Search - Shostakovich, Petkov, Previn :: Symphony 10 & 13

Another Previn Shostakovich gem

Randy Lane | Tracy , CA USA | 10/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Andre Previn made scores of recordings of Russian music in the 1970s and 1980s for EMI, virtually all of them stellar recordings and performances at the very least. These 2 Shostakovich recordings are among the best. A good 13th has to have a genuine Russian timber from both the chorus, soloist,and orcherstra. That which is why I have disliked most Western recordings of the 13th, especially the much lauded Haitink/Concertgebouw recording on Decca/London. Previn achieves a result that has all the Russian flavor one could ask for, and still get the more polished playing available from a Western orchestara. The chorus especially sounds more Russian than Haitink's. Petkov is among the better solists too. This is undoubtedly the best 13th performance by a non-Russian orchestra and chorus I've ever heard. The 10th is no less compelling. Shostakovich sought to make it a more conventional work than his other symphonies, and so it expectedly has more Western Europian influences in it than his other works. Previn still preserves the Russian sound though. The most interesting aspect of this set to me, though, is the audio quality. The 13th was recorded in 1980 with analogue equipment, the 10th in 1983 with digital equipment. And as I expected the 13th shines far above the 10th for sound quality. The sound is vivid, the soundstage very real, and the tonal qualities excellent throughout. The 10th is very good, but has the typical "digital glare" that is so common with digital recordings, especially those from the late 70s until maybe the last 5-6 years. Some wind instruments especially have an ocassional twang at the top of the audio spectrum that is very annoying. I suspect the engineers made no effort to clean up the 10th since it is "digital". If you ever want to prove to yourself that digital recording has its flaws, I suggest this as your best evidence."