Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 4 (Vasily Petrenko)

Information

Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich

1. Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43: I. Allegretto poco moderato
2. Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43: II. Moderato con moto
3. Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43: III. Largo - Allegro

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, conductor
Date: 2013
Label: Naxos
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573188

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

There are a lot of performances of this remarkable symphony available now, but this one stands out as having a truly distinctive and persuasive point of view. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, however well it plays, isn’t an orchestral powerhouse like the Chicago Symphony (Previn) or Kondrashin’s Moscow Philharmonic, but Vasily Petrenko more than compensates for any lack of sheer heft with an extra jolt of energy and a razor-sharp rhythmic attack. Listen to the strings dig into the music right after the first movement’s “climax of fugal insanity”. If the preceding din isn’t exactly paint-peeling, it’s still very exciting, and as you can hear, Petrenko sustains the tension very well, providing an unusual degree of continuity to a movement that easily tends to break up into a sequence of disconnected episodes. 

The scherzo also is unusually characterful—slower than the norm, which only makes it more gaunt and spooky. The “tick-tock” percussion at the end is especially clear, and disturbingly mechanical. As for the gripping finale, not only is the wacky ballet suite interlude remarkably fun, but Petrenko really unleashes the hounds in the form of some magnificently braying brass in the final chorale. This is one of those performances that justifies purchasing yet another recording of what is becoming a relatively well-known work. It confirms the piece as a true classic, in the sense that a variety of approaches reveals an endless series of valid interpretive possibilities. The performance is also extremely well recorded, naturally balanced, and vividly present. Wonderful.

– David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/shostakovich-symphony-no-4-0
http://www.classical-music.com/review/shostakovich-4-petrenko-orchestral-dec-13
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/03/shostakovich-symphony-no-4-review
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalcdreviews/10415946/Shostakovich-Symphony-No-4-review.html
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/n/nxs73188a.php
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shostakovich-Symphony-Vasily-Petrenko-8-573188/dp/B00CX1Z5ZO
http://www.amazon.com/Shostakovich-Royal-Liverpool-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B00CX1Z5ZO

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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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