Customer Reviews

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8

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When I was attending the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, I would often drive down 95 to hear the National Symphony play. Slava was music director then, and he often got uneven results from his band. The Russian/Soviet repertory, however, was the one area in which both Slava and his orchestra consistantly excelled. The pathos of this music is brought out in vivid, slashing colors. The brasses snarl, the strings are supple and strong, the winds pungeant and evocative of tone. This is perhaps, along with the No. 7 "Leningrad" his definitive wartime symphony. It's a great ride with this master of the Russian repertoire and his orchestra.

If this was the only recording of the 8th I'd heard, I would not know it was one of the greats of the 20th century. It is, and I know because I've heard Solti's recording with the Chicago Symphony from 1989 (Decca #425 675-2). Where Rostropovich and his National fall down is in the pivotal 2nd and 3rd movements, the Allegretto and Allegro non troppo. This is the climax, the battle scene, with horrifying string passages and the insanity of war conveyed by a lone trumpet. In contrast to Solti and Chicago's taut snap and anticipation , Rostropovich and the National are mushy here, and miss the mark. The other movements are fine, but the overall impact is ruined because the climax is muffed. With the Solti out-of-print, the best version is Haitink's (see my 10/10/03 review).

The notes by Hurwitz are not accurate -- this disc was recorded at the JFK Center in Washington in 1991, not Moscow, so it's not "an event." There may be a recording of the 8th from Rostropovich's first return to Russia since he left in 1972, but this is not it.

UPDATE) Unfortunately the new live 8th recordeded by Rostropovich and the London Symphony Orchestra in 2004 is even slower and less compelling, despite the beatiful playing by the orchestra (see my review), so my recommendation stands to go with Haitink!

Rostropovich was a living legend, but not as a conductor, a profession he took up without the necessary technical training. His best composer was Shostakovich, no doubt, but both his recordings of the Eighth fall short. This one, recorded in 1991 at the Kennedy Center (not live in Russia as David Hurwitz wrongly implies), finds the National Sym. in scrappy form -- exhibiting neither virtuosity nor a deep grasp of Russian style -- and Rostropovich himself cannot always sustain the needed intensity to make such a tragic work emotionally memorable and viserally compelling. The first and fourth movements are especially guilty of slackness, while the middle two movements seem choppy.

The second time around, in 2004 with the LSO, Rostropovich had grown far more intense, but his approach feels crude and aggressive too much of the time. Granted, some critics hailed it as a classic, but others were put off by the lack of technical command, always a problem with him. In any event, this bargain reissue offers a fair-to-good reading that can't stand up to the best by Mravinsky (Philips and BBC Legends), Bychkov (Philips) and Previn (EMI and DG), to name five I greatly admire.

Listing to this CD after I bought it was my first experience with Shostakovich's eighth symphony, the National Symphony, and Rostropovich. I was absolutely astounded. The playing is flawless and full of energy. The interpretation emphasizes the terror and irony.

Extremely highly recommended.

Shostakovich's "War" Symphony gets a phenomenal reading from its definitive interpreter. Not my favorite symphony but the playing is marvelous. The National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C. has become the perfect instrument through which Slava can interpret these masterpieces. Highly Recommended!