Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat, Op. 107 (1959) [28:46]
Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47 (1937) [55:33]
Jonathan Ayling (cello)
London Shostakovich Orchestra/Christopher Cox
rec. live, St. Cyprian's Church, London, May 2004
DUNELM RECORDS DRD 0227 [28:46+55:33]
The London Shostakovich Orchestra was founded in 1999; according to the note
in the booklet, it "exists to provide the opportunity for serious musicians
to rehearse and perform symphonic repertoire to a high standard and draws
its membership mainly from the London amateur musical community." Thus, it's
an enterprise analogous to Colorado MahlerFest in the U.S., which annually
forges an orchestra from a similar variety of professionals and devoted amateurs.
Bearing that in mind, these musicians' achievement in these performances,
which affirm their enthusiasm and commitment, is considerable. Conductor Christopher
Cox, who has trained at University College London and at Guildhall, clearly
understands the requirements of the style and has transmitted them to his
players. The phrases with irregular meters - with which the cello concerto
is more than usually beset - emerge with a clear shape and sense of destination.
In the concerto's Moderato slow movement, the woodwinds taper their
crescendo alertly and cleanly at 7:59. Cox's approach to the symphony's
first movement is sustained and spacious, to the point of insecurity - note,
after 2:48, how the players want to edge the accompanying chords forward -
but, once the conductor gets things going, he actually achieves a heroic breadth.
Full-bodied string tone helps sustain the music's long line, though at the
cost of a piano or two. Cox begins the finale at a similarly broad
tempo, but acknowledges the terraced accelerations the composer prescribes,
and the movement reaches what most listeners would call "normal tempo" soon
enough.
The soloist in the concerto, Jonathan Ayling - a member of the London Philharmonic
- produces a rich, dusky tone in the low range. He knows how to reserve and
manipulate the vibrato to enhance expression, notably in the clean lines of
the Moderato, for example; and he renders the legato phrases of the
Cadenza with a beautiful lyrical intensity. As recorded in concert
here, he suffers some small mishaps in the Moderato: a few clumsy shifts;
some dicey chromatic harmonics at 9:04 and again some phrases later, although
the immediately preceding ones are spot-on; and an outright misreading of
the first C as an E at 9:57. On the other hand, when the orchestra loses the
pulse of the finale at 0:50, after the woodwind scale, it's Ayling who, by
dint of alert musicianship, quickly adjusts.
As with any group of players of mixed abilities, one must accept playing and
ensemble that occasionally veers, or lurches, below professional standards.
The high violins, usually though not uniformly accurate, sound careful and
unglamorous. The massed strings' resonance at full volume comes at the cost
of a few smudgy attacks and blunted arrivals; the tone becomes diffuse in
quieter passages. The orchestra's principal horn sounds good when he plays
out - and is surprisingly secure at 4:37 of the symphony - but suffers numerous
passing burbles and patches of rough tone. The woodwinds sometimes lag behind
the beat; in the concerto, the bassoons conspicuously flub the exposed attack
at 6:29 of the Moderato.
Nervousness and fatigue take an audible toll, to the point where a single
'cello makes not one, but two, false entrances before 0:53 of the symphony's
finale! The trumpets also start falling behind at 3:30, at the height of that
movement's activity, getting things unstuck briefly; and the low reed chords
at about 8:45 are wheezy and uncertain.
The booklet spends some time explaining the difficulties of recording in performance,
and apologizing for the possible presence of traffic and aircraft noises,
as well as the usual noises from the audience. They really needn't have worried.
There's the odd click here and there, and a few coughs and thuds from the
house, noticeably while Cox is trying to get the symphony's first movement
going - nothing out of the ordinary for a concert recording. The sound reproduces
with excellent depth, clarity, and dynamic range, though the woodwind choir
seems disfavored - just a bit distanced - in the mix-down.
It's hard not to admire the work on display here. The London Shostakovich
Orchestra certainly deserves praise for fostering interest in the composer;
this is a useful document of the ensemble, and I'm sure these performances
were enjoyable in concert: Cox's account of the symphony, despite its problems,
is more gripping than the comparably broad renderings by Maxim Shostakovich
(Collins) and Skrowaczewski (IMP). But it's hard to recommend this issue as
a "basic library" choice, or even a supplement.
Stephen Francis Vasta
Hard to recommend this issue as a "basic library" choice, or even a supplement.
see also review of concerto on Dunelm DRD0233 by Ian Milnes