Mikhail Pletnev's slow cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies continues on the Dutch audiophile label Pentatone, doing superb work here in Moscow's Philharmonia 2 (aka Rachmaninov Hall). In the first and third movements of the Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43 (sample either, around the midpoints), where giant perorations of brass come to nothing, the brasses of the Russian National Orchestra (a private enterprise, despite its name) are showcased gloriously. The Symphony No. 4 was withdrawn by Shostakovich after he ran afoul ...
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Mikhail Pletnev's slow cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies continues on the Dutch audiophile label Pentatone, doing superb work here in Moscow's Philharmonia 2 (aka Rachmaninov Hall). In the first and third movements of the Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43 (sample either, around the midpoints), where giant perorations of brass come to nothing, the brasses of the Russian National Orchestra (a private enterprise, despite its name) are showcased gloriously. The Symphony No. 4 was withdrawn by Shostakovich after he ran afoul of Stalin's government in the 1930s, and indeed, in Pletnev's slow, almost excruciating reading, it is easy to imagine Stalin absolutely detesting this work. The music suggests a Mahler who has witnessed some of the 20th century's horrors, and its giant first movement, more than 33 minutes long in Pletnev's reading, is one of the few in the literature that is both radical and gigantic: experiments tend to be worked out on a smaller scale. Pletnev revels in its length; his reading...
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Add this copy of Symphonies 4 & 10 to cart. $43.13, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Pentatone.
Add this copy of Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 10 to cart. $55.67, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2018 by Pentatone.
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