HDTT are on to a good thing. In essence it is a very simple premise
– they take classic analogue commercial reel-reel tapes, remaster
them from the ground up and then individually burn CDs (or FLAC
lossless downloads) to produce some of the technically best recordings
it is possible to buy. Allied to the technical excellence they
seem to have a pretty judicious touch as far as selecting repertoire
is concerned. My
previous
encounter with an HDTT disc – Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic
playing Richard Strauss live at the Salzburg Festival – made it
onto my disc of the year list of six and I read Tony Duggan glowing
review of the famous
Horenstein/Mahler 1 with interest – one for my wishlist I think!
Ultimately, I have to say that my interest lies with the repertoire
and the performances over and above the technical presentation.
So it is a pleasure to be able to report that the two performances
on this disc are very fine but one – the Shostakovich
Cello
Sonata is an absolute cracker. Daniil Shafran’s career to
a degree was overshadowed by that of his slightly (four years)
younger colleague Rostropovich. This was much to do with the fact
that he toured internationally far less than Rostropovich and
that the bulk of his recorded legacy was made for Melodiya with
its limited distribution and relatively poor production values.
Which makes this ‘Western’ recording from 1960 in New York all
the more precious - the cover dates the recording as 1961 but
I suspect that was a release year. Not that that was Shafran’s
first recording of this magnificent sonata – it was already his
third. His first (and the work’s) was a famous one with the composer
at the piano and dates from 1946. I have never heard that performance
or his second from 1957 on Supraphon featuring his first wife
and long-time accompanist Nina Musinyan. I would encourage readers
to seek out the many fascinating articles about this master cellist
on the website dedicated to him at
www.classicus.jp/shafran
. In particular there is a warmly affectionate memoir from Steven
Isserlis. From these one gets the impression of a powerful personality
and certainly this is very evident in this performance. Fascinating
to read also of his life-long association with just one instrument
– a 1630 Amati. Certainly he has a unique sound which is produced
from a combination of instrumental timbre, a very particular choice
of vibrato and unique musical phrasing. It is very different from
the more overtly muscular approach of a Rostropovich but after
several listenings I have been completely swayed by the rightness
of the sound and the interpretation. Everything you read about
Shostakovich underlines the sardonic humour, the evasiveness -
in the sense that he rarely publically revealed his inner feelings
- of the man as well as pained passion of his music; Shafran’s
performance catches every nuance. Right from the very first bar
you are entering a quite unique sound-world. The tone is superbly
focused and rich but the vibrato is tight, fast and neurotic.
Don’t forget that this piece with its Opus number of 40 comes
from the mid-1930s when Shostakovich was not yet thirty and still
basking in the glory of his early state-approved triumphs. Yet
this is far from being an optimistic work. Even the lyrical opening
– another of Shafran’s particular gifts is the vocal/singing quality
of his playing – soon descends into something more strenuous and
troubled. I have to say, at this point, that the miracles of restoration
that HDTT have accomplished are quite astonishing for a recording
nearly fifty years old. The balance between cello and piano is
ideal. All credit too to pianist Lydia Pecherskaya who is fully
able to project the mercurial side of Shostakovich’s music as
well as ride its technical demands. If you listen on headphones
yes there is analogue tape hiss but so absorbing is the music-making
that I dare you to notice it more than thirty seconds in. There
is a strangely malevolent glee that inhabits this performance
allied to mournful lyricism that is both unsettling and compelling
at the same time. The second movement is one of those typically
Shostakovichian Toccata/Scherzi that he made uniquely his own.
Possibly in this movement is the only time I miss the muscularity
mentioned above. Also, the famous glissandi harmonics in this
movement register less remarkably than in other performances.
But that being said Shafran is quite superb allowing the movement
to dance more than is usual. As so often though the heart of a
Shostakovich work lies in its slow movement. The landscape Shafran
and Pecherskaya paint is painfully bleak. The piano then starts
a stoical march over tolling bell-like figures using the very
barest of musical textures [track 3 – 1:28] over which the cello
sings a beautiful lament. Shafran phrases the music forward so
the passage unfolds as one long poignant melody that gradually
rises in pitch and intensity. Again I repeat it seems impossible
that this recording is as old as it is, so alive and immediate
is this performance. After the profundity of the third movement
the finale can occasionally come as a relatively light-weight
shock. Not here where the merry malice of Shafran pays dividends.
I cannot think of any performance quite like it and I’m struggling
for metaphors – a delight in the misfortune of others perhaps,
a whistling executioner happy in his work. You can also hear Shafran’s
unique fingerings too, his portamenti slides, as he shifts hand
position, are as delightful as they are quirky and effective.
The catalogue contains many fine recordings of this masterpiece
but given Shafran’s close involvement with the composer this has
to be considered a reference performance.
HDTT have proved to be somewhat idiosyncratic in some of their
production choices and here is one; Isserlis in his article mentions
Shafran’s recording of the Schubert
Arpeggione Sonata as
his Damascus Road introduction to the cellist. That performance
was the original coupling of this Shostakovich on RCA. So why
don’t we get that recreated here instead of a completely unrelated
Brahms Piano Trio? In fact – this rather short disc could probably
have included the Schubert as well! While I’m mentioning the quirks
in presentation; hooray that the disc is supplied in a standard
jewel case. The previous disc I received was in a DVD box.. However,
the presentation of the disc is distinctly sub-standard. The “booklet”
– actually a single folded piece of light-weight card - is poorly
printed and contains reasonable (uncredited) notes about the pieces
but not one single word about the performances or artists. Now
come on HDTT – this is a disc aimed at a specialist collectors
market. It would be fascinating to have an essay on the performers,
why these recordings were chosen and the like. Instead we get
a listing of mastering equipment. Actually, I do find that to
be interesting too – but I’m not enough of a techy to understand
why that equipment makes the difference which it very clearly
does so an explanation of that would be good. One other oddity
carried on from the previous disc I reviewed – the break between
the two works is a very few seconds. It really does jar to lurch
from the sound-worlds of Shostakovich to Brahms in such a short
time. Would it have been too much to insert at least a ten second
break? Lastly, the artwork is about as unappealing as it could
be. If we used a point system in our reviews it would be ten stars
for technical excellence and performance and one for presentation.
Coming back to the music – I’ve been putting off the Brahms part
of this review as it leaves me a bit perplexed. In essence the
actual source recording is far less appealing than the Shafran.
Although dating from three years after it the Brhams suffers from
a far harsher recorded environment. It reminds me in part of those
Phase-Four experiments in the 1960s when stereo was used as an
aural equivalent to technicolour with everything extremely delineated
and closely miked and synthetically placed on a sound-stage. The
playing is beyond reproach particularly if you like your Brahms
muscular and athletic. Oddly, Gary (oops! – a cover typo has him
down as Garry! – and by the way most sources spell Shafran’s first
name as Daniil not Daniel again as listed on the cover) Graffman
is the “money” name here but as balanced he is very much third
amongst equals with the violin closest and cello next. Violinist
Berl Senofsky was a major performer in his own right - the first
and only American-born winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition
in Brussels as I recall – but he never developed an international
career that his playing merits. The recording is microscopically
close but Senofsky’s playing is never compromised. However, I
cannot say that this is a pleasurable listening experience. As
it happens, I do prefer Brahms played in this unbuttoned vigorous
manner so I greatly enjoyed the performance overall. I have enough
faith in the skills of the HDTT engineers to be certain they have
achieved all that could be with these masters. Sadly however this
is a performance too compromised by the source recording to give
unalloyed pleasure. A stunning Shostakovich in remarkable sound
coupled with a good Brahms in that harsh spot-lit sound so often
produced from American sources in the sixties.
As I said in my opening paragraph – HDTT are definitely onto a
good thing and are a label to watch. If they lavish the care on
the final product that they do on the resurrection of these peerless
performances then all of their releases will become compulsory
purchases.
Nick Barnard
Daniil Shafran (cello); Lydia Pecherskaya (piano) – Shostakovich
