Customer Reviews

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15 / Sonata No.2

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In his late life Dmitri Shostakovich so admired Eugene Ormandy's conducting of his works that he gave him the right to the first American performances of the last 3 symphonies. How much admired? Shostakovich took the risk of getting a smuggled copy of the semi -banned 13th Symphony to him for performance. Till his death Ormandy never revealed how it had been smuggled. This perceptive performance of the 15th shows Shostakovich's faith was well placed. Aided by a score notated by the composer Ormandy brings clarity and a sense of purpose to a score that has baffled many. I would hope as another reviewer has that RCA will finally release the performances of the 13th and 14th under Ormandy. Like the 15th they are admired not just by critics and listeners but by the composer himself.

This symphony, when I first heard it, perplexed me, to say the least. I am a big fan of Shostakovich, especially the piano works (24 preludes and fugues, piano concertos and piano quintet are all incredible), but this was the latest work of his I had ever heard. As I listened more and more, however, I became increasingly impressed with it. Despite the sparseness of the first movement it stills carries the power of Shostakovich. There are some very musically profound moments all throughout the symphony. The sonata is amazing. Emil Gilels interpretation is easily the best one I have ever heard. He takes it from a very cool, almost stoic perspective. It fits the music perfectly. The mechanical precision brings out the genius and power of this great work. I highly recommend this CD.

I got to know Shostakovich's 15th from the LP of this performance, the work's first recording (in the West, anyhow). It has come up well in RCA's stunning remastering, and is still the best performance overall that I know. Ormandy paces the enigmatic piece moderately, never over-emphasizing any of the contrasting moods (as Jansons does in his more- too?- full-blooded approach, with the LPO on EMI), or rushing it to try and whip up excitement (as Neeme Jarvi does on DG with the Gothenberg Orchestra). Haitink's old Decca version is very good (as are all his Shotakovich symphonies- you could do worse than buy the box set), but Ormandy had the better band, and the added focus born of premiering the work.
Couplings help decide the issue: Jarvi has been reissued in a 2-cd set with his Shostakovich 13th & 14th Symphonies: good value if you don't have any of them, and fine singing from Sergei Leiferkus in 14, but still a rush in 15. Jansons is coupled with the Second Piano Concerto, beautifully played by Mikhail Rudy, but it's a better idea to get both concertos on one disc: I'd recommend Bronfman or Hamelin. The RCA disc couples Ormandy's reading with a justly famous, magisterial performance of the Second Piano Sonata by Emil Gilels: game and match. I heartily agree with the reviewer ryzzard that Ormandy's 14th should be reissued: another first recording, featuring the great Phyllis Curtin. The way things are going with BMG, though, I'd say don't hold your breath.
In '97 DG released a recording of a transcription of the 15th Symphony for violin, cello, piano, celeste and percussion, played by Gidon Kremer's group Kremerata Musica. It doesn't quite work as a cogent piece of music, since Shostakovich always thought orchestrally, but it's very interesting to hear the bones of the piece's structure laid bare. I don't know if this CD is still available.
Meanwhile, 5 stars for Ormandy, and for Gilels. The symphony is a haunting masterpiece.

Ormandy had a special affection with Shostakovich symphonies . Watch for instance , the Fourth and the Tenth symphonies . The fourth is the best of the market by far and the tenth is just behind the colossal and unbeatable perfromance of Mitropoulus . In this case this symphony is a special rendition to Wagner music . The specila rendez vous about the Ring could suggest the fall of the Soviets Gods . Pitifully Shostakovich could not see the end of the Empire , but he had this suspicion . You know the artists have that special sense far beyond the common people calls the sixth senes . i wolud define it as a hypersensibility deeply inmersed in the mind and the soul of this prodigious musician . Ormandy plays this symphony with noblesse and very well dosified rage . and the strings of the Philadelphia are as you know the most powerful in all the universe of the american orchestras .

The Second Sonata is deeply introspective , meditative and very touching . This work has been unfairly neglected for the most of the keyboardists . It is a litle jewel .

Shostakovich had always something to say about all in his camera works . Notice the Sonata for Cello , the astonishing piano quintet or his string quartets , a micro universe in themselves .

Excellent performance of Gilels in this piano work .

To be brutally honest, Ormandy sleepwalks through a dreary performance of the 15th - listen to Barshai for an example of how to make this symphony work - but it's worth getting the CD for Gilels' wonderful version of the second sonata.

This recording was one of the first Symphony #15 received, and it was a landmark performance. While the Sonata is a wonderful pairing, I really wish RCA/BMG/Sony would issue Symphony #13 and #14. They far outstrip all competition in the field. I even wonder, now that BMG and Sony are together, if a huge box set could be issued of Symphonies 1, 4, 5, 10, 13, 14, and 15, all with Ormandy and Philadelphia, and all in stellar sound. I'd even wonder if others lurk in the Philadelphia vaults that could be added, say 7, 9 or 11. Judging by the quality of those performances I know, I'd leap at a recording by Ormandy of as many of the Shostakovich symphonies as BMG/Sony want to put together. But PLEASE bring us #13 and #14!!!

Back in 1972, Eugene Ormandy conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in the first American recording of Shostakovitch's final symphony, and my first introduction to this work was in the mid-'70s, when I purchased an RCA boxed set that contained these forces' renditions of Shostakovitch's three final symphonies. I'm surprised that RCA let this recording languish so long in their vault before releasing it in CD format, but they have finally redeemed themselves with this splendid release in their High Performance series. The sound quality is excellent--not quite as dynamic and powerful as the recent Jansons release discussed above, but certainly commendable overall--and what makes this release even more attractive is the coupling, Emil Gilels's rendition of Shostakovitch's Piano Sonata No. 2, which was originally recorded in 1965. Moreover, the original liner notes from both releases are included in the CD booklet, making this a complete and fulfilling re-release indeed. For fans of the music of Dmitri Shostakovitch, this release should be cause for celebration.

five stars, the wonderful Shostakovich Symphony No 15 arrived well before eta and in perfect condition. Thank you

It's habitual for Amazon reviews to turn into cheerleading, but despite the affection Ormandy seems to arouse, this isn't a very good Shostakovich 15th. Ormandy's phrasing is too bland and uninflected. As execution, he leads the Phiadelphia Orchestra in the way one expects--the sound is plush and carefully modulated. But Shostakovich needs a lot more than that. There's no irony, savagery, or despair in this reading. Just of the versions I own, the ones by Feodesev, Haitink, Sanderling, and Mravinsky stand far ahead of this one.

This version of Shostakovich is horrible. Toward the last part of his conducting career, Ormandy's orchestra makes distinctive errors in playing. Of course, one has to be trained and has to be quick to hear these errors. I have many other versions of Shostakovich's 15th and his piano sonata. The piano sonata itself is ok, but the 15th in this version totally ruins the show.