Valeri Polyansky’s Russian symphonic series for Chandos has exhibited varying levels of accomplishment, but it reaches a new low with this hopelessly blasé recording of the Shostakovich Symphony No. 10. Not that you can tell right away: the reverberant recording gives the double basses at the beginning a chillingly subterranean growl, and the main theme emerges in an air of dreary despair. But, the attenuated dynamics of the first climax warn of trouble ahead, and sure enough, the orchestral tone never becomes sufficiently focused to project Shostakovich’s sonic spears, leaving them dull-edged (even though the tam-tam makes a noticeable impact). Normally a frenzied interlude, the second movement’s slow tempo here makes it sound like an accompaniment for a trapeze act, while the horns in the third movement’s climax sound bored by it all–a state clearly generated by Polyanski’s coma-inducing finale, a celebration completely devoid of excitement.
This disc is only partially redeemed by the inclusion of a 17-minute fragment from The Big Lightning, an unfinished operetta from 1932 with a libretto by Nikolai Aseyev based on the class struggle in the West. Typical of Soviet works of this period, it tells of a Soviet Delegation bravely resisting wicked western influences while on a visit to a capitalist country. Those familiar with Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk will recognize the biting, lampoonish musical style Shostakovich employs here. It’s quite entertaining, and it makes you wish Chandos had opted to have Polyansky record a disc of Shostakovich stage works, without the symphony. Remastering Neeme Järvi’s magnificent performance of the Tenth Symphony for a new release (as they are currently doing with his Detroit Symphony recordings) would have been the far better option.
