Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
Twenty Four Preludes, Op.34 (1933 arr. string orchestra, G. Korchmar, 1990) [35:34]
String Quartet No.8, Op. 110 (1960 arr. string orchestra) [23:49]
Dogma Chamber Orchestra/Mikhail Gurewitsch (concertmaster)
rec. Sendesaal, Bremen, Germany, dates not given
BERTHOLD RECORDS AUD9121830 SACD [59:25]
This release was received with a healthy dose of ambivalence by Steve
Arloff (see review),
and commentary elsewhere
has also remarked on the loss if intensity of the string quartet music
when translated to string orchestra. I have nothing against arrangements
of this sort, though with Shostakovich’s piano sonorities always
nagging away at the back of one’s mind it can take a while to accept
the string version of the Twenty Four Preludes, Op.34.
There are a few reasons for struggling with this Op. 34. There
are some fast and energetic preludes of course, but there is a preponderance
of rather slow tempi chosen, making the already more elegiac strings approach
the dirge-like at times. Andante seems to become Adagio,
and Moderato increasingly meno mosso in the first few
preludes. The Sendesaal in Bremen is ideal for piano
but this recording is a touch on the dry side for a larger ensemble, and
the gloss you might have hoped for in the collective string sound isn’t
the strongest aspect of this recording. This is however compensated for
with bags of detail and a high degree of realism, especially in an SACD
set-up. There is a fair bit of bite in the more rhythmic preludes, but
real teeth-clenching dynamic impact isn’t quite achieved. Tuning
can also be a bit suspect here and there, for instance with the double
bass in the fourteenth prelude Adagio.
Rudolf Barshai’s arrangement of the String Quartet No. 8
is justifiably popular, and excellent recordings can be had from the likes
of The Moscow Soloists and Yuri Bashmet (see review).
The dogma chamber orchestra doesn’t credit an arranger, and the
booklet only mentions that their version “is very close to the original
and was simply augmented by the inclusion of a double bass.” I have
to presume that this is therefore not Barshai, who does create
some fuller string orchestra textures through occasional divisi
or dividing of sections to add counterweight to the original notes. This
is a decent enough performance, but neither preferable to Bashmet or indeed
the best of the quartet versions around, of which my recommendations would
be the Fitzwilliam Quartet on Decca, or perhaps the Hagen Quartet on Deutsche
Grammophon (see review).
The dogma chamber orchestra performs well, but I don’t feel the
threat of dark clouds, that sense of oppressively gritty fear and angst
which the best recordings can give. Yes, there is excitement and plenty
of emotion both high-octane and deeply wrought, but the character of the
music for me is a leap further. I know this music can make me glad not
to be living in Soviet Russia in Shostakovich’s time, and the gravitational
pull of this performance isn’t strong enough to make me feel trapped
in that world.
With its distinctive packaging the dogma chamber orchestra is tapping
into comparable territory as the Amsterdam
Sinfonietta, though in my experience the latter would seem to have
a stronger case for your investment at the moment. I’ve enjoyed
hearing this release and am reluctant to dismiss it out of hand, but I’m
afraid it does fall squarely into the ‘non-essential’ category.
Dominy Clements
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