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Dmitri Shostakovich(1906-1975)
Jazz Suite No.1 (1934) [8:21] (a)
Jazz Suite No.2 (1938): Movement VI - Waltz 2 [3:49] (b)
Vincent Youmans arr. Shostakovich: Tahiti Trot from “Tea
for Two” Op. 16 (1928) [3:31] (c) The Gadfly Suite Op. 97a (1955): Two excerpts [8:43]
(d)
Piano Concerto No. 1 in C-minor Op. 35 (1933) [21:07] (e)
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F-major Op. 102 (1957) [19:17] (f) The Unforgettable Year 1919 Suite Op. 89a (1951): The
Attack on Beautiful Gorky [7:32] (g)
Dmitri Alexeev
(piano)
English Chamber Orchestra/Jerzy Maksymiuk (e-g)
Philadelphia Orchestra/Mariss Jansons (a-c)
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields/Sir Neville Marriner (d)
rec. March 1996, Giandomenico Studios, Collingswood, New Jersey
(a-c); October-November 1986, No.1 Studio, Abbey Road, London
(d); May 1983, St. John’s Smith Square, London (e-g) CLASSICS
FOR PLEASURE 382 2342 [72:49]
EMI has delved
into its vaults and given us a new Classics for Pleasure CD
that contains excerpts from several previous recordings. What
one might call “The Complete Works of Shostakovich for Piano
and Orchestra” was released in 1987 and parts of it have appeared
since on several compilation albums. The two excerpts from “The
Gadfly” conducted by Marriner date from 1986 and have each
appeared separately on other discs since. More recent are the
Jazz Suites and Tahiti Trot recorded in New Jersey in
1996. They appeared with the Symphony No.11 in 1997 and more
recently in a compilation of the symphonies and other music
- all conducted by Jansons. Obviously there is are variations
in both performance and recording quality but as compilations
go this is a good one.
Marriner and the
Academy provide a wonderfully restrained rendition of the inevitable Romance from ”The
Gadfly” and its accompanying Waltz. Unfortunately the
sound in the Romance is somewhat muddy and the EMI engineers
have not been able to clean this up. The Jazz Suites used to
be a rarity, but nowadays there are quite a few recordings,
especially of No. 1. Here the sometimes grim Jansons brings
out all the irony in the score as if this was a Shostakovich
film score without letting on that what the Soviets called
jazz was not what was meant by the rest of us. Overall his
performance of the 1st Suite is crisp and lively, although
in the Foxtrot he seems to be remembering The Three
Penny Opera. Unfortunately only one excerpt from the 2nd suite
is included - the 6th (Waltz) which sounds
more mellow and a little dragging, at least as compared with
the complete recordings by Arnold Katz on Chant du Monde and
Dimitri Yablonsky (see
review) on Naxos. However the recording on these excerpts
is preferable to the Marriner with woodwinds excelling and
the saxophones and piano coming through well.
Most listeners
who purchase this disc will do so for the recordings of the
two piano concertos. In terms of the solo part Dmitri Alexeev
provides an enviable combination of brashness, irony and tenderness
that fits both concertos perfectly. In the first concerto his
playing is extremely fleet and he is matched by Philip Jones
in the trumpet part. The accompaniment is also of a piece and
the balance between silliness and seriousness characteristic
of the first movement is maintained all the way through. Maksymiuk
gives a very idiomatic performance of the opening of the second
movement and this tone continues through the movement as he
gets wonderful ensemble playing from the strings. . Phillip
Jones is at his best in this movement. The same ensemble closeness
is shown in the moderato while in the last movement
Alexeev really takes control leading the group to a exhilarating
close.
The later, second
concerto fares even better. The soloist and conductor catch
the childlike tone of the beginning of the first movement and
they make a skilful transition to the motorist sounds of the
development. Alexeev’s playing is even more nimble here than
in the 1st Concerto. At the same time he and the
orchestra seem to be really enjoying themselves. The opening
of the second movement receives a very gentle rendition which
then leads into some very different territory. Maksymiuk leads
the orchestra with great finesse and Alexeev matches him, producing
a convincing contrast to the first movement. The last movement
is a little bit of a let-down as the playing by all lacks the
sincerity of the first two movements.
The last item on
this disc is an excerpt from a film about the Russian Civil
War, which having been made during Stalin’s lifetime features
him in a far greater role than he actually played in the real
events. The “Attack on Beautiful Gorky” is perhaps better translated
as “Attack on Krasnaya Gorska (the Red Hill)”, a fort held
by the Whites which is taken by the Red Army during the course
of the film. For this scene Shostakovich wrote or inserted
what can only be described as his answer to Addinsell and Bath,
which makes a nice piece but doesn’t evoke anything martial.
There are two other recordings, one by Martin Roscoe and conductor
Vassili Sinaisky in the Chandos Movies series and the other
on Adriano’s recording of the film suite with Ellena Aleksyeva
at the piano (see review). I have not heard the first, but can say that Alexeev
does a more exciting job than Alekseyeva and is more realistically
recorded.
The touchstone
for me for the combination of irony and feeling needed in these
concertos is Christina Ortiz (see review)
whose recordings date from a long time ago. The recordings
done by the composer’s son and grandson also come
to mind. Alexeev comes close to being in this company. All
in all this is a usefully varied combination of Shostakovich’s
works with some good playing by Alexeev. It makes an excellent
and inexpensive purchase for someone looking for the Shostakovich
concertos.
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