommend this one as a first choice. Don't worry about the price. It's well worth it.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maybe the only "Leningrad" you'll ever need to hear!, June 1, 2004

By 

Kenji Fujishima (East Brunswick, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 7 (Audio CD)

After listening to this unforgettable performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's "Leningrad" Symphony, every other performance you hear of the piece will undoubtedly seem mild-mannered and restrained by comparison. Yep, this recording is THAT imposing. (Better yet, it never gets dull every time I hear it.) Sure, the purist could quibble with some of conductor Leonard Bernstein's subjective adjustments (the unmarked gradual accelerando in the second half of the fourth movement) and slow tempos (the second movement, more "Adagio" than the marked "Moderato, poco allegretto")---and yet, under Bernstein's baton, it all pays off, and the performance grips the ear like no other recording of the piece I've heard (although I do not claim to have heard a wide range of them). The Chicago Symphony Orchestra plays magnificently, and its brass section will make your jaw drop in the closing stages of the finale, so loudly and perfectly it plays its final peroration. Definitely one of my favorite classical discs (and, I'll admit it, I'm an admirer of Leonard Bernstein, at least on record).

I don't have much to say about the coupling, the performance of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1, except to say that this was my first encounter with the piece, and under Bernstein's baton, it certainly seems like the charming yet strikingly modern student symphony that the booklet notes imply it is. But the "Leningrad" is the thing here, and it is just stellar.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The only pairing of Bernstein and the CSO, in famous performances, January 21, 2006

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 7 (Audio CD)

Bernstein was 70 when he made this, his only recording with the Chicago Sym., and 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 -- as you can see, the other reviewers unanimously praise it. It's a galvanzing reading, no doubt, captured in great sound. But Bernstein's first Shostakovich 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. Here, the sonics are excellent, far better than before.