Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47, Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a (arr. of String Quartet No. 8 by Rudolf Barshai).
Mariss Jansons, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
EMI Classics 7243 5 56442 2 0. DDD. TT 71:23.

This disc comes a decade after Mariss Jansons last recorded the Fifth, then too for EMI, with the Oslo Philharmonic (CDC 7 49181 2). That earlier CD did not inspire enthusiasm for a new outing; Jansons blitzed through the symphony with utter disregard for the buildup or release of tension. Matters were only made worse by the mediocrity of the playing and tinny acoustics.

How times have changed! Jansons' new Fifth is a profound re-thinking of the work, and not only in comparison with this conductor's previous recording. Jansons displays a powerful overall conception, which successfully translates into music the prevailing scholarship on the symphony's subtext. Obviously, notes alone cannot convey the specifics of that meaning, but no extra-musical knowledge should be required for a listener to discern that Jansons' performance is clearly and consistently about the conflict between an individual protagonist and an implacable foe.

In the second movement, for example, Jansons depicts a dialogue between, on the one hand, stern lower and massed strings and brass, and on the other, a free-spirited voice in high winds and violin that sounds reluctant or unable to limit its imagination to the lines it is being ordered to parrot. The former personality's leaden nature is conveyed by dynamic uniformity, exemplified by the eight peremptory hammer blows of exactly the same emphasis which are delivered by the horns at fig. 61+6/2:35 and again at fig. 63+7/2:59.

At the same time, the strictly musical logic of Jansons' no-longer impatient direction is compelling. Whereas his earlier recording disgorged notes in free-flow, this one is structured into discrete musical sentences, the difference being most noticeable in the first and third movements. Tempos are still on the fast side - the VPO's precision suits well - but Jansons suspends time when needed, as in the central section and close of the Largo, which impart a sense of desolate isolation.

Nuances of phrasing and orchestral balance surprise and challenge at every turn. I imagine that listeners will disagree about the validity of many of Jansons' interpretive decisions. One such twist brings to the foreground the timpani at the beginning of the fourth movement. At this moment, we are used to the timpani roll serving to underpin the crescendo on winds; compare Rostropovich and the National Symphony Orchestra on Teldec (4509-94557-2). Instead, Jansons startles by having the timpani bang loudly from the outset. This is not what the Sikorski edition prescribes - the roll is marked to rise from p to ƒƒ - but it is undeniably effective, shocking the listener out of the hush left by the close of the third movement, and simultaneously imposing a sense of menace that is echoed by the Vienna winds' especially chilling trill.

By coincidence, the same highlighting of the timpani can be heard on another coupling of the Fifth and Chamber Symphonies, from Mark Gorenstein and the Russian Symphony Orchestra (PopeMusic PMG2009-2). Issued on a gold-coated audiophile CD entitled Redemption, Gorenstein's performance of the Fifth is otherwise quite dissimilar, with less subtle gesturing but correspondingly freer drama.

EMI have recorded the symphony at a low level, but it blooms once the volume knob is turned past its usual position. While the recording gives a realistic enough feel for the acoustics of the Musikverein, I suspect that too-close miking may be responsible for my one main quibble, a distractingly highlighted rasp that accompanies the forceful bowing of the double basses in the climax of the third movement. The Vienna audience are their usual paragons of concert etiquette, and not a sniffle is to be heard from them throughout.

Rudolf Barshai's arrangement of the Eighth Quartet makes for a generous coupling, and is impressively performed and recorded. While Jansons successfully conveys the loneliness of the slow movements, the Vienna strings sound too well-fed, and I was left feeling that little was at stake. The version on the aforementioned PopeMusic album is at once more confessional and less civilized. It is also more idiomatic, with Gorenstein's youth musicians reminding me of the old Leningrad Philharmonic's strings.

But getting back to Jansons' new Fifth, it is the most thought-provoking performance of a Shostakovich piece that I've heard in years, and it demands a hearing.

W. Mark Roberts
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DSCH No. 9.
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