{"id":55140,"date":"2018-08-15T10:13:53","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T14:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=55140"},"modified":"2018-08-15T10:13:53","modified_gmt":"2018-08-15T14:13:53","slug":"record-keeping-boston-symphony-hits-the-shostakovich-bullseye-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2018\/08\/15\/record-keeping-boston-symphony-hits-the-shostakovich-bullseye-again\/","title":{"rendered":"RECORD KEEPING | Boston Symphony Hits The Shostakovich Bullseye (Again)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"BSO\/Nelsons
Just when you thought you’ve heard the best, the Boston Symphony may have just set a new standard for Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4. (Photo: Marco Borggreve)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 in c minor Op. 43. Symphony No. 11 in g minor The Year 1905 Op. 103. Boston Symphony Orchestra\/Andris Nelsons. DG B0028595-02. Total Time: 127:03 (2 CDs).<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This 2-CD set is the fourth installment in the Boston Symphony\u2019s Shostakovich cycle and it is another winner. Music director Andris Nelsons and his players are dialled in all facets of the Russian composer\u2019s musical persona and are beneficiaries of one of the world\u2019s best concert halls, Boston\u2019s Symphony Hall. Not coincidentally, in 1959 Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic travelled to this legendary venue to make their best Shostakovich recording: the Symphony No. 5.<\/p>\n

Composed in 1936, Shostakovich\u2019s Symphony No. 4 was not performed in public until 1961. The original premiere was cancelled by the Soviet authorities on the grounds that it was too difficult and too pessimistic. What the authorities wanted was music that was easy to understand, music that would inspire the masses.<\/p>\n

No less pessimistic today than it was in 1936, Symphony No. 4 is nonetheless one of Shostakovich\u2019s finest works. Although its long slow ending expresses the essence of despair, elsewhere it overflows with creative energy \u2014 even humour.<\/p>\n

Nelsons chooses a rather quick tempo for the first movement (marked Allegretto con moderato) compared to other conductors, including Simon Rattle and Bernard Haitink. To my ears, this quicker tempo makes sense, as it prevents the music from becoming lugubrious.<\/p>\n

The performance quality on this CD is wonderful, with distinguished solo playing from all sections of the orchestra. And then there is the lightning fast fugue halfway through the movement, in which the first violins lead off with their seemingly endless volleys of sixteenth notes followed soon after by the violas, second violins and cellos doing the same thing. This is thrilling virtuoso playing of the highest order. The final pages of the last movement, with their colourful and original orchestration, are eloquent and moving. Double basses and harps provide a sonorous foundation in octaves on the note \u2018C\u2019 through the last five minutes or so, followed by a delicate repetitive motive on the celesta. Trumpet and timpani solos and sustained upper strings are added to the mix \u2014 mournful, but magical too. The acoustics of Symphony Hall and the DG engineers capture the music on disc brilliantly.<\/p>\n