Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos.9 and 14 conducted by Oistrakh and Barshai (Russian Disc)

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos.9 and 14*
USSR Symphony Orchestra/David Oistrakh
*Galina Vishnevskaya, Mark Reshitin; Moscow Chamber Orchestra/Rudolf Barshai
Russian Disc RDCD 11192| Stereo ADD

(If you haven't done so yet, please visit Maready's The High Pony Tail blog where you will find his transfers of some Melodiya releases of Shostakovich's music including Maxim's first recordings of the Fifteenth Symphony and Barshai's studio recording of the Fourteenth Symphony. I'll be posting up some Shostakovich goodies over the next few weeks in tribute to Maready and his fine work.)

The mid and late 1990's were a great time to be a classical CD collector. Everything that could possibly be in print was and what wasn't was well on its way. The Polygram, EMI, and Warner boys were flooding the market with mounds of releases. For those with more peculiar tastes, niche labels like Archiphon, Dante/Lys, Rockport, Pearl, Biddulph, and Romophone served the community admirably. For Russophiles, however, two labels were among the most cherished in those days. The first was the Russian Revelation label which in its all too brief lifespan issued some amazing recordings incuding a priceless 7 CD set of the complete Russian recordings of Shostakovich playing his own work. The other was a label that lasted a little longer, but was shut down around the same time thanks to the mindless chumps at Sony/BMG's legal department. That label was Russian Disc which put out many Soviet era airchecks including this performance: the Moscow premiere of Shostakovich's Fourteenth Symphony. Coupled with it is a good hearted romp through the Ninth Symphony courtesy of David Oistrakh.

Oistrakh was a pretty decent conductor and made a few very estimable recordings, quite a few of which were issued on Russian Revelation including a very rich, Slavic Mahler Fourth Symphony with Vishnevskaya. This Ninth Symphony, while not earth shattering in any way, shows Oistrakh's genial conducting at its best. There are patches of messy ensemble here, but nothing that seriously prevents the enjoyment of this recording. The trombone soloist is particularly good here, playing the tonic/dominant interruptions in the first movement with the appropriate boorish humor.

The real reason to get this disc is to hear this aircheck of the Moscow premiere of the Fourteenth Symphony. The Fourteenth is one of Shostakovich's greatest works, but has faired rather poorly on records. Not that it has lacked good performances. But too often the performances are very well mannered and much too smooth. Only the pre-defection Barshai, Kondrashin, and Rostropovich have truly brought this work to life. Even Barshai's remake with the Cologne Radio fails to come to life the way his studio recording or this aircheck do.

According to the correspondence between Issak Glikman and Shostakovich, the composer was not quite happy with this performance or the singers. He cited ensemble lapses and missed or late entries by the singers. There are a few very minor lapses in ensemble, but really nothing to complain about. No recording matches the frantic intensity of this aircheck. It can almost be too much. Not a work or recording one can listen to very often.

The quality of this recording is good, but tends to suffer from distortion at climaxes, especially if percussion is involved. Speaking of percussion, this recording emends the score slightly with the tom-toms playing in unison with the string at the symphony's coda. This change, according to Barshai, was sanctioned by the composer.

Shostakovich fans must have this CD. Don't miss it.