Customer Reviews

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 12

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

What a horrible recording from Naxos. The Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra is really not world class. The strings are scratchy and out of tune in the high register. The woodwinds are in extreme pain and consistently out of tune. This performance is totally uninspired. No matter how cheap the price of this recording, it would be a mistake to pay hard currency for this product. One hundred cats screaching in an alley would sound more in tune. Go for a higher price recording.

Ladislav Slovak's series of Shostakovich recordings is generally excellent. The Slovak Radio Symphony plays well for him, besides offering the kind of Slavonic sound that was once considered idiomatic for Shostakovich. I prefer this performance of the 6th Symphony to the Bernstein/N.Y. Philharmonic account. The first movement is fluid and well balanced, with some especially fine flute playing. The two fast movements are characterful and pointed. In sum, this interpretation reveals the 6th as a less grand and more intimate approach to the epic material behind the 5th Symphony. With the 12th Symphony, we are on special ground. Slovak was Mravinsky's Assistant Conductor at the time of the premiere in 1961, and we must regard this interpretation as authentic. The 12th is dedicated to Lenin and, if one believes the titles given to the four movements, is an account of the events of the October Revolution. However, it is one thing to regard these words from the standpoint of Party officials, and quite another to see how Shostakovich characterizes them in the music. Indeed, by the time one reaches the conclusion of this performance, one sees the Revolution as a great human tragedy rather than a victory. Here Shostakovich is employing the same devices he used in the finale of the 5th Symphony. Slovak's performance is robust and telling, and the impact of the coda is superb. Sound engineering throughout the disc is excellent. This is Shostakovich as he was meant to be heard.

This recording sounds like it was made by an amateur high school orchestra. Unfortunately Naxos orchestral recordings can be a bit of a lucky dip. Some of them are great (the Bax symphonies for example) whilst others, like this execrable cacaphony, are absolute shockers. Shostakovich would turn in his grave if he heard this one.