Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Officious readings, June 14, 2001
The name of Ladislav Slovak didn't sound familiar to me when I first listened to this coupling of Shostakovich symphonies. According to the notes in the CD booklet this conductor had been present at the first rehearsals of some of this composer's late symphonies conducted by Mravinsky with Shostakovich himself there to give his blessing. This information may be of no significance whatsoever if these performances were nothing but poor, but they aren't. Despite they are not direct rivals to versions by Previn, Haitink or Rozhdestvensky, (mostly because this slovak orchestra is not first-class but also because the recording sound lacks some definition) Slovak seems knowleadgeable enough for this music in terms of phrasing and balance of the ensemble to find his moments of poetry through this outstanding scores even with an under-strenght orchestra. This readings are officious, if not highly polished; however, on the whole, the Naxos label did better with Alex Rhabari and the BRT philarmonic on this same programme.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Flawed liner notes but a fine performance, June 16, 2008
A small item I wanted to mention is that Naxos somewhat flubbed the deal on the liner notes for this CD, at least for my copy. Pages 1 and 7 are okay but all the interior pages detail the works of Tchaikovsky!
Beyond that, I enjoyed this recording a great deal which features, in my opinion, two of Shostakovich's three greatest symphonies. (I'm really hot on Symphony No. 13, "Babi Yar" as well). The Fifth (in D-minor, op. 47, in four movements, 48:16) comes across as quite serious and in step with other (state approved) Soviet works of the era while the Ninth (in E-flat major, op. 70, conveyed in five movements, 25:21) is more lighthearted, an actuality which landed Shostakovich in hot water with the Communist political regieme.
From Wikipedia: "The composer's response to his denunciation [of certain earlier works] was the Fifth Symphony of 1937, which was, because of its fourth movement, musically more conservative than his earlier works. It was a success, and is still one of his most popular works."
"[He] finished composing [the 9th] on 30 August 1945. The symphony turned out to be a completely different work as he had originally planned, with neither soloists nor chorus and the mood was much lighter than expected. He forewarned listeners, 'In character, the Ninth Symphony differs sharply from my preceding symphonies, the Seventh and the Eighth. If the Seventh and the Eighth symphonies bore a tragic-heroic character, then in the Ninth a transparent, pellucid, and bright mood predominates.' By order of Glavrertkom, the central censorship board, the work was banned on 14 February 1948 in his second denunciation together with some other works..."
The truth is, both symphonies are spectacular and I felt that Conductor Ladislav Slovák and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra performed them both marvelously in this instance. I also compliment Naxos for a good job, if not a flawless one, on capturing a great performance on these 1987-88 DDD recordings.
Highly recommended.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Frustrating, January 24, 2008
Ladislav Slovak is a fine conductor, and on the surface this CD has a lot going for it. The performance of the Fifth is beautifully etched, with especially vivid outer movements. The tempo for the last movement is slow and excellently sustained through the coda, a very distinctive take on this movement. The problem is with the sound. It is rather opaque, with a limited dynamic range. At times in the slow movement it is hard to tell exactly what is going on. The sound in the Ninth, from a year later, is better defined, but with unusually forward strings that emphasize the raspiness of their Slavonic sound. The performance is witty and pointed, with especially fine playing by the solo oboe. In sum, this would not be a prime recommendation for the Fifth, but if you can tolerate the sound it makes for interesting comparisons.
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