Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 - Glanert: Theatrum bestiarum

The Shostakovich 10th has been well served over the years since its first performance in December 1953. At present no less than 120 recordings can be found on Amazon.co.uk, and most of those I have heard have made a compelling case for the music. My favourite for quite some years have been Sir Georg Solti's Chicago recording, which literally leaves one breathless due to its unrelenting tension and brilliant orchestra playing. Interestingly enough Solti always refused to recognize the political undertones so often professed to be included in the music of Shostakovich. He famously claimed in an interview that the scherzo from the 10th symphony was nothing but a lively Cossack dance, and I often wondered how he managed to make such stirring recordings of this music, if he really saw things that way - though Shostakovitch' own remarks on the subject were ambiguous, to say the least.

Bychkov - himself a Russian, born in Leningrad, and an emigré of the Russia of Bresjnev - understandibly sees things in a different light, and his Shostakovich is an often less than pretty picture (symphony No. 4 especially!) - harsh and unforgiving as the time in which the composer spent most of his life. His recording of the 10th clearly accepts the views put forward in Volkov's "Testimony" about the symphony, and his interpretation leaves one with an unusually clear impression of the oppressive climate of the dictator state (first movement), Stalin - incensed and insane - trampling friend and foe alike (second movement), the emasculated and depressive but still defiant composer (third movement), and the irrepressible joy at the death of the tormentor (fourth movement). I'm sure things are not supposed to be taken that literally, but I challenge anybody to state with any conviction that the sentiments are not to be found in the music. Bychkov's direction is full-blooded and emotional but at the same time analytical; he conjures up some wonderful playing from his technically proficient German orchestra, and the quality of the recording is first rate. The scherzo has all the menace of the Paris live recording (1978) made by Kurt Sanderling - a conductor who experienced the calculated cruelty of Stalin's Russia first hand - and only Karajan (uncharacteristically red-blooded in his 1981 re-recording) produces the same chilling effect in the empty concert hall. The finale, too, is second to none, as relentlessly driven in its rejoicing as the scherzo is driven in its rage.

I didn't expect to like Detlev Glanert's "Theatrum Bestiarum", as I tend to find most music THAT contemporary a trying experience, but I must admit that its animal qualities (or whatever it was) did make some interesting pictures spring to mind. The orchestration is very subtle and actually quite melodic, and when the odd dissonance makes you wince, I - for once - think it might be ment to. Discs of the Shostakovich 10th tend to have no complementary music on them, as few of his other works will fit onto the 25 or so minutes left. As seat-fillers go this is decidedly interesting and one of the most satisfying I have come upon for some time.