Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Some heart-pounding orchestral action, April 5, 2007
What is there to say about Shostakovich's Fourth? It wasn't controversial; there are no hints of propaganda or government intervention except in the purposely delayed premiere. It certainly isn't as "nice" as the "war" symphonies, which are on the whole more musically conservative. So what we have to go by, unusually for Shostakovich, is pure music. I like it that way; I personally would find such a diverse and colorful (yes, mostly gloomy colors, but this is Shostakovich we are dealing with) work highly corrupted by any extra-musical nonsense.
At any rate, what we have is two gargantuan and epic movements sandwiching a tiny, grotesque scherzo. The first movement is perhaps the most fragmented and abrupt; however closer analysis reveals a highly structured and rather simple design. The second is barely a wisp compared to the others, but it contains an important motif which will come to dominated the late works of Shostakovich: the strange percussion coda. The third is perhaps the most bizarre, opening with a slow funeral march introduced by a timpani in a tri-tone and then making its way through perverted dances and innocently pastoral, chirpy tunes to a huge climax, which dies down into several minutes of deathly eerie reflections of the piece dominated by a simple c minor arpeggio in the celesta.
I have more recordings of this piece than is probably normal, but each one has something different to offer. The little detail I like most about this one is actually the first bass drum entrance, which delivers a proper thwack, unlike all of the other recordings I own.
Aside from that (which isn't really a big deal) the playing is spectacular, and the sound quality nearly the best you can get. Rattle delivers energy in all the right places. The subsequent whole is not as coherent as I think Ormandy's or Sinaisky's with the BBC is (not for sale that I know of, which is really too bad), but is definitely very thrilling.
Of the movements, Rattle's first is the best. The second and third are well-done, but not as tight as Gergiev's, Ormandy's, or indeed Sinaisky's impossible-to-find one.
Nonetheless, this is one of the staple choices for this piece. Listen to this one many, many times. Make sure your subwoofer is in place, knock down a few walls with the opening, and hope that the neighbors don't complain.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shostakovich fan or not, don't miss this one!, August 17, 2006
I am not a music critic, I just listen. I'm not really
well-trained to analyze most classical. And for me it is almost
impossible to really "understand" a good piece of classical music
on a recording, I've got to hear it live. Unfortunately this symphony
is almost never heard live because (I got this from a conductor)
it takes a "budget-busting" orchestra, and is also very difficult to
play. Perhaps the fact that it was not heard for 25 years after
it was composed due to concerns of the composer about the reaction of
the Soviet authorities has something to do with it, I don't know.
Too bad, because despite the fact that 2 of the movements
are about 25 minutes long, as a listener I don't find it any more
challenging to listen to than most of Shost.'s symphonies (I'll exclude
the 2 that are vocally-dominated). I think it's just a great piece
of music, an extraordinary composition, maybe one of the most
underrated symphonies. And as you listen, you can imagine Shostakovich
reacting to what was going on in Soviet society in the 1930's. I
found the notes that come with this CD succinct and very useful. The
writer discusses Shost.'s studying of Mahler, but Shost. gives us
not Mahler's world, but rather a picture of the first Five Year Plan,
what was supposed to be the "archetype" of Soviet success, yet in the
music we hear "the underlying horror and falseness of it all."
The final movement is incredible - there is a weird divertimento
dance part (but it doesn't sound as bizarre as some of Shost.'s
other music), then towards the end a loud, intense, stunning 2-minute
scherzo that another composer might end with, but instead Shost.
chooses to end with 4 quiet, subtle minutes that the notes call a
"requiem." I can only imagine how I'd feel hearing all this live -
maybe one day I will!
I've heard only this version, so I can't make comparisons, but
as far as I'm concerned it is quite first rate.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Humanity amidst the nightmare, January 30, 2005
I have had this recording for a few years, but never really listened to it closely until the other evening. What struck me in particular was the excellent playing of the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. I also think that Rattle does an admirable job of conducting this work. He is painstakingly precise, and able to inject the music with truly strong emotion in just the right places. Of course, this is one of those works that haunts the memory, and evokes so many amazing dark visions; but at the same time, like a painting by Klee or a story by Kafka, it is a darkness you love because it contains a great depth of humanity amidst the nightmarish ambience. Rattle understands this perfectly well, and delivers a performance that is both terrifying as well as sensitive to the innate dark beauty of the work.
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