Search - Dmitry Shostakovich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra :: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad"

Unimpressive readings from a Russian who needs more soul

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 02/22/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Vladimir Ashkenazy, like so many in his position, was a much better pianist than the conductor he aspires to be. But he's been a hero in London ever since his defection decades ago, and thanks to Decca's engineers his recordings tend to be bright and gleaming sonically. That's true here, but the Fifth Sym. with the Royal Phil. veers between limping and lumbering, with slack rythms and no trace of inspiration. an amateur standing up in front of a professional orchestra would sound like this, I imagine. fans of the Shostakovich Fifth want to know if the finale is taken breahtlessly fast a la Bernstein or much slower, as the compser asks. Ashkenazy splits the difference, but his orchestra plays with so little intensity that it doesn't really matter.



This is a bargain two-fer for the price of one CD, and on the second disc we move to St. Petersburg for Sym. #7. It's amazing how this hypertrophied work, dead in the water for four decades after its wartime premiere, has become a staple on records, a test of muscle for the conductor and the recording engineers. The St. Petersburg orchestra is to the manner born--this work is about their city's wartime suffering and triumph of the spirit, after all--and they pull Ashkenazy into a different realm from the pallid Fifth. The strings are tenderly expressive when they need to be, the brass plays with conviciton--it all adds up to a very listenable reading.



But my skepticism tells me that this orchestra could play this piece with no one on the podium, and unfortunately I hear little shape to Ashkenazy's interpretation. Compare it to the gripping live performance recently released by Mariss Jansons and the Royal Concertgebouw, which is just as beautiful but has twice as much intensity where it counts. In all, this was a pleasant but forgettable listen."