Several of Shostakovich’s
symphonies have political motives. While
the others were written to satisfy the
Soviet authorities Babi Yar had
its origin in the composer’s personal
ethics and feelings. Babi Yar
was/is a ravine outside Kiev in the
Ukraine. At the end of September 1941
the German Army had reached Kiev during
their invasion of the Soviet Union and
a few days later all the Jews in the
city were ordered to a special meeting
point, where they were systematically
killed and thrown into the ravine. In
total 100 000 Jews were killed.
When the Germans retreated two years
later they did what they could to destroy
all the evidence of what had happened,
but enough people knew the facts and
rumour spread. The young poet Yevgeny
Yevtushenko visited the site twenty
years later and was very taken by what
he learnt, especially upset by the fact
that there was no memorial. As a result
of the visit he wrote the poem Babi
Yar, where he criticised the Soviet
indifference to the massacre. Even if
there had been a certain thaw during
the reign of Krushchev, this was too
much for the authorities and Yevtushenko
was attacked for, as Mark Wigglesworth
writes in his liner notes of the BIS
issue, "belittling the suffering
of the Russian people by suggesting
that it was only the Jews who were the
victims of Babi Yar". The poem
had to be withdrawn and was not officially
published again until 1984. Shostakovich
read it, was overjoyed and decided to
set it to music. Initially he intended
Babi Yar to be a piece of its
own but soon decided that it should
be the first movement of a larger symphonic
building. Finding other poems by the
poet that describe various aspects of
Russian life he created one of his most
personal canvases. It has very contrasting
parts but still feels as a unit through
the almost consistently dark and bleak
tonal language. Fears, the fourth
movement, was written by Yevtushenko
specifically for the symphony.
There were conflicts
also surrounding the premiere of the
work. Mravinsky, who had conducted the
first performances of most Shostakovich
symphonies, got cold feet, so Kondrashin
took over. He was asked by the Russian
Minster of Culture if the symphony could
be performed without the first movement,
but Kondrashin refused. After the premiere
Yevtushenko rewrote the poem, adding
lines about the Soviet people’s sufferings
as well, which Shostakovich reluctantly
sanctioned, but on the present recordings
the original text is performed.
These two, almost simultaneously
issued versions of Babi Yar,
are both parts of ongoing complete cycles.
Mark Wigglesworth started his cycle
in 1997 with the Leningrad symphony
and with this issue he has come halfway
through the fifteen. Roman Kofman, who
obviously started later, is fast catching
up: this is his sixth Shostakovich symphony.
Both are in SACD format and I am not
sure if there are further multi-channel
versions around. In this review I will,
however, only deal with the present
two.
They have quite a lot
in common. Tempi, as can be seen from
the timings, are practically identical.
A total timing discrepancy of 31 seconds
for such a long work is negligible and
even if individual movements differ
slightly, take or give a few seconds,
they are quite similar. Both conductors
are also rhythmically incisive and alert,
making the second movement "swing".
The prevailing dark mood almost all
through the symphony is also brought
out with chilling efficiency, from the
ominously walking double basses in the
beginning of the first movement to the
threatening depth of the Fear
movement, the beginning of which must
have been an influence when John Williams
wrote the music for Jaws. The
opening of the last movement is the
first time when there is a glimpse of
light with those almost ethereal flutes
flowed by high strings. A little later
the chatty bassoon creates a scherzo
feeling before the soft contemplative
end, the symphony just slowly dying
away. This is also well handled by both
conductors.
If there is a difference
between the orchestras I would say that
the Beethoven Orchester is slightly
more soft-edged while the Dutch orchestra
seems a slightly larger body with more
punch, but this may well be a matter
of recording. The darkness of the symphony
is further enhanced by the use of the
male chorus’s basses and the bass soloist,
and this is where the greatest differences
between the two readings occur. The
Czech Philharmonic Choir, who should
have a more natural relationship to
the language, are excellent and maybe
more authentically Slavonic in timbre.
However the Simon Halsey-trained Netherlands
Radio Choir are even more impressive
and sing with a bite and intensity that
is quite overwhelming. Most of the chorus
singing is in unison and there is an
explosive punch to their singing that
hits you right in solar plexus.
The two soloists are
also excellent. Taras Shtonda, who shares
his time between the opera houses in
Kiev and Moscow, is fast becoming one
of the most sought after basses of the
younger generation. He has a pliant
instrument that he uses sensitively
in a nuanced reading of this testing
part and there is no lack of power for
the dramatic music. Jan-Hendrik Rootering
with a less Slavonic voice timbre digs
even deeper and thanks to his more concentrated
tone, secure and well-focused, he makes
an even greater impression.
Sonically both recordings
are also splendid with the added precision
of the multi-channel reproduction and
the physically exciting feeling of being
there in the recording venue surrounded
by the hall ambience. Even here the
BIS recording is the most dynamic and
to experience the almost limitless expansion
of the orchestra I would recommend readers
to listen from ca. 9:30 into the first
movement for a real thrill and also
the last 30 seconds of the same movement.
Just make sure that your neighbours
are well out of earshot.
With valuable documentation
- essays by Dr. Josif Raiskin (Dabringhaus
und Grimm) and Mark Wigglesworth himself
(BIS) - and Yevtushenko’s poems in translation
and, with BIS, also the Russian originals,
both discs are models of presentation.
Either of them is a prime recommendation
for an SACD version of this many-facetted
symphony and it is only when making
close-listening comparisons, that the
BIS version comes out as even more thrilling
than its competitor. This is thanks
to the tremendous sound and, good as
Shtonda and the Czech Philharmonic basses
are, the singing of Rootering and the
Netherlands Radio singers excels. I
am happy to have both and will eagerly
await the next opportunity to play them
again.
Göran Forsling
Jan-Hendrik
Rootering (bass) 
BIS-SACD-1543
[62:22]
for
details
