Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93 (Karajan Gold Edition)

Dmitri Shostakovich (Composer), Herbert von Karajan (Conductor), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
• Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich
• Audio CD (July 23, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000001GKB
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,272 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #63 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Holy smokes!, October 12, 2000

By 

John Grabowski (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93 (Karajan Gold Edition) (Audio CD)

Perhaps no other orchestra/conductor combo could steamroller the listener quite like the BPO and Karajan. When the music called for sheer force, this combo was hard to beat. And this recording may be one of the two best examples of HvK and the BPO in full cry. (Their Mahler 6th recorded in 1976 is the other.) HvK's earlier 1966 performance of this symphony is faster and leaner, but this performance is more menacing and, to my ears, better-paced, especially in the first two movements. Here the opening Moderato is truly taken at that tempo (many conductors go too fast here, and the music loses much if it's "creeping" quality; the same holds true for the first movement of the Shostakovich Fifth), and the results are magnificent. The scherzo is truly hair-raising; while others, such as Haitink (believe it or not) take the movement much faster, the risk is that by playing it fast you lose some of the *weight,* particularly in the bowing of the strings. Even Karajan's 1966 reading, while faster, lacks the menace of this reading--this performance *weighs* more, and something I think some listeners fail to realize is that power is manifest by more than just speed.

Then we come to what I think are the two most problematic movements in the symphony. Karajan gets the third movement right to my ears; hard to describe, it's a quality of absurdness, of grotesque heroism, something twisted, like a Luis Bunuel film set to music. Then comes an even tougher movement, the "brain-dead" finale, as I like to call it. I cannot imagine a political and musical mind like Shostakovich--always probing, always doubting--serving up his happy-dance finale to be taken at face value. Or, if he did regard the death of Stalin as a triumph, it must have been a shallow triumph, for the tra-la-la music does not convince me. The most convincing reading I've ever heard of this movement belongs to Kurt Sanderling, who, unfortunately, is let down in much of the rest of the symphony by an underpowered orchestra. He catches a certain fey quality in the music that is very hard to put into words, however. I'd have to say, though, without going through my *entire* collection of DSCH 10ths, that Karajan comes in a close second. Again it's the weight in the passages of struggle--Karajan keeps this from being an easy and decisive triumph, and I'm left at the end feeling that the struggle could resume as soon as the recording ends. It's a satisfying ending to a work whose ending rarely satisfies me, and it's a tough job for a conductor. Karajan does well.

There are a few minor flubs that mar the recording. At one or two points in the complex first movement, sections are not quite together--barely noticible in most bands, but unusual for the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of the conductor famed for being a controlmeister. More troublesome, though, is the clarinet solo near the movement's opening. While the tone is apprpriately haunting, one long note is held at half-again its value, a surprising mistake in an orchestra of this caliber. Later in the movement again the clarinet is just not quite as tight as you'd expect. It's a minor blemish overall, however, and the rest of the performance more than makes up for it.

This is a great interpretation. I wouldn't want to also be without Karajan I, Sanderling, Haitink, Mitropoulos and maybe a few others, but this belongs in any Shostakovich collection.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, February 24, 2000

By 

Trevor Gillespie "sol_man" (San Jose, California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93 (Karajan Gold Edition) (Audio CD)

I bought this CD after hearing a live performance and was skeptical of it being able to impress as well as a live performance. However, knowing that it was Herbert von Karajan made for an easy choice of recordings. I must say that this CD impressed me MORE than the concert I attended. He really had a grasp on what Shostakovich was trying to say. Particularly fascinating is the portrayal of Stalin. A friend had told me upon hearing the symphony for the first time (without knowing it beforehand) had heard this part of the symphony and knew it was a portrayal of Stalin. I am not that well hearsed but after numerous listenings and a brief background check into Stalin, I do hear a great characterization of Stalin. Harsh, vindictive, and terror. Karajan elicits from his orchestra the necessary tempos, dynamics, and articulations to make you believe and know the story behind this work. Apart from this being a great performance, the symphony itself is the creation of a master. Solid, powerful, sublime at times----it is one of the pinnacles in Shostakovich's compositions.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, August 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93 (Karajan Gold Edition) (Audio CD)

The Tenth is certainly well represented in the catalogue. However, this particular performance was my introduction to Shostakovich's universe when it first appeared in 1981, and in the intervening years I have heard none better, in terms of performance and one of the splendid early DG digital recordings. Karajan only recorded this of Shostakovich's works and for that alone we must be truly appreciative. Pity he didn't do more.....