Shostakovich Symphony No.11

Various (Artist), Dmitry Shostakovich (Composer), Gerard Schwarz (Conductor), Seattle Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Seattle Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Gerard Schwarz
• Composer: Dmitry Shostakovich
• Audio CD (September 23, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Koch Schwann (Germ.)
• ASIN: B000001SXY
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #567,105 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Symphony No. 11 ' The Year 1905 ': The Palace Square

2. Symphony No. 11 ' The Year 1905 ': January 9th

3. Symphony No. 11 ' The Year 1905 ': In Memoriam

4. Symphony No. 11 ' The Year 1905 ': The Tocsin (The Alarm Bell)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, December 11, 1999

By 

Walter Brooks Jr. (Federal Way, Wa. 98023-8210) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shostakovich Symphony No.11 (Audio CD)

This is one the great recordings of Shostakovitch's "1905" Symphony. The orchestra and conductor were really able to bring out the full drama of a complex and difficult work. Complex because of its double meanings and wide ranging dynamics. The latter is a real tribute to the recording director. It is clear that the conductor really studied this piece and its history as well as Shostakovitch's intentions. With this recording Maestro Schwarz has catapulted himself and his orchestra into the highest ranks of the musical world.

The only recording that is close is the 2nd edition of the Stokowski - Houston Symphony DVD recordings. This recording in 1958 is the US premier at a time when Shostakovitch was viewed as a Communist lackey.

The Rostropovitch - National Symphony DVD is an entirely different approach derived from the conductor's personal relationship to the composer. Slava had promised Shostakovitch to record all of his works, a still incomplete endeavor.

You can not go wrong with the Seattle Symphony recording. One other point, this symphony is my favorite piece of music, just in case you can not tell.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh vibration of air on jaded eardrums... (a review for the classical layperson), December 19, 2005

By 

skiggety (Hudson, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shostakovich Symphony No.11 (Audio CD)

...That may seem like an odd thing to say about a piece written over half a century ago, but I think it will ring true for many who have not been previously exposed to Shostakovich's work.

(NOTE: the following review addresses this composition more than its recording.)

The jadedness of my ears can be attributed to many years of listening to jazz, metal, and progressive rock in addition to classical music. Here are a few reasons why this piece stands out among all of this as particularly interesting and enjoyable:

-Shostakovitch was capable of rejecting major tenents of western music (like _tonality_), but exercised this skill judiciously instead of going off the deep end.

-In this piece, the listener will find bold, unapolegetic use of dissonance. Any seasoned blues or jazz musician understands, as Shostakovich must have, that dissonance is a make-it-or-break-it proposition--used weakly, it underscores blandness, but when used forcefully it will transform a nice piece of music into something compelling.

-When thought of as a somewhat literal telling of a 1905 rebellion and massacre, this piece stands up as a fine example of music playing the role of a language--it is both communicative and lyrical. However, when dissassociated from the events that it chronicles, this piece becomes a stunning tour de force of different styles and moods, while never quite managing to lose that delicious, deep, dark flavor that one may come to expect from Shostakovich.

-The tonal pallettes of the instruments in this recording are well-utilized. I believe that this is a result of the composer and performers alike. When listening to this recording, I found myself frequently enjoying the way instruments made use of their range, and often produced timbres that were delightfully eyebrow-raising.

-This music is somewhat approachable for a wide array of listeners, while still proving to be a nice challenge for the ears. I have witnessed people with little or no interest in classical music enjoying this CD--to them, it seemed like an engaging film score (Shostakovich was also a fairly prolific film composer, incedentally).

This is an excellent recording of a piece that embodies many of the best things that the 20th century did to classical music. It has a lot to offer, for most anyone who takes a real interest in music--whether you normally enjoy classical music or not.

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Schwartz at his finest; the Seattle Symphony is why!, October 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Shostakovich Symphony No.11 (Audio CD)

Ah, yes, Dmitri Shostakovich. Musical genius, slight, semi-frail appearing, staunch supporter of the communist revolution. And, politics notwithstanding, one of the greatest symphonic authors of either of the two centuries he bridged. Every musical color of the rainbow, every flavorful nuance - and repeats by so many combinations of instruments you get marvelously lost in the codas. Is there such a thing as musical bombast? Shostakovich proves there is, but so brilliantly that, when his music is well executed, you not only don't mind, you look forward with almost breathless anticipation to the next flavor, the next nuance, the next color. That is, when the music is well executed. Gerry Schwartz, towering musical giant, brilliant conductor, is just the chap to pull it off. Gerry understands Shostakovich, perhaps with more insight than any musician alive. And the magnificent 11th gives him the opportunity to so demonstrate. Gerry manages to extract the full, rich musical flavor that Shostakovich must have intended; the excitement of the events leading to the confrontation in the Palace Square, the fear of the Guard, the desperate pathos of the Russian people under the heel of a ruthless Tsar, the imminent crumbling of a three hundred year old dynasty - how do you write music that can depict these colors? And how do you achieve the monumental task of translating the notes Dmitri penned, into the kind of musical treat this CD provides? You do it with one of the world's finest artist's palettes - the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Here, gathered into one group, is perhaps the most versatile assemblage of musical virtuosos in the world. While known for the musical brilliance of its brass and horns, and the versatility and ingenuity of its percussion and woodwinds, this orchestra stands apart because of the way the shining stars in the First Chairs work with each and every musician in their section. The result of this kind of brilliant collaboration, particularly on this CD, is a flawlessly executed musical extravaganza of the first rate - a musical feast for the ears, mind and heart that leaves you with exactly the message Shostakovich wanted the world to receive. Five glorious stars!!