Search - Shostakovich, Stokowski, Hso :: Symphony 11

Glorious recording of a compelling work !

N. Daniele Pietro | Milano, MI Italy | 01/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some of Shostakovich symphonies were written following orthodox Communist program lines, sometimes sincerely so (as in the early 2nd) but later just to give something enjoyable to the regime, trying to not attract the very dangerous attention of the Party's cultural guardians. ( 7th, 11th and 12th). These pieces don't give the critics many chances to find anti-Communist subliminal messages at every bar and , since this is the method of analysis with Shostakovich lately, they are largely dismissed. I say: ok, it's important to know about the background but we're talking about music and not politics, so , first of all, listen and, if it's the case, enjoy! If the once hugely popular 7th is not ageing well and the 12th is really bombastic (how spectacular, though!), I think the 11th contains a lot of good music,whether you get rid of the 1905-revolution plot or not. It's very dark and concentrated, alternating passages of almost unbearable tension with violent, savage outbursts, all masterly set up and orchestrated. I don't think there's ever going to be a better recording than this of the 11th : Stokowski steadily championed Shostakovich, giving many US premieres of the symphonies (including this one, and what we hear was recorded right after the event) and he always had the composer's appreciation for his powerful performances. Here the Old Magician is at his best: the massive, yet velvety string tone rises like a huge wave from the growling bass-line (maybe there's some engineering adjustment, but who the hell cares?) and the brass are savage, yet never strident. The Houston Symphony has never played like this, before and after Stokowski ! This conductor has been criticised,often unfairly, for caring only about the beauty of sound , but here his deep understanding of the work and his control of its somewhat rambling structure are out of the question. After the remastering this just sounds astonishingly good (it' hard to believe it's from '59!)"

I have listened to this recording 38 years on disk & record

Walter Brooks Jr. | Federal Way, Wa. 98023-8210 | 12/11/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I heard the first vinyl of this performance I was humming it for weeks. I was hooked forever. I thought it would never get better. I was wrong, this 2nd CD edition from the original tapes is better yet. This is from the premier recording in the US from 1958, one year after its Russian publication. As a non-musician this piece sings to my soul in a way that no other piece has before or since. I later found out that my grandfather was a participant in and refugee from the abortive "1905 revolution".I always compare this recording to any new ones. Only in recent years has there been anything that comes close.The Schwarz-Seattle Symphony, DePriest - Helsinki, Rostropovitch - National Symphony, and Haitink - Concertgebouw are each special. Many have attempted to record this superb symphony and fell down. Its complexity, dynamic range, difficulty, and severe requirements for total excellence by each musician have been the undoing of some excellent orchestras and conductors. It requires special love and understanding by the conductor.My personal involvement in the Seattle recording has put that recording for me at the top of my list of recent recordings. Shostakovitch was a complex person who was both a victim and master of the society he lived in. Despite being the greatest composer Russian composer of this century he was constantly threatened by Stalin with death or imprisonment if he stepped outside the dictator's wishes. Somehow he managed to use a code to reach the Russian people and elude the censors. Without his memoirs we in the West are left without a clue to his true meanings. This piece is the ultimate condemnation of the 1918 revolution despite its title. Far to many of Shostakovitch's friends were taken away in the middle of the night and never seen again. He never knew when his turn would come. At the same time he could not be touched by Stalin. Shostakovitch found himself in peculiar role of the sacred "truth teller" depicted in Mussorgsky's "Boris Gudonov" - the idiot. This symphony was written none the less after Stalin's Death. Leopold Stokowski is the master of orchestral color. This is his most brilliant recording. He took the Houston Symphony to new heights which they have yet to reach again. This recording is the musical epitaph of this great conductor.Need I say more. You will never go wrong in purchasing this particular recording. It brought light to many a dark hour in my own life."

Stoky wins

W. Shaffer | 04/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Suffice to say this one of my desert island recordings. There are newer recordings with better orchestras but none of them is the searing and gut wrenching experience of this one. I still recall hearing this performance on a long-lost FM station when I was college kid (over 40 years ago.) I sought it out and have lived with it ever since. I can't fathom the review that says the climaxes are missing. The Depriest is recorded at such a low volume level that I thought there was something wrong with my equipment when I put it on. (There wasn't.) Some of the Russian conductors have done well with this sadly underrated work. Stokowski, however, may be unsurpassable."