# SS 12.11.16 - Shostakovich #14



## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

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. 14, Op. 135

1. Adagio. "De profundis" (Federico García Lorca)
2. Allegretto. "Malagueña" (Federico García Lorca)
3. Allegro molto. "Loreley" (Guillaume Apollinaire)
4. Adagio. "Le Suicidé" (Guillaume Apollinaire)
5. Allegretto. "Les Attentives I" (On watch) (Guillaume Apollinaire)
6. Adagio. "Les Attentives II" (Madam, look!) (Guillaume Apollinaire)
7. Adagio. "À la Santé" (Guillaume Apollinaire)
8. Allegro. "Réponse des Cosaques Zaporogues au Sultan de Constantinople" (Guillaume Apollinaire)
9. Andante. "O, Del'vig, Del'vig!" (Wilhelm Küchelbecker)
10. Largo. "Der Tod des Dichters" (Rainer Maria Rilke)
11. Moderato. "Schlußstück" (Rainer Maria Rilke)

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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 (Mar 3, 2010)

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day here in the states and I will not have much time so I'm posting this weekends symphony a little early. We're back to Shostakovich again this week. I haven't heard this one recently so I'm looking forward to giving it a spin.

I'll be listening too:









Rudolf Barshai/WDR Symphony Orchestra
Alla Simoni (Soprano), Vladimir Vaneev (Bass)

​


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

My Barshai set should be arriving any day now, and I've never listened to no. 14. Here's hoping it's in my mailbox by Saturday!


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## shadowdancer (Mar 31, 2014)

I will join this weekend with 
Teresa Kubiak, Isser Bushkin; Leonard Bernstein: New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Rec 1976


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## AClockworkOrange (May 24, 2012)

I'll be listening to two recordings over the course of tomorrow and Saturday, the first being Barshai's recording on Brilliant Classics (an apt label given the quality of the recording).

My second will be Wigglesworth with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales on BIS. This was my favourite recording until I heard Barshai's, at which point it became my joint favourite.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

​
I will go for this one, Bernard Haitink.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Margarita Miroshinkova, Soprano 
Yevgeny Vladimirov, Bass 
Moscow Chamber Orchestra 
Rudolf Barshai, Conductor

It's the first Barshai recording of the work back to the 70s which I got on vinyl. I don't know if it has been released on CD by any chance, but Barshai has recorded this symphony also with Galina Vishnevskaya as the soprano soloist.

Along with the film score to Kozintsev's King Lear, it's probably the darkest music Shostakovich ever composed.


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

Il_Penseroso said:


> Margarita Miroshinkova, Soprano
> Yevgeny Vladimirov, Bass
> Moscow Chamber Orchestra
> Rudolf Barshai, Conductor
> ...


I will probably listen to Barshai, as I have his cycle on MP3 on my phone but never listened to 14. The recording that I usually choose is Jaarvi on DG.
'Darkest Musi that Shostakovich wrote'? There could be many contenders for that title. His Violin Sonata, for one


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

realdealblues said:


> Tomorrow is Veteran's Day here in the states and I will not have much time so I'm posting this weekends symphony a little early. We're back to Shostakovich again this week. I haven't heard this one recently so I'm looking forward to giving it a spin.
> 
> I'll be listening too:
> 
> ...


That Barshai set is so good; very underrated.


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## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

Il_Penseroso said:


> Along with the film score to Kozintsev's King Lear, it's probably the darkest music Shostakovich ever composed.


I agree. The Fourteenth is dark, dark, dark. It makes Mahler's _Das Lied von der Erde_ -- a huge influence on DSCH and this work in particular -- seem positively upbeat.

My favorite recordings are probably *Rostropovich*'s first recording (on CBS/Melodiya w/ soloists from the Moscow PO) and *Barshai*'s first recording (on Angel/Melodiya) that Il Penseroso mentions above.

















Since I won't have access to my turntable this weekend, I'll probably go with *Barshai/WDR SO* instead.


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## Guest (Nov 11, 2016)

I have the Barshai as well but this is the one for me tomorrow.


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## chesapeake bay (Aug 3, 2015)

I'll listen to Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Gal James Soprano, Alexander Vinogradov Bass (he is incorrectly attributed as "Baritone" on the cover)







.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

chesapeake bay said:


> I'll listen to Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Gal James Soprano, Alexander Vinogradov Bass (he is incorrectly attributed as "Baritone" on the cover)
> 
> View attachment 90092
> .


This version for me also


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## Mika (Jul 24, 2009)

chesapeake bay said:


> I'll listen to Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Gal James Soprano, Alexander Vinogradov Bass (he is incorrectly attributed as "Baritone" on the cover)
> 
> View attachment 90092
> .


Will listen this one also


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I still consider this as an orchestral song-cycle more than anything else but what a potent work it is. My choice is Gennady Rozhdestvensky with the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra.


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## Weird Heather (Aug 24, 2016)

chesapeake bay said:


> I'll listen to Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Gal James Soprano, Alexander Vinogradov Bass (he is incorrectly attributed as "Baritone" on the cover)
> 
> View attachment 90092
> .


This one seems to be a popular choice. I also listened to it. It is the only one that I have in my collection right now, and I am quite satisfied with it, but I might have to pick up one or two others eventually. (I had to get rid of my records due to space limitations, and a CD of another performance succumbed to the CD rot before I could rip it to the hard drive.)

Shostakovich wrote a diverse and interesting group of symphonies, and I like them all, but this is one of my favorites. It is also rather unusual for a composition called a "symphony." To me, the term "song cycle" fits it equally well. Of course, this is not the first composition to occupy a murky middle ground between these two genres; Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" is a well-known example. In both cases, a strong sense of unity among the movements justifies classification as a symphony. As for the content, I am frequently amazed at how creativity managed to flourish behind the Iron Curtain despite the best efforts of the totalitarian governments. I suppose artists will always find a way to express themselves even when subjected to significant constraints.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Just heard a beautiful piece of Shostakovich on the radio.

The Assault on Beautiful Gorky.

Very lively but got a lovely theme!!

Would now like to buy it but don't which recording!!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Judith said:


> Just heard a beautiful piece of Shostakovich on the radio.
> 
> The Assault on Beautiful Gorky.
> 
> ...


On this moment just two recordings available:

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/search.php?searchString=The+Assault+on+Beautiful+Gorky.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Pugg said:


> On this moment just two recordings available:
> 
> http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/search.php?searchString=The+Assault+on+Beautiful+Gorky.


Thank you for that. Will look into it!!


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## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

Judith said:


> Just heard a beautiful piece of Shostakovich on the radio.
> 
> The Assault on Beautiful Gorky.
> 
> ...


Judith,

Along with Pugg's choices, you might want to consider this CD:










*Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; 'The Unforgettable Year 1919', Op. 89: The Assault On Beautiful Gorky / Dmitri Alexeev (pianist), Jerzy Maksymiuk (conductor), English Chamber Orchestra (EMI Classics for Pleasure)*

I recommend it highly! 

It appears to be out-of-print but readily available through resellers at Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shostakovich-Piano-Concertos-Nos-Dmitry/dp/B000027F4N


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

JACE said:


> Judith,
> 
> Along with Pugg's choices, you might want to consider this CD:
> 
> ...


Oops, forgot Amazon. 
Thanks you Jace!.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Barshai and Petrenko for me too but the 14th is one of my least favourite Shostie symphonies.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Merl said:


> Barshai and Petrenko for me too but the 14th is one of my least favourite Shostie symphonies.


A lot of folks do not like "vocal intrusions" in their symphonies. I would even question whether Babi Yar and No. 14 should even be considered as symphonies. I don't believe so.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

hpowders said:


> A lot of folks do not like "vocal intrusions" in their symphonies. I would even question whether Babi Yar and No. 14 should even be considered as symphonies. I don't believe so.


But those are two of the best ones


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I believe even Shostakovich said he wasn't sure #14 was really a symphony. But it's just a category label after all.


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## Weird Heather (Aug 24, 2016)

KenOC said:


> I believe even Shostakovich said he wasn't sure #14 was really a symphony. But it's just a category label after all.


If I remember correctly, I think you are right. Category labels are arbitrary anyway. As far as I can tell, particularly in the 20th century and beyond, a work is considered to be a symphony if the composer labels it as such, and there are no other firm requirements for this classification.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Weird Heather said:


> If I remember correctly, I think you are right. Category labels are arbitrary anyway. As far as I can tell, particularly in the 20th century and beyond, a work is considered to be a symphony if the composer labels it as such, and there are no other firm requirements for this classification.


This is the best answer.


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