Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 14 (Vasily Petrenko)

Information

Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich

1. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135: I. De profundis (Adagio)
2. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135: II. Malagueña (Allegretto) -
3. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135: III. Lorelei (Allegro molto) -
4. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135: IV. The Suicide (Adagio)
5. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135: V. On Watch (Allegretto) -
6. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135: VI. Madam, look! (Allegretto) -
7. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135: VII. At the Santé Prison (Adagio)
8. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135: VIII. The Zaporozhian Cossacks' Reply to the Sultan of Constantinople (Allegro) -
9. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135: IX. O, Del'vig, Del'vig! (Andante)
10. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135: X. The Death of the Poet (Largo) -
11. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135: XI. Conclusion: (Moderato)

Alexander Vinogradov, bass
Gal James, soprano
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, conductor

Date: 2013
Label: Naxos
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573132

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

This is a sensational performance, the first that truly vies with the classic Rostropovich/Vishnevskaya/Reshetin for supremacy. Vasily Petrenko enjoys the distinct advantage of two absolutely fabulous young soloists. Soprano Gal James has a nice Slavic tang to her timbre (she is in fact Israeli), but with no attendant Slavic wobble and not a trace of shrillness. Her plaintive lyrical singing in The Suicide is as harrowing as her laughter in Madame, look! sounds diabolical.

Baritone Alexander Vinogradov looks like he’s about 12, but he has a deep, rich voice that’s rock-steady and smooth as silk. Although he’s listed here as a baritone, he really has the range of a bass and the music’s lower passages give him no trouble. Like James, he has a tremendous expressive range, from the desolation of At the Santé Jail to the vicious insults of The Zaporozhian Cossacks’ Reply to the Sultan of Constantinople. With both singers you can understand the text so clearly that you could practically take dictation (assuming you wanted to).

As for the conducting, Petrenko is more than gripping. This symphony, with its 11 poems about death, easily can become an exercise in gloom. But Shostakovich hated death; he feared it, but it also disgusted him. He reacted to these poems with visceral expressive power, and Petrenko captures every mood, from the feverish waltz of Malagueña, to the urgent yearning of O Delvig, Delvig! In Petrenko’s hands, we become supremely conscious of how Shostakovich achieves moments of exquisite beauty using the simplest of means–a wandering string line in De profundis or The Death of the Poet–or passages of sardonic humor with the militant rhythm of the tom-toms in On Watch.

The sonics are crystal clear, and if the balances favor the voices, the singing is so superb that we can only welcome the attention. This is just stunning, one of the finest releases in what is already an exceptional cycle.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/shostakovich-symphony-no-14
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Apr14/Shostakovich_sy14_8573132.htm
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/11/shostakovich-symphony-14-review-desolation
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/n/nxs73132a.php
http://www.allmusic.com/album/shostakovich-symphony-no-14-mw0002630175
http://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.573132&languageid=EN
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shostakovich-Symphony-Vasily-Petrenko-8-573132/dp/B00I3KAWQQ
http://www.amazon.com/Shostakovich-Symphony-No-14-Gal-James/dp/B00I3KAWQQ

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Dmitri Shostakovich (25 September 1906 – 9 August 1975) was a Russian composer and pianist, and a prominent figure of 20th-century music. Shostakovich achieved fame in the Soviet Union, but later had a complex and difficult relationship with the government. Shostakovich's music is characterized by sharp contrasts, elements of the grotesque, and ambivalent tonality; the composer was also heavily influenced by the neo-classical style pioneered by Igor Stravinsky, and (especially in his symphonies) by the post-Romanticism associated with Gustav Mahler.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Shostakovich

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Vasily Petrenko (born 7 July 1976, Leningrad, USSR) is a Russian conductor. Petrenko studied conducting principally under Ravil Martynov, also learning from Mariss Jansons, Yuri Temirkanov and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Since 2006 he has been principal conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and is chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra since 2013. He is noted for his recordings of Shostakovich symphonies on Naxos and Rachmaninov on EMI.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Petrenko

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