Boreyko and Shostakovich: A Solid Partnership
Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 01/31/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Andrey Boreyko is gaining recognition throughout the world as a conductor who lives in a score long before he conducts it. His musicality is first rate and the energy he derives from his performances is electrifying. This 2006 live recording with the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR in Liederhalle, Stuttgart is a very wise pairing of the Shostakovich's masterpiece symphony No. 4 with the world premiere recording of 'Suite op. 29 from the composer's opera 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk'. Few conductors have the strength to include any other work on a program with the mighty (and lengthy) 4th symphony, but here on this recording he manages to do both making them interrelate in a magical way: the loud response of applause from the audience at the end of the recording attests to the emotional impact of the concert.
Though now Shostakovich's Symphony No. 4 in C Minor is frequently performed and is judged by many to be the composer's masterpiece, the history of the work is fascinating. Written in 1935-36 , Shostakovich withdrew the premiere after the famous article 'Chaos Instead of Music' was published in 1936, a statement which condemned Shostakovich's 'Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk' as 'tendencies hostile to the people'. The symphony remained unperformed and Shostakovich 'appeared' to toe the line with his very popular subsequent Symphony No. 5. The sad fact that the original manuscript for the Symphony No 4 was burned in the siege of Leningrad forced Shostakovich to reconstruct the work and the symphony was finally performed on December 30, 1961, immediately garnering accolades for the composer as his best work to date.
The 4th symphony is a challenge to all conductors, but Andrey Boreyko finds all the subtleties and changing moods of the enormously powerful score and keeps an eye on the overall architecture of the work and by the end of the final Largo movement he has captured the imagination of the audience and successfully demonstrates all of the beauties and intricacies of the work. This is an excellent performance and is all the more taut and pungent because it is a live performance. His orchestra is first rate.
The Suite from 'Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk' is fascinating music and worth this World Premiere recording. The Suite is only seven minutes in length but for those who know the opera it does indeed capture the wildness of the mood of this still controversial opera. The movements are marked Allegro con brio', 'Presto', and 'Allegretto' and are driving and acidic. The orchestra and Boreyko make a fine case for this suite. The only problem for this listener is that placing the work at the end of the recording, followed by the audience wild applause, diminishes the impact of the last pages of the Symphony No. 4, which appropriately dissolves into the mists of the hall. Still, this is a technically well-produced recording of a brilliant performance. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, January 10"
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1