Customer Reviews

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11: The Year 1905

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I first experienced this work many years ago, when Capitol Records (now part of EMI) released an LP set by Leopold Stokowski and the Houston Symphony Orchestra (still a favorite of mine, and presently available in well-mastered CD form from EMI). In subsequent years, I added performances by Bernard Haitink, Rudolf Barshai, and Rostropovich himself, when he had been the conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra. But it took only one hearing of this new "LSO Live" performance, with Rostropovich conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, for it to go to the top of this rather small pile of Shostakovich 11th Symphony recordings.

Shostakovich's 11th Symphony is a rather long, and very brooding, work. Ostensibly written to commemorate the 1905 Russian Revolution, its date of writing also suggests that it might contain one of his frequent "hidden messages," this one as a personal response to the Hungarian uprising and subsequent Soviet invasion of 1956. But perhaps it's best to ignore this highly-specific subtext, and simply accept the work as a more universal "commemoration to the victims of oppression everywhere."

Some Shostakovich symphonies (certainly the 1st, 5th, 8th and 10th, and perhaps the 6th and 9th) are heard in the concert hall much more frequently than this work, or for that matter, his other "war" symphony, the 7th ("Leningrad") Symphony. It follows - largely, anyway - that this work is not nearly as frequently recorded.

But, unless you are one who needs multiple versions of everything, this Rostropovich/LSO recording is likely to be the only one you'll ever need. Recorded live, it is, in a word, stunning. In fact, given its dynamic range - with much of the opening "Palace Square" Adagio performed barely above the level of a whisper - one has a hard time believing that it is in fact a live recording. Applause at the end (and surely it must have been overwhelming) has been edited out, and there is not even the smallest hint of audience noise; not a cough, not a candy-wrapper crinkling, absolutely nothing! I'm in awe just of the audience!

Rostropovich, one of Shostakovich's closest friends, understands this work (as well as the Russian themes that Shostakovich "encoded" into it) as well as anyone alive, if not better. Now, at age 75 (and several years after his National Symphony Orchestra recording), he seems to be "just hitting his stride."

The tension throughout is palpable. In the opening Adagio, and again in the 3rd movement Adagio, Rostropovich achieves the near-impossible in terms of creation of brooding intensity; the opening Adagio is nearly 4 minutes longer than those on my other versions without the slightest loss of tension. And at those points in the work where the tension does break and the full orchestral forces are "left off the leash," the LSO responds like the virtuoso orchestra it is.

Truly a performance not soon forgotten. And at the very nice "LSO Live" mid-price common to this series.

Bob Zeidler

This recording of Dimitri Shostakovich's 11th Symphony is a bit unusual: Mstislav Rostropovich adopted a much slower tempo in all of the movements. In fact, his recording is 16 minutes longer than the premiere recording by Mravinsky (Russian Revelation). The result is that the descriptive music, almost cinematic, is given a broader sweep. The brooding quality of the first movement is intensified and the violent confrontation of Bloody Sunday in the second movement seems all the more violent. (Gennady Rozhdestvensky has recorded the 11th with a second movement a minute longer than this recording). Rostropovich was quoted as applying the music of this symphony to the terrorist attacks of September 11, so this performance is more of an event. The slower tempos do make this symphony seem like one of the war symphonies (the 8th in particular) and more inspired than the faster tempos, say of Kondrashin (who recorded the 11th at a time of 54 minutes).

Although this recording with the London Symphony was a live performance there is no background noise and no applause at the end of the symphony, only the reverberation of the bells as the sound fades. This is a must have recording for Shostakovich lovers.

Shostakovich's 11th Symphony is more programmatic than most of his work in the symphonic canon and approaches his Symphony 7 "Leningrad" in spirit and word. Both are long and overstated symphonies about Russian history replete with ceremonial bombast and regular thematic repitition.

This symphony is billed as Shostakovich's take on the 1905 Russian pre-revolution although many analysts argue it is instead modeled after the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1953. In either case it paints a portrait of people and events with discontent bubbling not far below the surface then boiling over into a cauldron of mania.

Like in his integral set of Shostakovich symphonies, Rostropovich's response to this music is highly emotional and broadly paced. He takes more than 72 minutes to get through the score compared to conductors that traverse the music in closer to an hour. In his still famous performance in Houston, Stokowksi's total time was about 10 minutes shy of Rostropovich's concert recording for the LSO Live label.

I would characterize Rostropovich's approach to this music as nearly silent brooding punctuated by terror. This is most obvious in the way he presents the two quieter movements (1 and 3) and follows them with the more boisterous movements (2 and 4). The contrast between the quiet brooding of the opening section, which is said to represent people gathering at the palace, and the savage militaristic rhythms of the timpani- and brass-driven mania of the second movement (where the palace guard opens fire on the crowd) is exemplary of his approach.

Comapred to conductors who direct this score as concert music, Rostropovich's approach is more personal and far more Russian. His invovlement with the music is complete, his intensity is unrelenting, and his emtional conviction is 100 percent throughout. Whether this leads to a better outcome is questionable for the music is full of pathos without anything additional provided in the direction. I liken his approach to Leonard Bernstein conducting the Mahler symphonies.

The recording, taken from a pair of concerts in the Barbican in March 2002, is exceptionally truthful especially the rhythmic timpani and brass attacks in the second movement. The London Symphony Orchestra does not have the requesite power in the low brass and the wavering French tone in high brass to sound like a Russian band. Still it reflects the conductor's approach and is with him all the way emotionally.

I'd say this recording is most desirable for listeners that like their Shostakovich a bit overdone especially in the rhetorical sections where Rostropovich never fails to lay on the tonic with thick proportion.

I have never heard a more intense, powerful and mindblowing piece of classical music than Shostakovich's Second momement to his 11th symphony. I recommend the cd just for the second movement alone. He captures the terror of the 1905 revolution or any horrific event with this music. This piece is organized chaos, and thats a great thing. If the end of the world comes, (and I hope it doenst for a while) I'd very much like this piece playing when it happens. At least, I'll listen to a great piece of music when I'm killed by giant monsters.

Mstislav Rostropovich leads the London Symphony Orchestra in yet another distinguished recording for the LSO Live label, recorded during two live concerts in the Spring of 2002. Without question, Rostropovich's stately, brooding interpretation of Shostakovich's 11th Symphony sounds like one closest to the composer's intentions, which is not surprising since Rostropovich was a close friend of the composer. This interpretation is a bit longer than others I have heard - most notably Haitink's - but it sounds musically correct, replete with much of the sorrow and anguish Shostakovich felt as he composed this musical tribute and memorial to the failed Revolution of 1905. Since he was composing this symphony in the aftermath of the aborted Hungarian uprising in 1956; this too must have undoubtedly weighed heavily on his conscience as he composed this work. Critics have condemned it as incidental film music, but instead, it is truly a moving, mesmerizing musical depiction of 1905 and Shostakovich's bittersweet commemoration of it. The audio range of this recording is quite substantial, so be prepared to adjust the volume of your CD player accordingly. The sound quality is absolutely superb, which ranks among the finest I have heard in the LSO Live series. Without question this must be regarded now as the definitive recording of the Shostakovich 11th Symphony, and one that is available at a bargain.

Shostakovich wrote this symphony for the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution. Following the piece's performance, the soviet officials awarded him with the Lenin prize. Though the responses were different: some Russians found it too 'official' whereas the western media criticised it as 'glorified film music'. Nevertheless, the piece is now considered as deeply moving reflection on Russian history.

Shostakovich captures some of the important moments in the russian history, such as the huge demonstration of worksers and their families on January 9, 1905. As you'll remember, the demonstration had ended with the russian troops' massacre of the hundreds. And since Shostakovich wrote the piece in 1957, he surely must have been deeply affected by the Hungarian revolt of 1956, which cost the lives of 20,000 people.

According to his son, Maxim, however, Shostakovich did not depict history in his works; instead he expressed his feelings, and emotions toward the events. I think it's a little bit both. During the symphony, there are moments when you can really hear the troops killing the innocent families, and there are also moments when you can hear Shostakovich's helplessness about the situations.

The piece is organized in four movements. The first one, 'Palace Square', expresses the oppressive calm of the snow-covered square in front of the Winter Palace. The strings, gently, set the scene, preparing you for a sudden violence. Flutes make the introduction to the first of revolutionary songs, which are used often throughtout the piece. Then the cellos and basses join them. And that is exactly the moment, the second movement, '9 January' begins, harshly and violently. Shostakovich quotes from the Choral Poems: 'Bare your heads! On this mournful day the shadow of a long night passed over the earth!' And strings continue to depict the catastrophe, until the third movement.

The third and fourth movements are, as I've expressed before, Shostakovich's depiction of his own emotions toward the events. That is why he names them as 'in memoriam'. These sections are mixed with themes from the earlier movements. This also helps to form a sense of unity within the whole symphony.

Mstislav Rostropovich came to our school, Carnegie Mellon Uni., to tell of his music and his life. He did not know English. However, he managed to express what he wanted to tell, with his emotions. He told of Shostakovich too, for they were best friends during the period. I could not decipher what exactly Rostropovich was trying to say, but I've felt his intentions and feelings. Russians are very poetical people, or perhaps they are the people who were persuaded to show their emotions in the shade of the important events that took place.

Like others posting here, I too was shocked by the extremely slow tempos of this performance, but I was just as impressed by the power of it. Somehow, at this painfully slow tempo, Rostropovich is able to hold a central pulse for each movement; it has been my experience that regardless of what type of music being played, it's quite hard to keep good time with such slow tempos. The fact that a large orchestra can keep such time over such a long work gives an impression that they are very committed to this performance.

I do have a gripe about the mastering on this CD. The dynamic range is probably the broadest I have ever heard on any music mastered in the digital domain. This CD is not at all suitable for casual listening. You must be completely focused on it. If you also try to listen to it with other people in the house, you'll constantly have to be toying with the volume knob, as this disc ranges from a barely audible whisper to barely controllable loudness. It's best experienced in solitude, turned way up, or with headphones, where you won't be disturbed. This is a great album, but not a CD for all seasons.

After having extensively vilified the practice of live recording in a recent review of Berlioz's Romeo et Juliette, along comes this Shostakovich 11th, and I humbly stand corrected. This recording was made live at the Barbican in London, not a hall renowned for spectacular acoustics. Nevertheless the sound, though very dry, is ample, transparent and has a tremendous dynamic range. And though admittedly there are one or two distant coughs and some other extraneous noises, these are negligible and don't draw attention away from the music. Of course this has everything to do with Rostropovich's totally compelling vision of this work. I could muster very little enthusiasm for his earlier Teldec recordings (some of them now reissued on the Ultima label), which to me sounded invariably gray and uncommitted. This 11th though is just about perfect in just about every way. The endless, gloomy stretches of the snowy Palace Square, minimal music avant-la-lettre, had me frozen to my seat as they should - never can these soft, grinding sequences of chords have sounded more eerie. Next is the great demonstration and massacre scene of January 5, inexorably building up to a sensational climax that is again chilling to the bone. All the rapid string dialogue that precedes it is realized spot-on, with full and powerful tone that is not at all concerned with being beautiful, - as it should not be! And for the massacre itself Rostropovich chooses a deliberate tempo that is thoroughly in character with the mechanistic brutality of the murdering Tsarist troops. What a pity though that he feels the need to insert two untoward, overblown ritenuto's at the height of the drama instead of letting the machine run its course the way it should.
Sure, the third movement may not be one of Shostakovich's most shattering inspirations; however, Rostropovich takes it as seriously as the rest of the work, to great effect. Instead of a somewhat dragging thing you have to sit through to reach the drama of the finale, it becomes a quite moving, somewhat nostalgic piece in itself, with the Russian folksongs clearly articulated. The finale is again nothing short of perfect. The detail and transparency of the sound are as striking as the passion of the playing: the panick-stricken bells at the end cut through the textures splendidly, so that they acquire rhythmic and harmonic meaning instead of merely adding an extra colour to the prevailing clamour; and when the bass drum joins the general gallop in the final bars the effect is utterly overwhelming.
This work is not one of Shostakovich's best reputed; but hey, if I can sit in a chair and listen to it for 70+ minutes with unflagging interest, at times even in awe, it's good enough for me. The question if it's a symphony, a tone poem or a "mere" movie score seems therefore rather pointless. If you don't know it, try it: the price of this disc can hardly be called more than symbolic! If you know it already, chuck out your other recording(s) - this one is better!

The Eleventh Symphony is probably the most underrated so far in the Shostakovich cycle. What distinguishes this work from the other masterpieces like the 8th and 10th is the unremitting, intense finale, which doesn't seem to break into a major key once, and leaves listeners quite firmly and loudly in the minor. In a way, the true finale to a "tragic" work of a rather "tragic" composer.

At any rate, this recording is almost the definition of this piece. It has the perfect tempi, which are slower than "usual," adding weight but not lacking in intensity. In addition, this is probably the only recording which ends the piece correctly, with a massive "thwack" on the tam-tam and chimes that rings into infinity.

In addition, I must point out my favorite detail of this recording: the cor anglais solo in the Tocsin. With Rostropovich and the LSO, this is done the correct way: deathly slow to the point of pain, and totally heartbreaking.

My only problem with this and every LSO Live recording is the sheer flatness of the recording. Most of the brass and woodwinds come out of the texture, but the general feeling is rather compressed and unnatural, especially in the bass (cello and double bass, drums, tuba, etc.)

But regardless of the sound quality, this is a must-hear performance. Period. Get it. Now.

This new recording of Shostakovich Eleventh symphony was made during a "live" performance of the London Symphony Orchestra and Mstislav Rostropovich at the Barbican Centre on March 2002.

The first movement "palace square" starts with cold atmospheric playing from the lso. shostakovich draws us the snow covered the square, in front of the palace. Straight in the beginning, you can sound the detailed playing of the orchestra, like the plucking on the strings. rostropovich make the listener to focused in every note, he shaping the building of every section slowly and measured, make the music full with mysterious. In the first development we hear a dimmer timpani, underline the strings, after he disappear the snare drum is enter. Here the sound from the engineers is outstanding. The drummer sound like dropping rain being from far away, and its very special for that. To this passages the trumpet is enter covering the snare drum. Now we enter to the middle of the movement, here the music is more intense. Still, Rostropovich continence to take the music on the measured side. The horns and the darkness brass playing are all take under control, give the music more power and meaning. In the end of the movement you can feel that rostropovich really no the material of this symphony, The spirit of Shostakovich is in every note the lso playing. Strange whispers close the impressive movement, leave us with bleak feeling.

Without a pause the second movement "9 January" starts. From the first notes, playing by the strings now on the lower key, shostakovich take from us the cold feeling of the "palace square" music, bringing to the music more energetic feeling. Rostropovich flows the music perfectly between the more massive sections into the silence sections. Here you can feel the battle between fears and hopes. In the silence sections there is lovely details from the orchestra, like the gently woodwind playing. In the end of the first half time of the movement there is shattered feeling in the air, the fear take the control.

The next subject is the march. Here the approach of Rostropovich is with emphasis on the more massive scale. He takes all the ecstasy and the brutality into the edge. Many would say that Shostakovich bombast marches are kitsch. I think that a real shostakovichian conductor will show to you that those who think like that are wrong, and i can say to you with confident that rostropovich like kondrashin and mravinsky is a conductor from this area. He clearly aware to the essential impact of the march, and he delivery him with shatteringly playing from the lso, shows us that they are also in top of the case. The march ends, and now likes a flashback the "palace square" music is entering to the picture, like Shostakovich reminds us from where all start. The last two movements are masterfuly made by Rostropovich and the LSO.

The CD comes on a bargain price, the sound is clear and the booklet notes are also very fine. A truly stunning performance, and a must have in every Shostakovichian shelf.