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Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
Suite for Jazz Orchestra No.1 (1934) [7:49]
Suite from The Age of Gold Op.22a (1930 rev. 1935) [18:29]
Suite from The Limpid Stream Op.39a (1935 arr. 1945) [14:46]
Suite for Variety Orchestra (1950s) [22:35]
Tahiti Trot (1927) [4:17]
Singapore Symphony Orchestra/Andrew Litton
rec. 2019, Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore
BIS BIS-2472 SACD [69:14]

I cannot think of many – indeed any – other composers who had the sheer range as Dmitri Shostakovich. Possibly only a genius such as Mozart seemed to be able to trot out trivia or masterpieces with comparable ease and effectiveness. Hard on the heels of BIS’s repackaging of Mark Wigglesworth’s impressive survey of the complete symphonies comes this disc – some light relief perhaps – from Andrew Litton and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. The BIS website lists some 27 releases (including boxed sets) on the label for Litton trumped by 34 for the exceptionally fine Singapore orchestra. But, I think this is the first release of conductor and orchestra together. At first glance this would seem to be a musical marriage made in heaven; Litton is one of those rare and valuable conductors genuinely at home in genres as diverse as jazz and contemporary with all styles in between. Likewise the Singapore Symphony Orchestra have proved to be a virtuoso ensemble able to play with refined sensitivity for Debussy or emotional heft in Rachmaninov – all backed-up by BIS’s state-of-the-art SACD recording and production.

There is quite a ‘pack’ of musical cards to be shuffled when considering Shostakovich’s lighter music. All of it has been successfully recorded over the years so it is simply a case of finding a combination of repertoire that appeals in performances that impress. At just shy of seventy minutes this new disc offers a good and generous over-view of the non-film music scores but all of the music is available elsewhere in multiple fine versions. For some listeners the sheer melodious good-humour of this music may still come as a surprise if they are used to Shostakovich the glowering tormented Soviet truth-teller. I have to say I absolutely love this music and never cease to marvel how skilled, effective and memorable it is. The original release of Rozhdestvensky’s symphony cycle on Olympia coupled the Jazz Suite No.1 – eight minutes of delirious nonsense if ever there was – with the still shocking hulk of Symphony No.4. A jarring coupling of works if ever there was yet the suite was written just months before the symphony and after the sensational (initial) success of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk – the juxtaposition is intriguing. The bulk of the music on this disc pre-dates that symphony and the infamous Pravada denouncement and as such it is hard not to hear it as the confident work of a young and lionised composer revelling in his popularity, status and talent.

The disc opens with the Suite for Jazz Orchestra No.1. Jazz it most certainly is not and the scoring is for a band-sized ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Here Litton plays the piano part which he does with his customary skill and aplomb – but this is very much an ensemble instrument so not too much should be made of that contribution. Curiously, from the very first bars of this performance I felt something was out of alignment and this was a feeling that perpetuated throughout the entire disc. Make absolutely no mistake at all – this is quite beautifully and virtuosically played, sensitively conducted and recorded wonderfully. But perhaps “beautifully” and “sensitively” are not words that quite correctly describe this music or how it should sound. Returning to Rozhdestvensky, there is a po-faced seriousness that actually makes the music funnier. The old Olympia/Melodiya engineering is harsher and flatter which in turn makes the scoring cruder. And then there is that sound that the old Soviet orchestras made – subtle it ain’t. I did find myself wondering whether the timbral palette that Shostakovich deploys to such extraordinary and compelling effect in the big orchestral works is not just as relevant and applicable here even when the mood behind the music is indisputably sunnier. So, I found myself missing the gatling gun trumpet playing and the screeching clarinets, let alone the weight of the Soviet strings, blaring brass and chattering woodwind. In this suite, Shostakovich uses a Hawaiian guitar. Rozhdestvensky’s player slithers around deliciously with the trombone slurring his words in the background. Litton’s sober Singaporeans are just that much more literal and the moment is lost. But that said there are genuine delights to be found throughout the disc. The uncredited saxophone player(s) across the whole disc play with real distinction and character. Similarly, Ng Pei-Sian’s playing of the extended cello solo in Adagio from The Limpid Stream Suite [track 11] is of the absolute highest order. On a slight tangent – this was the movement excerpted by Julian Lloyd-Webber on a disc of Russian concertante cello music accompanied by Maxim Shostakovich on Phillips. Part of the reason this movement works here is that it is Shostakovich in full-blown sweepingly Romantic mood which the Singaporean players perform to great effect. Elsewhere everything is just a little measured with any gaudy rough edges smoothed away to a polished sophistication. Of course, there will be listeners who respond to that level of controlled excellence.

Initially, I was having trouble articulating quite why this disc was patently very good without thrilling me in the way I expected or hoped. So by way of comparison I turned to a RCA twofer that brought together Maxim Shostakovich’s Melodiya recordings with the Bolshoi Orchestra from the mid 1960’s. Not all the music overlaps but the older recording does include the Age of Gold Suite recorded here as well as the three Ballet Suites which in large part draw from The Limpid Stream. Instantly, here is that authentic, no-holds-barred style that lifts this music from the tunefully attractive into the compellingly entertaining. I had intended to dip into the older set for simple comparisons sake – 140 minutes later I was swept away all over again by rightness of these performances. There is another RCA twofer of Rozhdestvenky’s ‘lighter’ Shostakovich which includes the same performance of the Jazz Suite No.1 mentioned previously as well as the first recording of Tahiti Trot. Both of these RCA twofer sets are tricky/expensive to locate but I would strongly point the curious listener in their direction.

For those not enamoured of the old Soviet sound there are other impressive collections to consider alongside this new disc. Riccardo Chailly’s The Jazz Album on Decca with the Concertgebouw includes the two Jazz Suites and the Tahiti Trot and still sounds very fine. Kitaenko in Frankfurt with the Radio Symphony Orchestra again offers the two jazz suites alongside the Ballet Suites Nos. 1 &3 [so no Limpid Stream Adagio]. Returning to that performance it was noticeable that the Frankfurt Hawaiian guitarist is very polite and their saxophonists not nearly as sleazy as some or as sensual as the Singaporean section. Perhaps the best current alternative is the genuinely excellent three disc set on Brilliant from Theodore Kuchar and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. Only Tahiti Trot is not included in that set but much else besides – including a disc’s worth of film scores - are. The Ukrainian orchestra does retain elements of the Soviet sound and bite [hopefully not too controversial a thing to say in the current world we live] but without the brashness some listeners dislike.

The presentation of the BIS disc is typically excellent – Andrew Huth’s liner note is compact but informative, I personally like the now-standard digi-pak packaging. The benefit of BIS’ sophisticated, lucid and airy SACD recording is that all the details of these attractively orchestrated scores are beautifully clear and presented in an ideal acoustic. If this exact programme appeals, no aspect of this disc will disappoint but for those seeking the authentic voice of Shostakovich at his most good-natured other versions are preferable.

Nick Barnard