Search - Dmitry Shostakovich, Rudolf Barshai, Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra :: Shostakovich-Barshai: Chamber Symphonies 1-5

Mysterious misser

Philippe Vandenbroeck | HEVERLEE, BELGIUM | 04/19/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Whether beefed-up arrangements of chamber works deserve a place in a composer's canon is often a point of contention. I tend to judge these on a case-by-case basis. I don't like what people did to the late Beethoven quartets but I have always had a soft spot for Barshai's tasteful arrangements of the Shostakovich Third, Fourth, Eighth and Tenth quartets. I feel these works - genial, "simple", but not lacking in gravitas and a transfigured sense of the tragic - have in some way rounded out my view of this composer.



These live recordings, I am sad to say, utterly fail to capture the spirit of the mature Shostakovich and do not offer a persuasive argument for these arrangements. At first sight, with Barshai himself at the helm, the set looks promising. The price is also right and the set is more complete than rival recordings as it also includes the op. 49a "Little Symphony" arrangement of the First Quartet (which is otherwise difficult to get hold of).



But the problem lies in the execution, which is remarkable given Barshai's excellent pedigree as a string player and his proven track record as an orchestra builder. I don't want to be disrespectful but this ensemble sounds unbelievably scrappy. It's like a student band that gets their noses in these scores for the very first time. They sound under-rehearsed, playing tentatively, unable to sustain the long lines and to project the emotional, spiritual and philosophical bandwidth of these works. Tempos are wobbly and there are many problems of intonation. It all sounds so desperately choppy and amateurish that it's a genuine burden to listen to.



The mystery deepens when one revisits the recordings Barshai made with the European Chamber Orchestra in the early nineties, now available as part of a 9-disc Decca bargain set (Shostakovich: Concertos; Orchestral Suites; Chamber Symphonies [Box Set]) Although that set (which leaves out op. 49a) suffers from a rather homogeneous and fat recorded sound, it convinces by the sheer poise and authoritativeness with which the ECO approaches this music. Here the music breathes, beckoning the listener to join in a wonderful, effortless journey across a sound world where humaneness, earthiness, folksiness mingle with a deep, shadowy sense of loss and fragility.



This set is clearly not recommended. I am tempted explore a little further afield to find a set that combines the musicality of the earlier Barshai recordings with a somewhat more modern and leaner recorded sound."