SYMPHONIES 1-15 PLUS ORCHESTRAL AND VOCAL WORKS: BMG/Melodiya "Twofers".
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra, Various soloists.

Gennadi Rozhdestvensky has undoubtedly been the single greatest proponent of Shostakovich's lesser-known works, having resurrected, renovated and reconstructed many for Melodiya's From Manuscripts of Different Years LPs. But no less than this has been his advocacy of the "core" orchestral works, and in the 1980s he recorded all the symphonies with the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra. The cycle has appeared in various transfers, either integrally or singly, and now BMG has recoupled them with some interesting fillers in a series of "twofers" which sell for about the price of a single disc. As an appendix there are two discs of Orchestral Works, mopping up some of From Manuscripts of Different Years. There are even some première recordings, which BMG unaccountably fails to flag.

Sadly, the original recordings were given "Soviet" recording treatment - an incredible combination of a cavernous acoustic with bizarre spotlighting. Perspectives and acoustics change (half the orchestra might suddenly disappear into an echo chamber) and there's a feeling that at any moment a player might leap into your lap. These are problems with the masters, so there is a limited amount that any transfer can do to ameliorate them. BMG has applied the NoNOISE system which has attracted some criticism in the past for making recordings unduly harsh. At first the transfers sound similar to the Olympia incarnation, apart from being transferred at a slightly higher level. However they are a little brighter and, though the bass is largely unaffected, the upper frequencies (in particular the cymbals) can become almost painful, especially as the original recordings tended to highlight these instruments.

Symphonies 1, 5, 6, 9.
74321 49611 2.

Presumably BMG intend this as a "basic Shostakovich symphonies" set but it also shows the strengths of Rozhdestvensky's performances. With tempi that generally err on the steady side, he concentrates on the composer's sardonic side without going to the extremes of some of Rostropovich's recordings or Maxim's aborted Collins cycle. The Fifth is a particularly recommendable performance and, if you like a deliberately and ironically crass Ninth this may be one for you. The First is probably a bit too slow but the Sixth is another worthwhile performance, though you'll have to wait till the very end before the real terrifying insanity of this music becomes obvious.

Symphonies 2, 3, 4, Hamlet Suite, opus 32, Overture to Poor Columbus.
74321 63462 2.

Having designed its "starter pack", BMG spread the rest of the symphonies out basically chronologically. However this is the most uneven of the sets; Rozhdestvensky takes the Second and Third symphonies too slowly, draining them of revolutionary fervour. The Fourth, however, is a different matter. Though Rozhdestvensky took it into his repertoire soon after its reappearance in 1961, the talk that filled the fourth side of the LP shows how quickly he had got to the heart of it. It may not be the neatest performance in the catalogue and sadly it's one of the more wayward of the recordings in terms of sound, but the performance demands to be heard despite that. The 21-minute selection from the theatrical Hamlet receives a typically ebullient, Rozhdestvenskian performance and has never appeared on CD before (it isn't to be confused with the Eduard Serov-conducted pieces that accompanied the Tenth Symphony on Olympia). Finally the Poor Columbus Overture, infuriatingly shorn of its partner. Both pieces would easily have fitted onto the CD but the Finale crops up as a bizarre pendant to the Eleventh Symphony.

Symphonies 7, 8, Songs from King Lear opus 58a.
74321 53457 2.

Better grouped are these two symphonies and the first appearance on CD for Rozhdestvensky's recording of the songs from Kozintsev's wartime staging of King Lear. Though Natalia Burnasheva is a bit cool in her one contribution, it's hard to imagine a more characterful performance than Nesterenko's unless it were to go over the top. In the Seventh, as so often in the cycle, Rozhdestvensky often takes moderate tempi but manages to avoid the impression of sluggishness. The Eighth is a more uneven matter and he takes a little while to get into his stride - it's only about halfway into the first movement that things become really gripping. After that, things are more secure, though this might not be the first version I'd recommend.

Symphonies 10, 11, Pushkin Songs opus 91, Finale to Poor Columbus.
74321 63461 2.

Symphonies 10 and 11 appropriately come with the Opus 91 Pushkin Songs and, as has been noted, the much earlier Finale to Poor Columbus. Rozhdestvensky's orchestration of the songs is sensitive and very Shostakovichian and both the symphonies receive dramatic performances. The end of the Eleventh is particularly exciting and, if the Tenth mightn't be the first I'd turn to, it's still very recommendable. The only real downside is that the Poor Columbus fragment sounds strangely out of place.

Symphonies 12, 13, First Cello Concerto, Eight Preludes, opus 34.
74321 63460 2.

To go with the 12th and 13th symphonies BMG have resurrected Mikhail Khomitser's rendering of the First Cello Concerto - neither outstanding nor terrible - and Milko Kelemen's orchestration of Eight Preludes, opus 34. Rozhdestvensky's recording of the Twelfth has always seemed to me one of the most convincing readings of this symphony, turning it into a much darker work than the programme would imply. The Thirteenth also can be considered amongst the best - Anatoli Safiulin brings a whole range of emotions to the music and the choir is superb. The Eight Preludes are a pleasant makeweight, though Milko Kelemen's orchestration veers oddly in and out of a Shostakovichian vein as if he couldn't quite make up his mind which way to go.

Symphonies 14, 15, Six Japanese Songs, Four Pushkin Romances opus 91, Six Romances to Texts by British Poets opus 62a, Eight English and American Folk Songs, sans opus M.
7321 59057 2.

The last three symphonies are particularly difficult to bring off and there is certainly no completely satisfactory Fourteenth in the catalogue. However Rozhdestvensky's is better than most and his soloists Anatoli Safiulin and Makvala Kasrashvili match him every inch of the way. This is one of the 'better' recordings (relatively speaking) but it is still fairly relentless, a quality which ironically helps project the music's pitiless moments. Against that gentler songs have an inappropriately 'etched' quality and there is a weirdly creative use of reverb at the end of The Zaporozhian Cossack's Reply. One thing that BMG has not corrected is the excessive gap between the fourth and fifth songs which should be played attacca. The Fifteenth has had more than its fair share of failures in the studio but Rozhdestvensky revels in its grotesquerie (sadly matched by a grotesque recording), particularly in the chill coda. The symphonies bring with them a miscellany of songs. Tenor Alexei Maslennikov sings the Japanese Songs in the orchestral version with Safiulin giving the Pushkin songs in Rozhdestvensky's idiomatic orchestration and though the earlier set seems to me a lesser work, both are given fine performances. Yet again BMG miss a trick by not pointing out that both the British Poets and the English and American Folk Songs are première recordings. The latter might be a byway too far for some; about the only moment of pleasure I got was the rhyming of "Billy Boy" and "mily moi" - Russian for "my dear". But the early orchestration of the British cycle is a different matter and it's fascinating to hear; heavier than the more familiar opus 140 version though often similar. Perhaps that heaviness encouraged Rozhdestvensky to lighten things by upping the tempi but I did find it occasionally a bit hurried, particularly in the Sonnet No 66.

Orchestral Works.
74321 59058 2.

This collection trawls From Manuscripts of Different Years mopping up many of the pieces not coupled to the symphonies, though obviously not all of the six LPs are here. Hopefully BMG will continue the series and release the rest of From Manuscripts of Different Years (piano pieces, the two reorchestrated cello concertos, the Harp Duet and the Satires). Meanwhile this is a varied selection with orchestral pieces (the Scherzi, opus 1 and opus 7, the Theme and Variations, opus 3 and the First Jazz Suite), vocal items (the Krylov Fables and the song Spring, Spring...), parts of incidental music to The Tale of the Priest, Alone, The Big Lightning, The Adventures of Korzinkina, The Golden Hills and The Bedbug as well as the orchestrations of Scarlatti, Beethoven, Strauss, Rimsky-Korsakov and Youmans. Generally light-hearted, though sometimes more bitingly satirical, these are all enjoyable pieces needing no profundity of interpretation. Of course this is not to say that they play themselves, and Rozhdestvensky's wit is a perfect foil for them.

Sigrid Neef's notes spend some time critiquing the recordings, which isn't as redundant as it may seem as they give information on when Rozhdestvensky first conducted some of the works. More seriously, the sets omit all the texts of the vocal items, making the discs less friendly than they might have been. Incidentally, there seem to be more typos than normal, with names and even titles of pieces annoyingly misspelled, such as the last song of the opus 46 cycle - not Stances but Stanzas.

As I've noted, some of the couplings to the symphonies are sometimes less than ideal and the recording quality is a drawback, but all in all this is an important rerelease. As some of it has appeared before, what you choose to buy may depend on what you already have, and the interesting couplings often make up for less good performances of the symphonies. The Orchestral Works is a welcome addition to the catalogue but even symphonies 2-4 and 7 and 8, for me the least recommendable sets, are worth considering for the couplings. What would be best would be if Rozhdestvensky were lured back into the studio to make better quality recordings.

John Riley
Top