Search - Shostakovich, Toscanini, NBC :: Toscanini Collection, Vol.22 - Shostakovich: Symphony no. 7 "Leningrad"

A Memorable WWII Musical Experience

09/18/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Shostakovich's massive "Leningrad" Symphony has undergone a revival of public estimation in recent years. Long considered a bombastic, overdrawn piece that was nearly a potboiler, it has now been presented with loving care and commitment by many conductors in complete cyles of Shostakovich's canon, and by such specialists as Leonard Bernstein (who recorded it twice, with the New York Philharmonic in the sixties and the Chicago Symphony in the eigthies.) The story of this present recording, the premiere radio broadcast, is a highly interesting yarn of the competing desires of three famous conductors, Stokowski, Koussevitzky, and Toscanini, who all vied for the privilege of introducing the work when it was fresh from the pen of Shostakovich, who had distilled all of his patriotic fervor into the lengthy piece.The Maestro ultimately won the prestige of presenting the radio premiere, and it is this NBC broadcast of 19 July 1942, in Studio 8-H, that is preserved in this "purist" transfer in true monaural sound. The source disks for this release seem to be completely different from the murkier and less detailed acetates used for the previous RCA Victor Red Seal LP issue of 1967.However, though the recording quality is quite bright and clear, there are passages of surface noise and repetitive ticks that could have been dealt with more effectively than as presented here. One suspects that this was taken from an analogue taping made from the original "in house" archival transcriptions, without ANY attempts at noise reduction, and done many years ago (most of the RCA / BMG Toscanini Collection CD set was accomplished using 15 ips open-reel tapes in the Toscanini family's private collection, produced years ago by RCA engineers from old archival disks or original session master tapes that are now lost, damaged, or unavailable.) Yet the impact of the rugged and dedicated performance, for all the defects of technology, is much greater here than on the three- decades- old LP transfer. If one is not swept along, and buoyed up by emotion at the triumphal conclusion, then no other reading of the symphony is likely to impress.I would rate this with 5 Stars if RCA had painstakingly de- ticked this recording (as they did the Philadelphia Schubert Ninth); with a little patience the auditor may still experience 72 minutes of musical intensity and thrills. However, it would be remiss not to note that in 1943 (if memory serves), Stokowski played this same work with the NBC Symphony in a performance which surpasses Toscanini at every turn: the old wizard had an uncanny feeling for the bizarre that made his traversal of the ominous passages more evocative. This unreleased Stokowski broadcast transcription cries out for public distribution!"

American premiere of Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony

Robert E. Nylund | Ft. Wayne, Indiana United States | 02/07/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, Arturo Toscanini was given the honor of conducting the first American performance of Dmitri Shostavich's seventh symphony, also known as the "Leningrad" symphony. The broadcast concert by the NBC Symphony Orchestra took place in July 1942 in NBC Studio 8-H, the orchestra's "home" from 1937 to 1950 (aside from occasional broadcasts and recording sessions in Carnegie Hall).



In the midst of World War II, with German troops occupying parts of the Soviet Union and besieging Leningrad (now once again known as St. Petersburg), the score was microfilmed and sent to the United States. Leopold Stokowski tried to get the rights to the first performance, which had already been given to Toscanini. There was a memorable exchange of correspondence, which has been preserved, and Toscanini persevered in conducting the American premiere. Stokowski was able to give the first American performances of later Shostakovich symphonies.



Toscanini had earlier passed on conducting Shostakovich's more popular fifth symphony, but he did later turn to the Russian composer's first symphony in concerts and a recording of an NBC broadcast. The seventh was clearly a more challenging and much longer work. Some listeners, including Hungarian composer Bela Bartok, complained that the music was rather banal. Bartok went so far as to lampoon some of the music in the interlude of his "Concerto for Orchestra," composed in 1943.



It was something of a "potboiler," much in the vein of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture," because it was written as a tribute to the heroism of the Russian people in facing Nazi oppression. Shostakovich himself later said the symphony dealt as much with Stalin's treatment of Leningrad as it did with the terrible Nazi siege. The composer clearly reflected on earlier times during the two middle movements, sometimes showing that there had been happier days as well as troubled times. However, the first movement clearly depicts the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941. Even Stalin felt that Hitler had betrayed him, especially after the two men had signed a non-aggression pact a few years earlier. The Soviet Union would suffer greatly during the war and Toscanini shared the feelings of millions who watched the terrible tragedy unfold.



The nasty business of the invasion is treated with brutal and unflinching intensity, punctuated by a relentless snare drum beat, before settling down to the rather depressing and discouraging realities of the siege, which Shostakovich himself had witnessed before he was rescued by the Soviet government. Pictures of Shostakovich as a volunteer firemen were widely distributed and the composer was pictured as something of a hero.



Following the recollections of Leningrad's past (in the second and third movements), the composer seems to depict his hopes for the future, possibly anticipating not only victory over the Nazis but victory over Stalin as well. Some have said that the composer was happier after Stalin died (in March 1953) because he no longer had to write works that wouldn't be condemned by the dictator and those faithful to him.



Toscanini successfully captured all of the powerful emotions conveyed in Shostakovich's music. He sympathized with their struggles, much as he appreciated and lamented the fate of his own homeland, Italy, under Benito Mussolini and the Fascists. This is clearly a powerful performance, one that would not be challenged or equaled until Leonard Bernstein conducted it with the New York Philharmonic.



It is puzzling, however, to read Shostakovich's own comments in his memoris (published years later) that he was unhappy with the performance, after he heard a recording of the broadcast. One can only wonder what really troubled Shostakovich. Admittedly, Toscanini's interpretation is nothing like the Russian conductors who played Shostakovich's music, but it is still quite valid for those of us who have long enjoyed the numerous symphonies (15) that Shostakovich eventually completed.



This is clearly an historic recording and apparently it has better sound in this version than in the LP discs issued by RCA Victor in 1967 to commemorate Toscanini's 100th birthday. For the most part, Toscanini's broadcast concerts were preserved on large transcription discs that were recorded both at 33-1/3 rpm and 78 rpm. Despite some recording sessions using magnetic sound film, most of the NBC recordings were made on discs until 1948, when magnetic tape became the preferred medium.

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