Search - Dmitry Shostakovich, Valery Polyansky, Russian State Symphony Orchestra :: Shostakovich: Symphony No.13 "Babiy Yar"

This is the latest release in Chandos's new Shostakovich symphony cycle. Conductor Valeri Polyansky is tackling the latter, less sexy symphonies first--the 12th and the 15th so far released--saving the greater symphonies for later. This release unfortunately is not a success. It falls considerably short in quality in both vocals and the overall orchestral performance of the earlier version of the 13th that Chandos released in 1987 with Okko Kamu and the City of Birmingham Orchestra. Polyansky here indulges in a near-fatal laxity, especially in I, "Babiy Yar," and II, "Humor," where a shrill chorus of unrestrained strings and closely mic'd flutes threatens to create an air of self-pity or, worse, bathos. And the voice of soloist Ayik Martyrosyan isn't really robust enough to carry the work's darker passages. A disappointment with few redeeming moments. --Paul Cook