Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 [Includes DVD]
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CD Details
Composer: D. ShostakovichConductor: Bernard Haitink
Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-09-09
Music Label: Cso Resound
Soundtracks:
- Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43: Allegretto poco moderato - Presto
- Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43: Moderato con moto
- Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43: Largo - Allegro
Music reviews of Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 [Includes DVD]
Music Review: Haitink's lyrical approach robs the symphony of bite
Rating: 3 Stars
To me, the Fourth is by far the most interesting and moving of the Shostakovich symphonies, truly a signature work of the 20th century. In the video interview on the bonus DVD Berhard Haitink rightly objects to the hackneyed equation of the work's sound world with industrial machinery and marching masses, clichés that are unfortunately the mainstay of the illustrated talk that fills most of that same DVD. It is an interesting idea to complement a recording with such an introduction, but this one will give you little more than a general lesson in Soviet history and a rehashing of well-known facts from Shostakovich's life at that period. It does very little to deepen understanding of the music, and may even get in the way by planting unwanted associations in the listeners mind, say, with imagery from Charlie Chaplin slapsticks. In a way, the less said about this intensely personal work the better; just listen, it tells its own story very eloquently.
But maybe not as eloquently as it might, in this reading by Haitink and the CSO. In a bid to bring out the many subdued passages for which this work isn't famous, but which nonetheless form its main material, Haitink underplays the big moments, and slows down to a degree where stasis sets in and a sense of pulse is lost. Indeed, this reading is longer than any other I own (and I own quite a number), some ten minutes longer than a few of my favourites. This needn't be a problem: Haitink's earlier recording on Decca also took nearly 70 minutes, but that one has a smouldering intensity and a cumulative majesty that puts it way ahead of the present CSO version. Beautiful detail notwithstanding the overall effect is rather flaccid and somewhat grey. It's not until the finale, in the one burst of sheer joy at nr. 184, that conductor and ensemble finally seem to break out of their confines. The ensuing collage of bizarre waltzes and burlesque marching episodes is done beautifully and is alive with witty, sparkling detail. The overwhelming faux-climax too is realized impressively, with the return of the funeral march melody, lost in almost all recordings, for once balanced as it should be and clearly audible. The desperate, Angst-ridden final pages do not fail to move and leave you stunned. The very end remains a stroke of genius, the celesta breaking out of its obsessive c minor mould in the very last bars, thus turning what seemed until then a conclusive tragedy into a big question mark.
The recording was made live in the not too favourable acoustics of Chicago's Orchestra Hall. The audience is very well-behaved, ie., almost inaudible, but the sound is very lean and dry and in quieter passages seems overly detached. Climaxes lack bite and often sound a bit cloudy. As said, this remake has nothing to recommend it instead of Haitink's earlier London version, quite the contrary, and recordings by Jansons, Rattle and Gergiev too make a rather stronger claim on your purse.
Description of Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 [Includes DVD]
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