Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 [Import]

Dmitry Shostakovich (Composer), Mark Wigglesworth (Conductor), BBC National Orchestra of Wales (Orchestra), Joan Rodgers (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Joan Rodgers
• Orchestra: BBC National Orchestra of Wales
• Conductor: Mark Wigglesworth
• Composer: Dmitry Shostakovich
• Audio CD (September 25, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Bis
• ASIN: B00005Q44X
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,325 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: No. 1, 'De Profundis'

2. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: No. 2, 'Malaguena'

3. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: No. 3, 'Lorelei'

4. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: No. 4, 'The Suicide'

5. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: No. 5, 'On Watch'

6. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: No. 6, 'Madam, look!'

7. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: No. 7, 'In prison - At the Sante Jail'

8. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: No. 8, 'The Zaporozhian Cossack's Reply to the Sultan'

9. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: No. 9, 'O Delvig, Delvig!'

10. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: No. 10, 'The Death of the Poet'

11. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: No. 11, 'Conclusion'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An improbable sucess, but a very real one, June 15, 2009

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 (Audio CD)

This is a riveting account of the Shostakovich Sym. 14, which is based on a cycle of poems on the subject of death. Mark Wigglesworth showed a marked affinity for Shostakovich's idiom from the start of his cycle in 1997; this account was recorded in 1999. One wouldn't predict success. By consensus the Fourteenth is the most Russian of the symphonies, redolent of Slavic doom, whereas the two singers here, Joan Rodgers and John Tomlinson, are thoroughly British. Their tone lacks any Slavic timbre; as for their pronunciation, those of us who don't speak Russian can't comment. they certainly don't lack for confidence and forcefulness.

What Wigglesworth achieves is an improbable success, and he does it by turning this disjointed work, which is more a song cycle than a symphony, into a dramatic unity: you feel that you're attending a tense, dark chamber opera where life and death are at stake. He delivers wide mood swings, and even though tempos are slow, the focus remains on the ever-shifting orchestral part. Here the conductor finds instrumental effects that suddenly leap into terror, manic exhilaration, or eerie dirge at a moment's notice. The Fourteenth easily lapses into lugubriousness, but not here. For vocal splendor Rodgers and Tomlinson may not equal two other Westerners, Thomas Quasthoff and Karita Mattila, under Simon Rattle on EMI, but they are completely attuned to Wigglesworth ultra-dramatized approach.

When you consider Bis's state of the art sonics and the commitment of the Welsh BBC players, this is one of the most notable Shostakovich Fourteenths on disc.