Search - Shostakovich, Sanderling, Cleveland Orchestra :: Symphony 15

A Shostakovich 15 th to enchant and mystify

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 11/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How did Kurt Sanderling ever make it from East Germany to Cleveland? This one-of-a-kind encounter--on disc at least--appears on the bargain Elatus label in the U.K. It has been the recommended version of the enigmatic Shostakovich 15th among British critics, but it's completely unknown in the U.S. Whatever created the chemistry, this is an astonishing interpretation.



First of all, it's magnificently reorded and played with total virtuosic assurance by the Cleveland Orch. Sanderling solves all the mysteries of this work, which skips from apparent frivolity in the first movement, with its repeated quotation of the Willaim Tell Over., to a solemn but songful slow movement, then on to a biting, skirling scherzo, ending with a long spare finale that quotes from Tristan and Die Walkure while the strings play a ghostly dance and a clock tick-tocks hypnotically in the percussion. The last tick of the cllock is the end of the piece and the end of Shostakovich's symphonic career.



Sanderling solves the mystery by keeping it intact--this is a haunted performance from beginning to end. Most conductors start off with a sprightly Rossinian romp, tongue in cheek, but Sanderling slows down the first movement and plays it for atmosphere and detail. He also drastically slows down the last movement. Every step of the way he manages to create an other-worldly atmosphere that utterly mesmerizes. How did he find the key to a work that baffles every other conductor? I don't know, but I do know a great performance when I hear one."

5 Dec 2009 BBC Radio 3's choice for Building A Library

R. Ludwig | Scarborough, ME United States | 12/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"BBC Radio 3

CD Review with Andrew McGregor



5 December 2009 Building A Library



SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No 15 in A major

Reviewer - Rob Cowan

First Choice Recommendation"