# SS 16.06.18 - Shostakovich #2 "To October"



## 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. 2 in B major, Op. 14 "To October"

1. Largo - Quarter Note = 152 - Poco meno mosso. Allegro molto - Chorus: To October

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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)

Another weekend is upon us and this weekend it's Shostakovich's Second Symphony. This is a short work so hopefully everyone can give this one a listen. I've always liked this Symphony although it doesn't seem to get much love when compared to the rest of his output. I'm looking forward to hearing it again this weekend.

I'll be listening to:







Kirill Kondrashin/Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

realdealblues said:


> Another weekend is upon us and this weekend it's Shostakovich's Second Symphony. This is a short work...


I read the last part of that with some relief. It reminded me of James Huneker's review of a Prokofiev recital in 1918: "Prokofiev wouldn't grant an encore. The Russian heart may be a dark place, but its capacity for mercy is infinite."


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

This is my least favourite Shostakovich symphony, but who knows? Perhaps I'll change my mind on another listen. It will be Petrenko/Royal Liverpool here.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

I'll listen to Petrenko as well, excellent sound and actually a very good and idiomatic choir in this Symphony.

It's a piece of propagandist claptrap in all honesty, but it'll keep Corbyn happy if it gets an occasional airing!


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Just to be different, I'll be listening to this one.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Ken - we're those really world premiere recordings???? Surprising if so, not that I doubt RCA's honesty!


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

Haven't tried it in years. Pure Soviet Agit prop from the time that DSCH was a true believer.
I have a surround sound system in my basement next to the laundry room. I will listen to Kitaenko in SACD and not be upset if the dryer noise drowns them out


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Robert Pickett said:


> Ken - we're those really world premiere recordings???? Surprising if so, not that I doubt RCA's honesty!


Maybe Wiki knows! This is an RCA Dynagroove LP with the liner notes on the back dated 1968.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Igor Blazhkov/Students' Choir of the Krupskaya Institute of Culture/Leningrad Philharmonic 
Symphony Orchestra
(original LP release: MELODIYA CM 01883-4/HMV MELODIYA ASD 2747/MELODIYA ANGEL SR-40099) 
(1965)

Predates the Gould RELEASE DATE by three years. The coupled 3rd recorded in 1964!


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

D Smith said:


> This is my least favourite Shostakovich symphony, but who knows? Perhaps I'll change my mind on another listen. It will be Petrenko/Royal Liverpool here.


This version for me also


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Robert Pickett said:


> Igor Blazhkov/Students' Choir of the Krupskaya Institute of Culture/Leningrad Philharmonic
> Symphony Orchestra
> (original LP release: MELODIYA CM 01883-4/HMV MELODIYA ASD 2747/MELODIYA ANGEL SR-40099)
> (1965)
> ...


Maybe RCA meant, "World Premiere recordings of Morton Gould conducting these works." Anyway, must not have busted the charts because I don't think he recorded any more. :lol:


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

Some really interesting orchestration here but the lame choral finale totally undoes the good work. Still, DSCH hadn't really composed any choral stuff up until then so it was good experience for him. Pity the finale of the next symphony was equally as lame.

I'll go for Roszhdestvenski here.


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## cougarjuno (Jul 1, 2012)

Haitink and London Philharmonic -- I've found Haitink's Shostakovich symphonies quite engaging, perhaps a little more satisfying with the Concertgebouw than with London, still, usually a winner. Haven't listened to the 2nd in a while but the disc was already on my waiting list ready to played.


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## Weird Heather (Aug 24, 2016)

In the 20th Century and beyond, a symphony is a symphony simply because the composer declares it to be one; this piece of music comes across to me as a bizarre experiment rather than a symphony in the traditional sense. Although widely regarded as a failure, it has a certain charm. I find it to be an interesting failure overall, with the instrumental portion being the most successful part. I listened to the Morton Gould recording. I like his approach to this symphony; he isn't afraid to have a little fun with it, especially in the crude propaganda of the choral section. This performance makes the best out of a rather flawed composition that nevertheless has some good qualities and is worth hearing.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Going with Haitink later on.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I listened to that ancient RCA recording with Morton Gould conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus. The symphony rose quite a bit in my esteem this time around, maybe because Gould does a very fine job. Or maybe I was just listening more carefully.

The first part, before the chorus, builds through about eight minutes to a frenzy of almost unbearable intensity before dropping off to a more relaxed episode leading to the finale. There, the choral writing sounds good and is well-balanced with the orchestra. To my ear, there's nothing "false" here, it all seems quite honestly impassioned -- if not terribly inspired.

Of course it's easy for us to see our "rockets' red glare" or our _Lincoln Portrait_ as "patriotism," while consigning Shostakovich's honest patriotism to the bin of "propaganda." That's not likely to change.


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

KenOC said:


> Maybe RCA meant, "World Premiere recordings of Morton Gould conducting these works." Anyway, must not have busted the charts because I don't think he recorded any more. :lol:


Back in the mid/late '60s, when the cold war was very much at it's height, it is unlikely that anyone would have had access to the Melodiya recording (which would presumably have been from a live concert). Although the original Melodiya recording may have been available in the USSR, HMV Melodiya wasn't introduced until the 1970s, so the original pressings would still have been a inaccessible to most at the time the Gould recording was made. It is probably true that the Gould recording was a world premiere _studio_ recording, though the sleeve doesn't make that distinction.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

That occurred to me as well. RCA may have simply not known about the Soviet recording, made for domestic consumption.


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## Mika (Jul 24, 2009)

D Smith said:


> This is my least favourite Shostakovich symphony, but who knows? Perhaps I'll change my mind on another listen. It will be Petrenko/Royal Liverpool here.


Will start with this one and pick Barshai next.


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

I decided to go for a recording that I've not heard mentioned before, the recent Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra / Alexander Sladkovsky cycle on Melodiya, which can be found on Spotify. 
It's a long time since I've heard this symphony, and I'm very glad I chose this recording because it showed me in crystal clarity just how much the 4th symphony owes to this earlier work (feel free to disagree). Obviously the choral finale is made of different stuff - call it propaganda, call it patriotism, whatever - potato/potato - but the rest of the symphony has a completely different style to what he had written in his 1st symphony containing many bits of themes, rhythms, full-on orchestra and solo parts. I found myself surprised at how much like Prokofiev the very end sounded, and definitely it's a symphony I'm going to explore further.
By the way, the Sladkovsky recording has a real factory siren.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

It had to be this one today. RIP.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Haitink with the LPO for me - frankly the Symphony is not as bad as I remembered.

View attachment 104770


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

KenOC said:


> I listened to that ancient RCA recording with Morton Gould conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus. The symphony rose quite a bit in my esteem this time around, maybe because Gould does a very fine job. Or maybe I was just listening more carefully.
> 
> The first part, before the chorus, builds through about eight minutes to a frenzy of almost unbearable intensity before dropping off to a more relaxed episode leading to the finale. There, the choral writing sounds good and is well-balanced with the orchestra. To my ear, there's nothing "false" here, it all seems quite honestly impassioned -- if not terribly inspired.
> 
> Of course it's easy for us to see our "rockets' red glare" or our _Lincoln Portrait_ as "patriotism," while consigning Shostakovich's honest patriotism to the bin of "propaganda." That's not likely to change.


I think that is a fair summary of my thoughts
Definitely worth more listening time


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Rozhdestvensky. Big loss, very sad indeed.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Robert Pickett said:


> Rozhdestvensky. Big loss, very sad indeed.


Agree.
The generation of conductors that first introduced me to classical music in the late eighties are becoming fewer far too quickly these days.


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## Biwa (Aug 3, 2015)

I'll go for this one.

Gürzenich-Orchester Köln
Dmitrij Kitajenko (conductor)


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

Biwa said:


> View attachment 104794
> 
> 
> I'll go for this one.
> ...


I finally got around to listening to it, this same recording, this morning. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The Conductor really does ratchet up the intensity of the first part, and the Choral part is mercifully brief.


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## chalkpie (Oct 5, 2011)

Surprised at some of the comments here. Definitely a DSCH symphony that I visit on occasion instead of playing regurlarly like S4, S5, S10, etc etc but the beginning always sounded very Ivesian to me - which is never a bad thing! It sounds very modern, which is why I dig it. When the choir enters, the first time I was taken aback and almost overwhelmed, I just wasn't expecting it!I personally think its quite good, just not on the level of his masterpieces. 

Haitink, Barshai, Kondrashin, Gergiev


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## fluteman (Dec 7, 2015)

chalkpie said:


> Surprised at some of the comments here. Definitely a DSCH symphony that I visit on occasion instead of playing regurlarly like S4, S5, S10, etc etc but the beginning always sounded very Ivesian to me - which is never a bad thing! It sounds very modern, which is why I dig it. When the choir enters, the first time I was taken aback and almost overwhelmed, I just wasn't expecting it!I personally think its quite good, just not on the level of his masterpieces.
> 
> Haitink, Barshai, Kondrashin, Gergiev


Thanks, that was an interesting and intelligent defense of a work that even I find it hard to sit through, especially the choral part, and I'm a big fan of Shostakovich and the mid-20th century modern aesthetic generally. I think it best to approach it as a cultural as well as political history buff, as it reflects a unique and pivotal time and place in human history. Barshai seems to have the right spirit. Victory over oppression! Huzzah!


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