Customer Reviews

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Recorded immediately after the New York Philharmonic's triumphal tour of the Soviet Union in 1959, this remains the most controversial recording of this symphony extant. Bernstein eschews the sarcastic wit and self-satire that Shostakovich wrote into the score for an emotionalism that is so compelling, it just carries you along with it... even when you are questioning his choices.
The young Leonard Bernstein had three very different and very contradictory influences as a conductor. From Dimitri Mitropoulos he got a sense of music as drama, a contiunal ebb and flow of tension. From Serge Koussevitzky he inherited a deep-rooted feeling for the poetry of music. From Fritz Reiner he learned a classical rigor and and a comprehensive knowledge of the score. Bernstein did not so much combine these influences as he sythesized them into a style all his own, marked by a broad dynamic pallette, stark shifts of tempi, and an emotional content that few other conductors could match. At his best, Bernstein produced moments where he seemed to disappear from the podium and channel the composer directly. At others, he could be almost perversely headstrong, as he is here... but in this case, BRILLIANTLY so.
At the core of Lenny's reading of the Shostakovich Fifth is a sense of this music's celebration of the heroism of the Russian people. Whether that is an expression of their heroism in triumphing over Hitler, or surviving Stalin, or their belief in Marx is not clear. At any event, this is the most "heroic" performance of this symphony you will ever hear, and as such it stands out.
Bernstein's approach to this music owes a lot to the Mitropoulos version (which has better orchestral balances and more striking detail), but differs from it in significant ways. First of all,
Lenny's tempi in the 2nd and 4th movements are noticeably quicker. This makes the scherzo a riot of drunken excess, sort of like Fyodor Karamazov set to music, but also imparts a real sense of impending danger to the music. The finale is taken at almost twice the pace that Shostakovich indicated in the score, replacing the composer's mashochistic satire with a sense of the heroism of triumph through endurance. Shostakovich himself expressed his pleasure (not the same as his approval) of this unorthodox approach after a live performance in Moscow by the NYPO.
In short, Lenny's version of the Shostakovich 5th may be totally wrong-headed, but it is so brilliant and compelling in its vision, however headstrong it may be, that you cannot deny its power. This will move you as few other performances of this symphony can.

Whatever you may think of Bernstein's interpretations of this or any other composer, you have to hear this disc. The slow movement of #5 is absolutely stunning- you will, as the audience was, be afraid to draw a single breath for fear of disturbing the rapturous aguish filling the hall. Bernstein and his orchestra fully plumb the depths of poigniant sadness inherent in this (and so much of Shostakovich's music). This is one of those times that unannealed magic was caught on a recording. Don't go one more day without this recording.

From the mid-Fifties to the mid-Sixties Leonard Bernstein had a complete grip on any "young people"--he didn't call us kids--who wanted to fall in love with classical music. It's hard to turn your back on the influence that shaped your taste, and this Shostakovich 5th was for an entire geneeration the very first time they had heard the work, or any Shostakovich symphony.

The detractors here are right in some respects. The sound, though detailed, is thin and noticeably shrill in the upper strings at forte or louder (they should have heard it before Sony's remastering). There is no muddiness in the bass, however. Bernstein doesn't see this as a savagely ironic or menacing work. But he still conceives a full specturm of emotions: The first movement is lyrical and reflective before the sudden intrusion of a powerful but not threatening march. The Scherzo is paced at medium speed and crisply played but again without satire or menace--LB was almost always positive in this phase of his career, the "Joy of Music" phase.

The Largo is tender, almost dreamy, taken broadly but without a hint of inward grief or respite from the preceding eruptions as some conductors play it. The finale, the touchstone of this performance, is exuberantly fast and triumphant. It comes off as a fitting conclusion--the only possible conclusion--to Bernstein's whole approach. He had no intention of using the Shostakovich 5th as a jab against the Soviet regime, and there's a good chance that the composer didn't, either. This was the work, after all, that he presented to regain favor with Stalin and his apparatchiks.

I must admit that I've gorwn to admire more intensely expressed performances that cover the political ground with a range of bitter, sorrowing, and satiric emotions. Bernstein's vision seems more limited, the piece less significant in his hands. But this was a moment that I can't quite shake.

Leonard Bernstein has a full head of steam here in the 5th, but does not touch the work's soul. If you can find Maxim Shostakovitch's recording of the 5th (Dmitry's son), conducted in the USSR, to compare the contrast will be striking. Furthermore, the 1959 recording is actually bad; muddy bass, strident strings, ugh. On the other hand Bernstein's conception of the 9th is great, and the sound of the orchestra (in 1965) is so vivid and accurate that it will raise the hair on the back of your neck. A disk worth owning for the performance people often do not even mention.

I am not here to dispute the great talent of the all-American musical hero Leonard Bernstein. A man far above the rest as far as skill and attention to detail is concerned but as for this recording there are many dissapointing aspects of the interpretation. The Ninth is done quite well. Although it does feel slightly bland and downright boring at times, I attribute this to my own personal preference. The orchestra performs superbly and Bernstein is in his element amongst this famed group of musicians. All in all, this is a solid recording of the Ninth.
It is the Fifth that completely turned me off to this recording. The interpretation was completely headstrong (a Bernstein-ian trait that is very well done in some works but goes way overboard in this Symphony) and at times careless. The tempos that Bernstein employs are much too fast and tend to waver slightly. For instance, the second movt. of the Fifth is a driving introduction introduced by low strings. At the outset, it is much too fast. As the theme is introduced a little later on, the speed is such that the orchestra cannot execute the passages cleanly and this creates a jumble of muddy orchestral sound not up to N.Y. Phil. standards. At the end of this passage, just before the entrance of the horns, there is an anticlimatic fall in the sound. As the bones and tuba have the descending line there is almost a decresendo in the sound rather than a building. This makes the entrance for horns sound quite out of place and overblown. The other movts. tend to fare slightly better, all except the last. While I do like the driving, intimidating tempo of the opening very much, there isn't much else musically that is appealing. The orchestra continues to play beautifully under the somewhat healed interpretation that Bernstein has gained since previous movts. But just when the music becomes its most enthralling, it seems that Lenny gets bored. The final chords of dissonance (the ones thought to represent the screams of Stalin's victims underneath a false hope and happiness) are bowled over. There is no feeling or passion invoked, just the notes on the page. Over all, I was quite dissapointed in the interpretation. The playing was good, if not up to the standards that are the Phil. For me, the orchestra was what shined in this recording, not Bernstein.
I'm not knocking Lenny. I have many amazing recordings of his other works that are beautiful and full of soul and passion. This one lacks in that respect. If you are looking for a wonderful interpretation of the Fifth, pick up LSO's live recording with Rostropovich. Amazing and right on the money, in my opinion.

Why Bernstein is so lauded for his 1959 DSCH 5th eludes me. The performance is superficial, with Lenny skimming the opening pages' mystery and suspense. The march is not well integrated into the rest of the movement, either in terms of tempo, dynamics or texture. The scherzo doesn't have sufficient "menace" and sardonicism, and the slow movement again suffers from skimming of details and a lack of build to the big tutti. The finale lacks all irony and the coda is taken as a literal triumph, rather than the satire DSCH said he intended. Bernstein, it seems to me, really seems to think our business *is* rejoicing! Better recordings are Haitink/Concertgebouw and Sanderling/Berlin Symphony, just to name a few, though in the latter recording a somewhat weak orchestra cannot quite match the conductor's brilliant conception of this work. (It's worth tracking down just for the slow movement, however, which is one of the spookiest on record.)

The 9th here fares better. It's better played and recorded, and Bernstein seems to have a better grip on Shosty's satirical mode. The three stars are for the 9th, not the 5th, which would get less than two stars in my book.

There are the two beliefs about Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich: first, that his music depends on some elaborate explanation of the irony and evasion of censorship in order for it to be appreciated; or, that he is one of the great modern composers regardless of his political agenda, and that his music can stand for itself. If you are an over-intellectualizing analyst who can't appreciate great music without someone explaining it to you, this disc is not for you. You'll be thinking too much about how Shostakovich was a communist, and how you somehow have to account for that in his music. In response to objections to this disc, Shostakovich approved of this performance. That's probably because the fourth movement is marked Allegro non troppo, which means not too fast, but certainly doesn't mean slow. And those who think the irony is ruined by Bernstein's speed should remember that. I am not a big fan of Bernstein, but he really is impressive here. So I say, just sit back and feel the great music, because it doesn't get more intense than this.

This is a classic performance of the 5th from 1959. Some people complain about the sound. I think it is great that we have this in stereo! For me there is no arguing about the first three movements they are absolutely the best: Drama, Jokey Waltz, and Meditation. Bernstein is great at building up the tension and giving you the full brunt of agony in the first movement, only to sweep you off your feet in the second movement, and then plumb you into the depths of a medatitive Largo. The finale is the fastest in print right now on record at just a few seconds short of nine minutes. It is a controversial fast finale, but if you take the view of the work as a problem, and then waltzing away the problem, and then meditating about the problem...the finale means VICTORY over the problem! Therefore this is the best argued and emotionally wrenching Shostakovich 5th ever brought to CD.

Unlike some other reviewers I do not like Bernstein's Shostakovich 9th in this mid-1960's recording. I is a grotesque caricature of this pocket battleship of a symphony. This inspiration is Haydn and it is true that the first, third, and fifth and final movements have humor in them. But Bernstein takes the humor too literally to the point of disrespecting the work in my estimation.

For a more sober 5th that is similarly driven the way Bernstein's is try Previn's effort from 1965:

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Music from the Film "Hamlet"

For an anti-heroic finale with the 5th I recommend Masur on the LPO label:

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1; Symphony No. 5 Hybrid SACD

And is always popular in opposing the Bernstein 5th there is the Rostropovich versions:

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 National Symphony Orchestra - Rostropovich

Shostakovich:Sym 5/Prokofrostropovich

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5

For the 9th symphony I PREFER these versions to the one given on this CD:

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9; Festive Overture; Suite from Katerina Ismailova; Tea for Two

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 And 9

I have listened to quite a few of Dimitri Shastakovich's pieces, in fact, I play in a band that plays a lot of them. I have absolutely fallen in love with his Symphony No 5 in D-. I happen to love minor pieces, and this one is the best that I have ever heard. The finale, I think, is the one of the best pieces that music has to offer. It centers on a sad march theme, that seems to resemble the Soviet Union through it's struggles. In the middle, however, the strings start a beautiful section of a slower melody. It features an French Horn solo that is the best solo I have heard to this day, and shares many other small solo throughout the high strings. As a matter of fact, parts of the Star Wars movie, Episode 4, I believe, were taken from this section. It is beauty beyond words. Then, the piece comes back to together when the brass come in with the march, and it ends very powerfully, with the timpani very prodominant. I can't explain how much this piece affects me, but if you love minor music, or any music for that matter, this piece can conjur up some of the most intense emotions that are possible. If you don't have this CD already, it is one of the best things that you can ever do for yourself.

I must say that after reading about this performance I was very disappointed to hear it. Forget about controversies over the
composer's intention and think about how enjoyable it is to listen to this performance: it isn't enjoyable at all. Bernstein plows right through the first movement, preventing any buildup of tension and jumps right into the sinister march, which sounds like it doesn't quite belong here, and lacks any menace. The scherzo is played so fast and manic as to create a sense of fake
joy that is downright disturbing. Bernstein goes through the motions in the Largo so that he can explode the finale onto us. Even if you like the finale triumphant--as I do--and not ominous, this recording is just too fast and sounds very contrived. The end result doesn't sound much like a symphony but rather a disjointed, rush-job of a performance. The sound quality is truly awful, with a muddled sound throughout and particularly muffled brass and tinny strings. I've heard many recordings from this time period(1959)that sound much better than this, so you can't blame it on the year it was recorded.If you want Bernstein conducting the Shostakovich Fifth with a very satisfying triumphant finale and great digital sound, get his 1979 live performance with the New York Philharmonic that comes with a great First Cello Concerto with Yo-Yo Ma and Eugene Ormandy. This later Bernstein performance of the symphony is much better all around, with a very sinister first movement march.
The only redeeming quality to this CD is the Ninth Simphony, a work I am unfamiliar with, but given a very solid performance here, with good sound.
I wrote this review as a warning to people considering this CD: don't waste your money.