Shostakovich - Symphony No. 15 / Jewish Folk Poetry

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) - Symphony No. 15 / Jewish Folk Poetry
London Philharmonic Orchestra - Concertgebouw Orchestra - Bernard Haitink

Elisabeth Söderström (soprano)
Ortun Wenkel (contralto)
Ryszard Karczykowski (tenor)

Decca - 425 069-2
Eac / Ape (img+cue+log) / Mp3 (lame vbr --alt preset)
Total playing time: 73:27
Full covers & booklet (scan @ 300dpi)

Recording:
Kingsway Hall, London, 1978 (Op. 141)
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, 1983 (Op. 79)

Track listing:
1. Symphony 15 : I Allegretto
2. Symphony 15 : II Adagio - Largo
3. Symphony 15 : III Allegretto
4. Symphony 15 : IV Adagio - Allegretto
5. From Jewish Folk Poetry : I Lament for a dead infant
6. From Jewish Folk Poetry : II Fussy Mummy and Aunti
7. From Jewish Folk Poetry : III Lullaby
8. From Jewish Folk Poetry : IV Before a long seperation
9. From Jewish Folk Poetry : V A warning
10. From Jewish Folk Poetry : VI The deserted father
11. From Jewish Folk Poetry : VII A song of poverty
12. From Jewish Folk Poetry : VIII Winter
13. From Jewish Folk Poetry : IX The good life
14. From Jewish Folk Poetry : X A girl's song
15. From Jewish Folk Poetry : XI Happiness

Info:

Symphony No. 15 in A major, op. 141
The Fifteenth Symphony, the last Shostakovich wrote — though at his death he was at work on another — was composed in the summer of 1971 and given its first performance at the Moscow Conservatoire in January 1972. It is scored for a comparatively small orchestra, at least by Shostakovich's standards, and is for the most part clear and transparently written, with an important part for percussion. The work opens with a solo flute being summoned by two bell strokes, and closes with the gentle ruminations of celesta, triangle, xylophone and bells and a few rhythm instruments against a long-held string chord.

From Jewish Folk Poetry, op.79
The collection of eleven solos, duets and trios which make up the song cycle From Jewish Folk Poetry was composed in 1948. In February of that year had appeared the notorious decree in which a number of composers, most notably Shostakovich and Prokofiev, were accused of representing 'formalistic perversions and anti-democratic tendencies in music', of 'infatuations with confused, neurotic combinations which transform music into cacophony'. This was clearly nonsense, but it was Stalin's nonsense. The composers in question had absolutely no alternative but to produce some form of recantation and conform as best they could to the roles expected of them by the ageing dictator.

In Shostakovich's case, outward submission was to some extent tempered by the composition of works which he withheld from performance until the thaw following Stalin's death in 1953. These included the First Violin Concerto, the Fourth String Quartet and From Jewish Folk Poetry, which was first performed in 1955 in its original version with piano ccompaniment (played by Shostakovich himself). The version with orchestral accompaniment recorded here dates from 1964.

Reviews:
Classicstoday.com:
An early entry in Bernard Haitink's Shostakovich cycle, this winning performance of the Fifteenth Symphony promised much for what was eventually to become a series greatly varied in quality and inspiration. It may be asking too much for a Western conductor to perform all of these symphonies with the same intensity and passion as might be shown by any of several Soviet counterparts, who were, after all, living and working under the same system that had so oppressed and threatened the composer. As for Symphony No. 15, its lesser degree of brutality than most of its predecessors makes it a good match for Haitink's tidy conducting style. This is evident from the start in the fresh, ebullient, "toy shop" first movement, through the cartoonish scherzo, and into the serene "clock factory" coda of the finale. In the big climaxes of the second and fourth movements, Haitink does not project the tortured anguish revealed by Neeme Järvi or Kurt Sanderling, but nonetheless makes these passages sufficiently moving.

He is aided by Decca's wonderfully realistic recording, one of the last great analog Kingsway Hall productions. The digital sound for the songs From Jewish Folk Poetry also is impressive, capturing the rich resonance of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in this dark and disturbing rendition of a truly magnificent score. Elisabeth Söderström, Ortun Wenkel, and Ryszard Karczykowski give searing performances of these defiant, ironic, and ultimately tragic songs. Even if you have Yuli Turovsky's lighter but still excellent account on Chandos, you must hear this.

Gramophone:



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