Question by Michael Lee: What is your favorite modern recording of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony?
I’m looking for the best combination performance and sound quality. Including every recording of the symphony I’ve ever listened to, I’ve heard Petrenko, Jansons, Gergiev, Haitink, Sanderling, Muti, Previn, Stokowski, Horenstein (which I think was actually one of least favorites because I found the sound quality very undesirable, although I suppose for a transfer from 1952, it was to be expected), Myung-Whun Chung, Bernstein, Masur, Wigglesworth, Tilson Thomas, Kitaenko, Jarvi, Rostropovich (on several accounts), Eschenbach, Mravinsky (also on several accounts), Temirkanov, Ashkenazy, and Kreizberg, so it’s a little tough to make a definitive decision. Anybody else want to suggest their favorite?
I actually didn’t think that the Gergiev interpretation was bad; it was one of my favorites for its sheer virtuosity and the ebullience of the brass. Also, I think the somewhat faster tempo near the end of the finale plays into the “forced celebration” idea that Shostakovich may/may not have been going for (we don’t really know, do we?). Anyways, why don’t you think he “gets” the symphony?
Plus, I like Gergiev. I think he’s a really underrated conductor, and he’s produced some of my favorite Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov records, and I thought his live Mahler cycle with the London Symphony was electifying (check out the album covers).
Looking at the score, I see quarter note = 116. I just thought that an expected ending like that was a somewhat un-Shostakovich thing to do, looking at his almost universal subtle and witty musical criticism of the Soviet regime. I never really enjoyed the ponderous ending of, for example, Sanderling (whose performance had a couple of other issues as well. For its strong brass, I prefer a good American orchestra to his Berlin Symphony.)
Answers and Views:
Answer by del_icious_manager
Overall, I prefer the somewhat hard-to-come-by recording by Shostakovich’s son, Maxim, with the USSR Symphony Orchestra. You can find copies on sites like Amazon and Ebay.
My favourite Mravinsky recording is the live one from the 1978 Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen). Stunning! Others which are pretty good:
Ančerl (another great ‘classic’ recording)
Barshai
Petrenko
Sanderling
Stokowski
Wigglesworth
The ones I avoid because I don’t believe the conductors ‘get’ the piece:
Bernstein
Eschenbach
Gergiev (great for Prokofiev, but NOT for Shostakovich)
Answer by Malcolm D
I like Haitink’s versions of the Shostakovich symphonies.
Read all the answers in the comments.
What do you think?
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