Search - Dmitry Shostakovich, Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica :: Shostakovich: Sonatas Opp. 134 & 147

Great Pieces, Poor Orchestration

Robert S. Costic | 07/02/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a huge fan of Shostakovich, and the Violin Sonata and Viola Sonata are two great works. However, I wasn't impressed by the orchestration of these pieces on this CD. Only a string orchestra and some percussion are used, which, rather than give the pieces a fuller sound, make them sound thin. There were moments that begged for some woodwinds or brass to jump in, and without them the pieces lacked the amount of emotional impact that they could have had. Furthermore, the lack of contrast in timbre between the virtuoso and the string orchestra sometimes made the pieces feel dull. I'm hoping that someone out there will take these great pieces and orchestrate them for a full orchestra."

Shostakovich's string sonatas turned into concertos

R. Hutchinson | a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds | 02/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With Gidon Kremer on violin and Yuri Bashmet on viola, how can you go wrong? This is a great new recording of DSCH's Violin Sonata (1968) and Viola Sonata (1975) with arrangements for string orchestra. Kremer conducts his Kremerata Baltica in live performances from October 2005, the Violin Sonata in Moscow, and the Viola Sonata in St. Petersburg. The arrangements are recent, the Viola Sonata by Vladimir Mendelssohn from 1991-2, and the Violin Sonata by Michail Zinman and Andrei Pushkarev from 2005 -- this is the world premiere.



These are tragic works, yes, but both have central Allegretto movements with energetic folk themes that serve as a vivid contrast to the somber conclusions and make them widely accessible. I prefer the original sonata versions with piano -- see my review of the excellent live recordings from Moscow, 1985 with Oleg Kagan on violin, Bashmet on viola, and Sviatoslav Richter on piano, released by the Moscow Studio Archives in 2003.



See my SHOSTAKOVICH: A LISTENER'S GUIDE for more recordings and reviews by one of the 20th century's greatest composers."

Music for the end of hope

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 01/11/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"So far as bringing Soviet oppression to an end, there was little hope in sight when Shostakovich wrote his two despairing sontas for violin and viola. Both are spare, often overlaid with agonizing melancholy, and their tonality is almost as dry as late Schoenberg. One has to listen to them with concentration to find musical depth, and even then I wonder if these aren't the products of a man lost in depression. Howeve the pieces will be judged, they are major late works, hard to listen to but undoubtedly authentic.



The arrangements for string orchestra offered here (with sparing but incisive percussion in the violin sonata) continue a tradition of Shostakovich arraanagmenets -- four of the string quartets were previously expanded for string orchestra by Rudolph Barshai. Even though hardly plush in this context, the sweet lyricism of violins softens the two sonatas compared to the unrelenting somberness of the originals. Kremer as violin solist and conductor, and Bashmet as soloist in the viola sonata, are all that one could ask for. Still, excellent as the performances are, it will be up to each listener to relate -- or not -- to this depressive end-of-hope music."