# SS 06.08.16 - Shostakovich #13 "Babi Yar"



## realdealblues

A continuation of the Saturday Symphonies Tradition:

Welcome to another weekend of symphonic listening! 
_*
*_For your listening pleasure this weekend:*

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975)*

Symphony No. 13 in B-flat minor, Op. 113 "Babi Yar"

1. Babi Yar: Adagio
2. Humour: Allegretto
3. In the Store: Adagio
4. Fears: Largo
5. Career: Allegretto

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Post what recording you are going to listen to giving details of Orchestra / Conductor / Chorus / Soloists etc - Enjoy!


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## realdealblues

Another weekend is upon us and this weekend it's another from Shostakovich. I haven't heard this work in a while so I'm looking forward to rehearing it. I'll be listening to my old standby:









Rudolf Barshai/WDR Symphony Orchestra/Moscow Choral Academy
Vocalist: Sergei Alekshaskin


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## shadowdancer

I will join this weekend. I do enjoy this piece.
My recording:
Shostakovich Symphony 13th in B-Flat Minor "Babi Yar"
Marius Rintzler, Gentlemen from the Choir of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, Bernard Haitink
Rec 1984


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## Pugg

shadowdancer said:


> I will join this weekend. I do enjoy this piece.
> My recording:
> Shostakovich Symphony 13th in B-Flat Minor "Babi Yar"
> Marius Rintzler, Gentlemen from the Choir of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, Bernard Haitink
> Rec 1984


My vote as well, the only one I really "know" well enough .


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## Mahlerian

I'll go with the WDR/Barshai too.


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## Art Rock

Both Barshai and Haitink for me.


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## Dedalus

Mahlerian said:


> I'll go with the WDR/Barshai too.


I wonder how pleasurable or unpleasurable that listen was.


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## starthrower

I don't think I've ever listened to no.13. I'm going with Kondrashin.


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## Mahlerian

Dedalus said:


> I wonder how pleasurable or unpleasurable that listen was.


The listening is for tomorrow. It's been a while since I've heard this work, and I don't remember it all that well.


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## starthrower

You'll find some pertinent historical background on the symphony in this review of Kondrashin's 1962 recording. http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=1475454

I found no. 13 to be a more straighforward and less complicated affair than some of the earlier hyer-charged symphonies. I enjoyed it. In fact, I've started it over again.


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## techniquest

I consider the 13th to be one of Shostakovich's finest symphonies, but it's a tricky one to get right. For me the Barshai recording is the very best - and certainly the finest recording in his Shostakovich cycle. My latest purchase of the 13th was the recent Naxos release with the Royal Liverpool PO under Vassily Petrenko which completed his much lauded cycle, but instead this weekend I'm going to go with the recording from the old Naxos cycle; the Czecho-Slovak Radio SO under Ladislav Slovak, as it's a recording I doubt anyone else will choose.
If time permits, I will also listen to Netherlands Radio SO / Mark Wigglesworth recording on BIS. Much great listening to be had, and I'm looking forward to reading what other people find in the recordings they're going to listen to.


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## Mika

Petrenko time again


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## Haydn man

Mika said:


> View attachment 87348
> 
> 
> Petrenko time again


Same here for me


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## chesapeake bay

Haven't listened to this one in quite a while, I'll go with Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Tom Krause Baritone and the male chorus of the Mendelssohn club, Philadelphia.


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## D Smith

Temirkanov and St Petersburg for me. A fine recording. If I have time I'll put on Petrenko too.


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## TxllxT

(Listening to a small laptop in St Petersburg)


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## Delicious Manager

Kirill Kondrashin 'owns' the 13th. He stuck his neck out conducting the premiere in December 1962 (exactly a year after conducting the premiere of the much-delayed 4th Symphony - Mravinsky had turned it down). Three baritone soloists pulled out from performing the premiere because of the controversial nature of some of the Yevtushenko poetry Shostakovich had set. 4th choice Vitaly Gromadsky did a wonderful job, as can be heard on several transfers of the live recording of one of the first two performances (no-one seems absolutely sure if it's the premiere or second performance two days later). This recording isn't on YouTube, unfortunately.
Kondrashin's studio performance from 1967 with Artur Eisen is first class, albeit with some altered lines in the text near the beginning of the first movement - a compromise Yevtushenko had to make to appease the Soviet authorities.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT

As DeliciousManager says, the première, conducted by Kirill Kondrashin with Vasily Gromadsky as soloist, takes some beating. Although the sound quality is pretty basic, and plagued by all the audience coughs and sniffles you might expect from a 1960s Moscow concert in December, the performance is electrifying.


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## WaterRat

Delicious Manager said:


> Kondrashin's studio performance from 1967 with Artur Eisen is first class, albeit with some altered lines in the text near the beginning of the first movement - a compromise Yevtushenko had to make to appease the Soviet authorities.


I own the '67 recording. The absence of the original lines are regrettable, but the performance is the best I've heard. Sheer power and gravitas.


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## Manxfeeder

Then Kondrashin it is.


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## Triplets

I have the Kurt Masur/NYP recording, amongst others. I always enjoy Mazurka in Shostakovich, as he somehow manages to sound idiomatic without sounding Russian.


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet

Listened to Gergiev. I love Shostakovich's music in general but this symphony I don't like much. Way too much singing for my taste.


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## Barbebleu

The one I tend to return to is the Rozhdestvensky with the U.S.S.R. Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra on the Olympia label.


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## Triplets

I wound up listening to the Haitink recording. It was a very dramatic and extremely well recorded performance


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## Reichstag aus LICHT

One of my favourite recordings of the _Babi Yar_ Symphony is that by Mark Wigglesworth with the Dutch Radio Philharmonic, a committed chorus and the splendid (if not very "Slavic") Jan Rootering as soloist.

In fact, I can recommend Wigglesworth's Shostakovich "cycle" in its entirety. It would be nice if BIS released it as a medium/bargain-priced box, because there are some fine performances in there, and they deserve to be heard.


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## TurnaboutVox

I went with Mariss Jansons and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks with bass soloist Sergei Aleksashkin on EMI, via Spotify as I'm away from home at present. Very good it is too.

I also have Rozhdestvensky / U.S.S.R. Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra on Olympia at home.


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## Pugg

It is such a fun to see how different we all are and so many different tasted.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT

Pugg said:


> It is such a fun to see how different we all are and so many different tasted.


Agreed, Pugg. It's good to know that there are so many great interpretations of this work available, and I'd be more than happy to listen to any of the recordings mentioned so far.

Here's another great recording, if you can find it: David Shallon conducting the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, with John Shirley-Quirk as soloist. Another of my favourites.


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## starthrower

Reichstag aus LICHT said:


> Agreed, Pugg. It's good to know that there are so many great interpretations of this work available, and I'd be more than happy to listen to any of the recordings mentioned so far.


I'd like to see Kondrashin's cycle get re-issued in an affordable box. I might have to pick up the Barshai for now.


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## Johnnie Burgess

starthrower said:


> I'd like to see Kondrashin's cycle get re-issued in an affordable box. I might have to pick up the Barshai for now.


The cd price for the set through 3 party vendors have dropped. When it was available as an mp3 set the vendors wanted over 50$ for the cds.


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## starthrower

Johnnie Burgess said:


> The cd price for the set through 3 party vendors have dropped. When it was available as an mp3 set the vendors wanted over 50$ for the cds.


Amazon vendor price is 250 dollars.


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## Johnnie Burgess

https://www.amazon.com/Shostakovich-Complete-Symphonies-Dmitri/dp/B00005UW2B

9 Used from $18.78 69 New from $19.78


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## starthrower

My bad. I thought you were speaking of the Kondrashin set.


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## Johnnie Burgess

starthrower said:


> My bad. I thought you were speaking of the Kondrashin set.


Wow 250 for the set. At least there is 15 symphonies.


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## starthrower

Johnnie Burgess said:


> Wow 250 for the set. At least there is 15 symphonies.


I'd have to really love all 15 to spend that much!


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## Johnnie Burgess

I know and we might never see the Rudolf Barshai set for 9$ mp3.


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## techniquest

I listened to the two recordings I mentioned above and enjoyed them very much. The old Naxos recording is really not that bad; the bass Peter Mikulas is especially good. The first and third movements fair best on this disc in my opinion. 
The BIS recording is also very good - far better sound than the Naxos as you would expect, but I had a bit of a problem with the trumpet at the first loud section in the first movement which seemed to be trying to emulate the Russian brash and wobbly sound which I dislike. However, this didn't continue and I found the second and final movements to be the best on this CD.


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