Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 in C minor,Op.43

Dmitri Shostakovich (Composer), Neeme Jarvi (Conductor), Scottish National Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Scottish National Orchestra
• Conductor: Neeme Jarvi
• Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich
• Audio CD (October 28, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Chandos
• ASIN: B000000AHT
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,358 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely riveting !, October 26, 2003

By 

Jeffrey Lee (Asheville area, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 in C minor,Op.43 (Audio CD)

There seems to be little doubt that profoundly troubling influences were exerted on Shostakovich's emotions around the time he was in the process of creating this symphony, the first of his more mature large masterworks. He felt compelled, though with reluctance, to suppress this work in 1936. It did not surface for its premiere until late December, 1961. Once performed in concert, it generated all sorts of speculation. Only five years prior, the composer himself had issued some reservations about it. But I have no intention of probing further here the political and ideological aspects of the accompanying story. The main focus is this big, outspoken, abstruse and bewitching opus, and when one has the good fortune of hearing as dedicated, perceptive and exciting a performance as that served up here by Neeme Jarvi and the Scottish National Orchestra, the entire experience becomes special. This is not the first time I have encountered the "give it all it's worth " effort from this team of musical forces. (See my review of their recording of the Shostakovich Tenth.) With Jarvi at the helm, you'd better be prepared to hold tight and not let go. It should also be said that the Chandos sound engineers do a beautiful job of assisting in clearly bringing to light every aspect of this spellbinding journey. For one thing, you will be impressed with the urgency and sometimes explosive power the conductor and orchestra bring to the first movement. One can easily pick up on the influence of Mahler. Here and there, it seems as if Shostakovich is employing that composer's cloak to issue mocking musical commentary. The second movement carries Mahler's influence even further, once more intertwining it with the sometimes ominous, unpredictable elements of Shostakovich's own living environment. In the third and final movement, Jarvi deftly communicates some of the symphony's more pungent and powerful aspects, while managing to retain an air of dangerous anticipation. His complete portrayal is terribly convincing. Whether you are unfamiliar with or curious about this symphony or you have heard other interpretations of it, you owe it to yourself to listen to Jarvi and the Scottish National Orchestra. Regardless of the direction you are coming from, you should find yourself strongly impressed.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shostakovich with all the edges rough, October 26, 2005

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 in C minor,Op.43 (Audio CD)

Jarvi's reading is glaring and hard-edged, bringing out the mechanistic side of this enigmatic work. He makes it sound like a raw industrial symphony, which is an exciting approach. His Scottish orchestra is a bit thin, and the recorded sound has some glare, so one can't expect the refined, sophisticated sound that is available from Haitink, Chung, and Gergiev--I prefer all those recordings over this one. But the Fourth is the hardest of Shostakovich's symphonies to carry off, and Jarivi's rawer approach is convincing.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE interpretation, October 2, 2004

By 

Jonathan Simmonds (sarasota Fl) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 in C minor,Op.43 (Audio CD)

This is it. No other reading comes near to that of Mr.Jarvi's I have had this for a couple of years and was also fortunate to hear it live in London at the Albert Hall by the the Mevrinsky orchestra under Gergiev. This was dissapointing. The Jarvi reading is spectacular,incidently all Jarvi'CDs have that special sound. I dont know what it is.after leaving Scotland Jarvi in the late 90's. Jarvi is now based USA- but I have not heard the kind of sound he genertsted wirh the SNO in the US.
Try also ( Chandos with the SNO)- the complete set of Prokoffiov symphonies