Customer Reviews

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 / Britten: Russian Funeral

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am not a music critic, I just listen. I'm not really
well-trained to analyze most classical. And for me it is almost
impossible to really "understand" a good piece of classical music
on a recording, I've got to hear it live. Unfortunately this symphony
is almost never heard live because (I got this from a conductor)
it takes a "budget-busting" orchestra, and is also very difficult to
play. Perhaps the fact that it was not heard for 25 years after
it was composed due to concerns of the composer about the reaction of
the Soviet authorities has something to do with it, I don't know.

Too bad, because despite the fact that 2 of the movements
are about 25 minutes long, as a listener I don't find it any more
challenging to listen to than most of Shost.'s symphonies (I'll exclude
the 2 that are vocally-dominated). I think it's just a great piece
of music, an extraordinary composition, maybe one of the most
underrated symphonies. And as you listen, you can imagine Shostakovich
reacting to what was going on in Soviet society in the 1930's. I
found the notes that come with this CD succinct and very useful. The
writer discusses Shost.'s studying of Mahler, but Shost. gives us
not Mahler's world, but rather a picture of the first Five Year Plan,
what was supposed to be the "archetype" of Soviet success, yet in the
music we hear "the underlying horror and falseness of it all."

The final movement is incredible - there is a weird divertimento
dance part (but it doesn't sound as bizarre as some of Shost.'s
other music), then towards the end a loud, intense, stunning 2-minute
scherzo that another composer might end with, but instead Shost.
chooses to end with 4 quiet, subtle minutes that the notes call a
"requiem." I can only imagine how I'd feel hearing all this live -
maybe one day I will!

I've heard only this version, so I can't make comparisons, but
as far as I'm concerned it is quite first rate.

What is there to say about Shostakovich's Fourth? It wasn't controversial; there are no hints of propaganda or government intervention except in the purposely delayed premiere. It certainly isn't as "nice" as the "war" symphonies, which are on the whole more musically conservative. So what we have to go by, unusually for Shostakovich, is pure music. I like it that way; I personally would find such a diverse and colorful (yes, mostly gloomy colors, but this is Shostakovich we are dealing with) work highly corrupted by any extra-musical nonsense.

At any rate, what we have is two gargantuan and epic movements sandwiching a tiny, grotesque scherzo. The first movement is perhaps the most fragmented and abrupt; however closer analysis reveals a highly structured and rather simple design. The second is barely a wisp compared to the others, but it contains an important motif which will come to dominated the late works of Shostakovich: the strange percussion coda. The third is perhaps the most bizarre, opening with a slow funeral march introduced by a timpani in a tri-tone and then making its way through perverted dances and innocently pastoral, chirpy tunes to a huge climax, which dies down into several minutes of deathly eerie reflections of the piece dominated by a simple c minor arpeggio in the celesta.

I have more recordings of this piece than is probably normal, but each one has something different to offer. The little detail I like most about this one is actually the first bass drum entrance, which delivers a proper thwack, unlike all of the other recordings I own.

Aside from that (which isn't really a big deal) the playing is spectacular, and the sound quality nearly the best you can get. Rattle delivers energy in all the right places. The subsequent whole is not as coherent as I think Ormandy's or Sinaisky's with the BBC is (not for sale that I know of, which is really too bad), but is definitely very thrilling.

Of the movements, Rattle's first is the best. The second and third are well-done, but not as tight as Gergiev's, Ormandy's, or indeed Sinaisky's impossible-to-find one.

Nonetheless, this is one of the staple choices for this piece. Listen to this one many, many times. Make sure your subwoofer is in place, knock down a few walls with the opening, and hope that the neighbors don't complain.

I have had this recording for a few years, but never really listened to it closely until the other evening. What struck me in particular was the excellent playing of the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. I also think that Rattle does an admirable job of conducting this work. He is painstakingly precise, and able to inject the music with truly strong emotion in just the right places. Of course, this is one of those works that haunts the memory, and evokes so many amazing dark visions; but at the same time, like a painting by Klee or a story by Kafka, it is a darkness you love because it contains a great depth of humanity amidst the nightmarish ambience. Rattle understands this perfectly well, and delivers a performance that is both terrifying as well as sensitive to the innate dark beauty of the work.

Most music lovers who have had the privilege of hearing the Shostakovich Symphony No. 4 played in a concert hall can deny that despite the paucity of performances (this work requires a huge orchestra and a world class one at that in order to do this work justice) this is surely one of Shostakovich's masterpieces. Simon Rattle and his orchestra give a stunning reading with all the power and angst and fury and sensitivity that the work demands. Every ear has preferences for different details and some of those details may be missing in this recording.

But for sheer genius of programming, Rattle decided to end this hour long work which evaporates into the atmosphere in its closing bars by adding Benjamin Britten's ' Russian Funeral' for 3 trumpets, 4 horns, 4 trombones, tuba and percussion written by Britten in 1936 - at the same time Shostakovich finished this symphony. It is eerily an homage to Shostakovich's time and struggle that prevented the world from hearing his 4th symphony for 25 years. It seems as though this is Rattle's reminder of the sanctity of the relationship of composers and music despite the politics of the world. At any rate the performance of the Britten Russian Funeral is worth adding this fine recording of Shostakovich's great symphony to the library. Grady Harp, December 11

My favorite version of this symphony is still Haitink's Decca version, an everyone should hear that version. However, this reading by Simon Rattle is just as good, though in a very different way.

Where Haitink made the music sound more creepy and open-spaced, Rattle lets it scream to its full height. The result is a reading that will thrill you through and through. Rattle takes the whole first movement fast; and this may be his only mistake. There are moments where, such as at 1:42 where the opening music screeches to a halt. With Rattle, those screeches are more subdued even though his overall attack is more vicious than Haitink's. The Dutch conductor on the other hand, by keeping the music more steady, gets full impact when the climaxes come. The only other thing is the "tapping" at the end of the second movement. Dulled sound, rather than resonant.

But those are relatively mild quibbles. The other aspects of the performances are absolutely grand. This version of the finale really burns into your mind. You'll feel like you've been to another planet by the end of this symphony; a dark and murky planet. Rattle brings off the "swan in the pond" episode (that's what I call it) beautifully. This section starts at 9:31 and lasts until 18:00, and is about the most beautiful and moving moments that Shostakovich ever wrote. A meek theme from the violins signal the start of the ending, as we are brought reluctantly away from this strange but comforting music. And then Rattle pulls off the most thrilling part of the symphony masterfully, the strings subside and the drum burst on the scene and there is a huge upswell from the orchestra bringing us to the famous closing. The "real" ending is harrowing, and even though Rattle's version is fast the loneliness of these last moments is no less moving.

So, I fully recommend Haitink's version if you want to explore the music at a more moderate pace, but you'll also want this one to get this version by Simon Rattle to experience this thrilling and heart-pounding vision.

"What passing bells for these who die as cattle?" The Russian - not Soviet - citizenry would have been asking themselves this very question as Uncle Joe decimated their ranks in the mid to late 1930s. Answer: the Shostakovich Fourth. Its last movement in particular is reparation for all the dross he wrote elsewhere. To do justice to this astounding masterpiece, a conductor needs to be an amalgam of Isaiah and Lucifer himself. It is a great pity that Mravinsky did not bequeath a performance to us. In his absence, is Sir Simon the man for the job?

Aeschylus informs us that those who learn must suffer. Furtwangler's trials and tribulations do not need to be recounted. Karajan's decision to join the Nazi party was a Shirt of Nessus that he rightly wore for the rest of his life. Lenny made some `unwise choices' over the course of his life and furthermore, he had to live with the tension of not being the composer he ideally wanted to be.

What of Sir Simon? I wonder. Fame and success came early in life. In his twenties he was taking phone calls from Herbie and accompanying the likes of Gilels. From a PR perspective, he has always been funkily appealing to the rearguard of Generation X. Shorn of his Samsonian locks, I wonder how much success would have come his way if he had looked more like my good friend Rufus von Goldbeak - the man with the bullet-proof glasses. There is no doubting that Sir Simon is a serious musician with integrity. Time ruthlessly audits our labours - yours, mine and his. How many of his `stones will make it to Stonehenge'?

Before I relistened to this performance, I would have declared that Rattle's Tenth with the Berliners and this Shostakovich Fourth were torrs that might feature in the Magic Circle. After all, there is no place in Stonehenge for crumbly sandstone (his Bruckner, Brahms, Schubert, Strauss, Beethoven et al). Now I am not so sure.

This performance of the Shostakovich Fourth is well shaped. The enormous paragraphs are held together. Rattle the Fusspot is not in evidence. It hums along nicely and more. One vital ingredient, however, is missing: it ultimately lacks a sense of the demonic, particularly in the last movement: the tunic-clad Slayer of Nations fails to make an appearance. Moreover, Sir Simon has never been able to make a fine orchestra sound great or a great orchestra sound luminescent. As recorded here, the CBSO sounds like a first rate British orchestra that manifestly fails to take one's breath away.

The Jansons, by comparison, cuts closer to the bone Shostakovich: Symphony #4 - Mariss Jansons/Bavarian Radio Symphony. For all its merits, it still does not dispel the longing for a Mravinsky performance.

More widely, what is to be done with Sir Simon?

Oiur friend needs to extract himself from the `tofu latte / organic chicken farming' scene. Believe it or not, there is actually a Cistercian Monastery - Tarrawarra - up the road from where I live here in Melbourne. I am sure the monks would be happy to house Sir Simon for a year. Mind you, there is no Pantene on tap in the showers - only no-name soap. The beds are hard and the food is simple. Silence prevails. A year of reflection away from the bright lights would do Sir Simon a world of good and deepen his music-making. But I suspect it is not going to happen anytime soon. In the meantime, he will continue to crank out C+ to B + grade performances with the Berlin Philharmonic (as they are called nowadays). EMI is already in dire straits; I wonder how much of a loss-leader Sir Simon is on their books. It is not as if his recordings are selling like hot-cakes.

In short, this is a commendable performance even if it fails manifestly to trawl the lower depths.

This performance of Shostakovich's SYMPHONY NO. 4 just has to be the definitive one. All of the agony and anger that was built up inside this Russian master is unleashed in this music. The pity is that because of the cultural atmosphere present in the Soviet Union at the time of its composition that it took so long for this witness to history to be born. In the hands of Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra every wrenching tear comes pouring forth.

Perhaps it's not fair to Benjamin Britten to have his RUSSIAN FUNERAL on the same recording as the Shostakovich #4. Perhaps it would have been wise for the producers of this album to release the Shostakovich all by itself. Can any other music follow this magnificent musical experience?

The Britten comes across as music for the theater or for film, and is not a shining example of Britten's talent. But, since the Britten is so short it is not a waste to buy this CD for the Shostakovich alone. You will not be disappointed in this remarkable performance by Rattle and Birmingham.

Maybe the Russian commissar was right, and this is not "good Russian" music. But I don't go to a good movie to be placated into stupor. Sure my blood sugar to Rattle's rendition rattled off at 207. Just to be sure I also listened to Previn's Chicago Symphony No. 4.

That got two good reviews for five stars. Some say it is slow, I don't think so. Kondrashin is also excellent. I just needed something new.

Rattle followed Previn at the Los Angeles Symphony as conductor and here he also does Britten, with the Russian Funeral. Previn did Britten's Four Sea Interludes. Read GRAMOPHONE for September
if you like a more professional review article on the 4th Symphony.

We should not neglect troublesome music because that was the history of a lot of the Twentieth Century...