We are drowning in Shostakovich in this, his centenary year, and much of it is excellent, even extraordinary. Like Mahler, this is a composer whose idiom offers an ideal combination of expressive intensity, orchestral virtuosity, and modernity. Orchestras love to play him; audiences (most of the time) love to hear him, and his big symphonies make perfect “concert climax” second-half-of-the-program musical events. As a result, the chances are, as with Mahler, you are going to hear a very good performance on any given day, and one of the more salutary effects of the wide dissemination of Shostakovich’s music is that it proves that a true “Russian sound” is not achieved merely by birth or ethnicity, but by following his scores accurately and understanding his personal style. Mark Wigglesworth certainly demonstrates that he is in full possession of both qualities.
On the down-side, however, there’s simply too much coming out. The number of complete symphony cycles issued, reissued, or in progress this past year is really unbelievable. There is this one, Kitayenko’s (Capriccio), Haitink’s (Decca), Caetani’s (Arts Music), Jansons’ (EMI), and PentaTone’s (with various conductors), to mention only those that come immediately to mind, and this doesn’t include countless individual releases that aren’t part of some larger project. Even a Shostakovich junkie like me has a hard time keeping track of it all, and much as I love the music it’s no picnic listening to, for example, two or three new recordings of the Eighth or Fourteenth Symphonies every few weeks. EMI even issued two excellent versions of the latter work, one of the composer’s most difficult and intimidating, within a month of each other. What’s a normal person to do? Or a critic, for that matter?
Take the present release. It is outstanding in every way. You only have to hear the violins’ slashing accents at figure 4 in the first movement, where the soloist sings “and fine ladies with their lacey frills shriek and poke their parasols in my face,” to know that Wigglesworth & Co. are fully attuned to the music’s expressive world. The menacing second subject, with its description of a pogrom, erupts with an impressive sense of menace, while the big climaxes in the first, third, and fourth movements are as powerful and intense as anyone could ask. Bass soloist Jan-Hendrik Rootering has the range for the part and an evenness of tone unmatched by most Russian singers, while the men of the Netherlands Radio Chorus sing as though their lives depended on it, with a genuine understanding of the words.
But it’s not all just blood and thunder. Wigglesworth’s handling of the opening ritornello theme in the finale, “A Career”, has a pastoral gentleness unmatched by just about any other performance, and the closing pages are simply magical. So while, for example, Barshai (Brilliant Classics) is unmatched in the first movement for sheer terror and a sense of impending doom, I think it’s probably safe to say that this performance offers the most satisfying conclusion captured thus far. And if you want “Babi Yar” in terrific multichannel sound, this version also is the way to go. Even here collectors have a choice: Kitayenko offers excellent SACD sonics (and PentaTone will get around to it eventually), but the Capriccio performance hasn’t the edge and impact of this one, particularly in the first movement. So there you have it: a performance and recording about as good as they come. I don’t know how many “Babi Yars” you have, or how many you may think you need, but if you’re in the market, then let this (along with Barshai’s and Haitink’s and Kondrashin’s and…) be one of them. [8/25/2006]
