A worthwhile Shostakovich grab-bag

Shostakovich: Chamber Symphony, String Quartets, Piano Music

This new 4-CD set coming on June 6, 2025 consists of recordings made by Capriccio and BR Klassik in the period 2004-06. There's a lot of music here - about four hours altogether - and it's definitely a worthwhile purchase, at a bargain price.

Here are the complete contents of the set:

The first CD includes some works from this 2004 CD from Capriccio, namely Rudolph Barshai's version of the 8th String Quartet for String Orchestra, the Prelude and Scherzo, op. 11, and Alfred Schnittke's Prelude in Memory of Dimitri Shostakovich. These are all marvellous works, and good performances. The Schnittke piece is especially moving, and a valuable addendum to such a large compendium of Shostakovich's music.

As well, the first disc includes Lena Auerbach's arrangement of the Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, op. 143, from a 2006 CD. These are poignant poems sung by soprano Zoryana Kushpler, with comments from a string quartet, here the Petersen String Quartet of Berlin, sometimes pithy, sometimes full of compassion.

Here's the original Capriccio BR Klassik album cover for the Piano Quintet and two String Quartets on CD 2, from 2005:

There's a lot of music to review here, and I've only listened all the way through once. But I like what I've heard so far. Of course, with the String Quartets, the bar is set very high, by groups like the Borodin Quartet, the Fitzwilliam Quartet, the Brodsky Quartet, and my favourite, the Pacifica Quartet. The Petersen Quartet don't give us the total experience that these intense readings provide, but these are more than passable interpretations. Their relaxed approach is perhaps better matched to Shostakovich's fraught 4th Quartet than to the spring-like First, which flags at times rather than flowing freely.

The Piano Quintet is most probably the greatest work in this set, with the most daunting recording competition. There are 70 recordings on Apple Classical; my favourites are Sviatoslav Richter with the Borodin Quartet, Marc-André Hamelin with the Takács Quartet, and Martha Argerich with Maisky, Margulis, Capuçon & Chen. Ewa Kupiec and the Petersen Quartet provide a fine performance here, though perhaps not in the same league as these.

CDs 3 and 4 are filled with music for one and two pianos, played by Margarete Babinsky and Holger Busch, originally released on this 2-CD set from 2006:

I love Shostakovich's music for solo piano, most especially his great set of Preludes and Fugues, op. 87, from 1950/51. His 24 Preludes, op. 34, recorded here by Margarete Babinsky, are from 1932, and are as indebted to Chopin as his Preludes & Fugues are to Bach. The composer's shifting moods and his use of mock heroism, sarcasm and parody give the performer lots of room for interpretation, and I generally like Babinsky's choices here. Of course she doesn't bring the same authenticity to Shostakovich's piano music that Tatiana Nikolayeva does, but there is no single right way to play this music. And Babinsky has considerable technique, though her 36-second version of the Fifth Prelude doesn't go quite as hard or as fast as some I've heard. Andrey Gugnin's 2019 recording on Hyperion probably wins that particular competition, though I don't condone drag races on piano keyboards. (19 seconds, but who's counting?)

I was likewise impressed with both of Babinsky's versions of the two Piano Sonatas, the 1st from 1926-27, and the 2nd from 1943.  The First provides a portrayal of the October Revolution of 1917 unfiltered by the Soviet Realism of Shostakovich's October Symphony, his no. 2. It's powerful music, capably communicated by Babinsky. The Second is also impressive, especially the remarkable theme and variations of the third movement, which the pianist builds with Hitchcockian suspense.

Shostakovich wrote his Concertino for Two Pianos for his teenage son Maxim to play with a fellow student, and there's a very pleasant family feeling to the piece. Margarete Babinsky and Holger Busch don't make too big a meal of this work; there's lots of drama here, but I don't think the stakes are especially high. A fun piece!

So this has been a pretty rapid tour of a big chunk of the much, much bigger chunk of music Shostakovich wrote in almost every genre, over a working life of five decades. Though none of these performances is in the top rank, they're all better than average, and some considerably better. Thanks to Capriccio and BR Klassik for this compilation!

Another brilliant musical document from post-war Berlin

Quartetto Italiano: The Complete RIAS Recordings

The Quartetto Italiano was the first of the new post-war groups that inaugurated a new golden age of String Quartets: the Quartetto Italiano was formed in 1945, the Juilliard String Quartet and LaSalle Quartet in 1946, and the Janáček and Amadeus quartets in 1947. Audite here brings us three CDs worth of fabulous recordings for RIAS ("Radio in the American Sector" of Berlin). The RIAS studios were excellent, and their engineers highly accomplished, so we have (as with the Amadeus Quartet album I reviewed late last year) an excellent idea of how these musicians sounded, in this case between 1951 to 1963. The group's repertoire is interesting, especially considering the period: Donizetti, Malipiero and Cherubini provide an Italian antipasto, if I may be permitted a metaphor (pun!) in questionable taste (taste!). Their 1959 Ravel interpretation is searching, and sometimes fierce; maybe even more so than their late recordings of core repertoire. This is a standout performance, though it's perhaps less than Gallic. The early String Quartet no. 8 by Schubert, from 1963, has the characteristic QI sound of their studio recordings of the Viennese masters: it's taut and tight and intense, eschewing sentimentality and emphasizing structure over story-telling. The first of the Haydn String Quartets op. 77 is the earliest recording here, from 1951. It's sunnier and more fun (to listen to, and I expect, to play) than the more disciplined Haydn the Quartetto Italiano developed later in their recording career. These recordings are at a higher level in both sonics and interpretation than your average historic releases, and the excellent documentation and the fact that a number of the works have never been released, make this a must-listen for chamber music fans.

This album will be released on May 3, 2019.

Sad stories about death and dying

Shostakovich: String Quartet no. 8; Schubert: String Quartet no. 14

A picture lives by companionship, expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer. It dies by the same token.

 - Mark Rothko

Masterpieces meet at Sothebys: Rothko's Untitled (Yellow & Blue), 1954 and Van Gogh's L'Allee des Alyscamps, 1888
📷 Mary Turner, 2015

Matching two or more works from different eras is a tried-and-true programming trick for concerts or recordings, which works often enough that I would never want to see it fall out of favour. A stellar example is the Aris Quartett's new disc, with sparks flying back and forth between Shostakovich and Schubert, both of whom show an intensity of feeling belied by the often calm surfaces of their string quartets. The one work calls to the other, like a Rothko and a Van Gogh hung together, yellows reflecting off each other, and blues pulling each together. The concept works best, of course, with two masterpieces masterfully played. The Aris players, quite correctly, I think, play the Shostakovich first. It's a harrowing mash-up of all sorts of horrors: historical (it's dedicated to the "victims of fascism and the war"), political (coming after the composer's humiliating forced membership in the Communist party), and personal (he had recently experienced the first symptoms of what was eventually diagnosed as ALS). In spite of all of this the 8th Quartet is one of Shostakovich's best known and popular works, both in its original form and in Rudolf Barshai's transcription for string orchestra as the Chamber Symphony op. 110a. The 14th Quartet of Schubert, named for his song "Death and the Maiden" was also written in response to a health crisis, and Schubert's own knowledge of his impending death, and it too contains music of surpassing beauty.

The intense feelings of both of these works create both tensions and release, within each piece and between the two. Set in this frame, these fine musicians tell us incredibly sad stories about death and dying in the 19th and the 20th centuries. I felt privileged to hear these stories again and again as I listened to this album, every time hearing new facets of sadness, anger and the comforts of beauty and love. This is a significant achievement for Genuin and the Aris Quartett.

Greatness in musical partnership

Mravinsky Edition, volume 3: works by Tchaikovsky, Bach, Weber, Wagner, Scriabin, Kalinnikov, Bruckner, Shostakovich

I've come to historic recordings fairly late, but I've had such good luck with recent releases that I'm beginning to search them out. This 6 CD set, the 3rd volume in Profil's Mravinsky Edition, is a superb example of well-documented remastered recordings of special significance. It's easy enough to filter out sonic shortcomings when the performances are so vital. Mravinsky had a lifelong relationship with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, and it's fascinating to hear the development of their musical partnership from 1938 to 1961. The obvious highlights in this package are the Tchaikovsky Symphonies #4 and (especially) #5 and a blistering performance of the Shostakovich 8th Symphony. But I was completely bowled over by Mravinsky's take on Bruckner's 8th Symphony, which I've been listening to a lot lately. In my review of Mariss Jansson's recent recording, I talked about the balance in Bruckner 8 between what Vincent Van Gogh referred to as "Tranquility of Touch" and "Intensity of Thought". It's no surprise that Mravinsky comes down on the intense side. Shostakovich biographer David Fanning describes just this intensity:

The Leningrad Philharmonic play like a wild stallion, only just held in check by the willpower of its master. Every smallest movement is placed with fierce pride; at any moment it may break into such a frenzied gallop that you hardly know whether to feel exhilarated or terrified.

An outstanding production all around.

The Mravinsky Edition covers feature a monochrome detail of his portrait by Lev Russov. Here it is in colour:

We must bear witness

String Quartets by Viktor Ullmann, Shostakovich and Simon Laks

Here's a album that none of us expected would have such immediate relevance this summer: the Dover Quartet's presentation of three composers who were victims of, and who fought against, Fascism. Viktor Ullmann composed his 3rd String Quartet in the concentration camp at Theresienstadt in 1943; he was murdered soon after he was moved to Auschwitz the following year. Dmitri Shostakovich composed his 2nd Quartet in Moscow in 1944, following horrific scenes during the Siege of Leningrad and the long fight between the Soviets and the Nazis. Simon Laks wrote his 3rd Quartet in Auschwitz in 1945; that year he was transported to Dachau, which was liberated before he could be killed.

These three works are truly Voices of Defiance; there is anger and sadness in this music, but no despair. "For the dead and the living, we must bear witness," says Elie Wiesel. "Not only are we responsible for the memories of the dead, we are responsible for what we do with those memories." The marvellous Dover Quartet, whose debut CD demonstrated great technique and musicality, bear witness here, to keep alive the memory of three tortured souls whose own sacrifices preserved precious remnants of civilization in the midst of the most horrific barbarism. In 1941 Woody Guthrie famously wrote on his guitar "This Machine Kills Fascists." After this album the Dover Quartet might consider doing the same with their instruments.

This disc is due to be released on October 13, 2017.

Buttoned-up Shostakovich

I consider the Op. 87 Preludes and Fugues of Shostakovich to be, along with the Bachianas Brasileiras of Villa-Lobos, the greatest 20th Century response to J.S. Bach. Honestly, if I had to choose between the two on my way to a Desert Island, I'm not sure which I'd pick. Considering my Villa-Lobos life, that's saying a lot. Ever since I heard the composer himself play six of the preludes and fugues on an old Seraphim LP this music has been a constant companion. I have Alexander Melnikov's 2014 Harmonia Mundi set on my phone right now, but over the years I've been enthusiastic about versions by Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jenny Lin, David Jalbert, and especially Keith Jarrett. By the way, I'm underwhelmed by the classic recording of Tatiana Nikolaeva, though this seems to be a minority opinion.

I know Peter Donohoe mainly from his many recordings of British music, though I also think he's an exceptional Brahmsian. This new Shostakovich set, due to be released on April 7, 2017, is apparently the first in a series from Signum Classics. My initial response to the present disc is quite positive, though I worry about the slightest tendency toward blandness. One of the things I value about this music is the very personal response of Shostakovich to his Bachian models. It doesn't hurt, I believe, to underline the composers' characteristic flashes of wit, sarcasm, anger and despair or his forays into folkloric and Jewish music. I wouldn't expect Donohoe to bring quite the swing here that Jarrett does, but I do prefer a somewhat more dynamic approach. Still, I do admire much about this recording, and look forward to listening to this some more.

A passionate second look at Shostakovich

The Brodsky Quartet's Shostakovich cycle recorded in the late 1980s, and released on a Teldec box set of 6 CDs in 1990, has become one of the standard versions of this great collection of 15 string quartets, along with those of the Emerson, Borodin, Manhattan, Pacifica and Fitzwilliam Quartets. Now Chandos is releasing a new live recording made in the spring of 2016 at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam. Twenty-five more years of living with this music has resulted in somewhat more expansive readings - the tempi are almost all a bit slower - but the powerful, emotional core and raw edges of the Brodsky take remain. There was always something special about how these musicians could communicate the composer's public and private musings without slipping into the sentimental on the one hand, or glossing over the pain by focussing on surface beauty on the other. There's a hint of classical restraint at times, with Bach, Haydn and especially Beethoven always not too far away, but the most visceral moments are the Brodsky's best. Here's a reminder of this from their 1990 version, the 2nd movement of the great 8th Quartet:

The new live version of this music is just as urgent, with only the smallest bit of extra polish. I suspect the new version will remain as playable and re-playable as the first one, not only for this work, but all 15 quartets. I look forward to testing this theory.

Fresh and vital concerto recording

From May 19, 2014:

As the complete Shostakovich symphony series on Naxos proceeded, the release of each of Vasily Petrenko’s CDs with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic impressed me even more. The critical response to the series has been almost universally positive. Now that the series is coming to an end, it’s time for this talented conductor to look to other music by the great Soviet composer. In this new Ondine release of the cello concertos, Petrenko has an equally talented instrumentalist in cellist Truls Mork, and a fine orchestra as well: the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Though nothing could completely overshadow the classic recordings by the original cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, these performances provide a fresh and vital look at two of the 20th century’s finest concertos.

Among the best of the Shostakovich cycles on CD

From January 9, 2014:

This is the final volume in the Pacifica Quartet's superb series of the Shostakovich quartets entitled The Soviet Experience. I've commented before on the added value of the concept: each album includes two CDs, with 3 or 4 Shostakovitch quartets, an additional quartet by a great Soviet composer (Miaskovsky, Prokofiev, Weinberg, and here Schnittke), a long and illuminating essay about the music, and evocative Soviet-era graphics. Volume 4 has all of this, but when I consider the whole series, I'm struck by how impressive it would have been even without this framing device. These are first-class recordings of the 15 quartets Shostakovich wrote from 1938 until 1974, and I would place the Pacifica Quartet in the top group of complete Shostakovich recordings, along with the Fitzwilliam and Borodin Quartets. With this impressive accomplishment under their belts, I wonder what interesting recording projects these talented young musicians are contemplating now.

Another great entry in an important string quartet series

June 21, 2013:

This is the third set in the Pacifica Quartet's excellent series The Soviet Experience, which connects groups of Shostakovich string quartets with other Soviet string quartets. The Quartet is now up to the mid-1960s in their Shostakovich cycle: the pair of #9 and #10 date from 1964, while #11 was written in 1966 and #12 in 1968. The Pacifica Quartet are outstanding in these works, and they provide a strong case as well for the sixth quartet of Mieczslaw Weinberg, written in 1948.

The greatest work on these two discs is the twelfth quartet, which is special for musical and biographical reasons. Shostakovich uses atonality throughout the piece, and sets a grim mood with his opening theme, which contains all twelve, unrepeated, notes of the chromatic scale. Before an uncharacteristically optimistic ending, Shostakovich provides his usual jocular, sarcastic episodes, alternating with almost mystical periods that make reference to late Beethoven. High marks to the Pacifica Quartet for keeping all of this in hand. Knowing the circumstances of Shostakovich's life at the time, especially relating to his health, adds a tragic dimension to the music.

Kudos to Cedille for this fascinating series, providing the Pacifica Quartet a platform for a vital new Shostakovich series while adding context with important works by other Soviet composers. I've learned a lot from the excellent notes by David Fanning, and love the evocative posters used on the CD covers.

The Soviet Experience

From May 1, 2012 (Happy May Day, comrades!):

This is the second set in the Pacifica Quartet's Soviet Experience series for Cedille, and it's another winner. The two discs include the first 4 string quartets in Shostakovich's great cycle, and the 2nd quartet by Prokofiev, both of whose quartets are of the highest quality. The music on this disc reflects the tumultuous times in Soviet Russia from the period just before to just after the Second World War.

I know the Pacifica Quartet from their amazing Naxos recording of the String Quartets of Elliott Carter, which won a Grammy Award in 2009. The new Cedille set has the same outstanding levels of musicianship and engineering. The series provides the opportunity to immerse oneself in the heroic, horrific and incredibly sad period of the Soviet war with Nazi Germany, and the emerging war of Stalin against his own greatest artists. From the deceptive simplicity of the first Shostakovich quartet, with its folk-like melodies and glimpses of chaos to come, to the tragically great Quartet #3, the Pacifica players present an amazing tableau of the broadest range of emotions and the highest peaks of art. I look forward to the next release in this series!

More superb Shostakovich from Petrenko

From June 15, 2011:

The Naxos series of Shostakovich symphonies with Vasily Petrenko conducting the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic goes from strength to strength. I was mightily impressed with the most recent releases, symphonies 8 and 10.

The First Symphony is an amazing achievement for a teenager, but we're down a level in terms of the composer's inspiration from those great, mature works, and then down another level in the Third, an experiment which doesn't quite come together. But Petrenko and his Liverpool orchestral and choral musicians make the best possible case for both works. And both are certainly worth the time to listen to, and listen closely.

The musicians are ably supported, as usual, by the Naxos production team. The Shostakovich symphonies are one of the 20th century's great artistic accomplishments. Vasily Petrenko and Naxos may be this century's best guide to the series.