Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Shostakovich's symphony no. 7, Leningrad was not always so popular. Bartók mockingly quoted it in his Concerto for Orchestra, deriding its pounding, insistent theme as the height of banality. But that was before anyone knew its poignant history. It was composed in Leningrad during the German bombardment of 1942. Between creative bursts, Shostakovich kept his fellow citizens informed as to its progress in morale-boosting radio broadcasts. This new Teldec live recording of the 75-minute work, performed by the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur at home in Avery Fisher Hall in 1998 before a fidgety and quite laryngeal audience, captures the broad scope of the performance but misses much of the detail. Where were the mikes? Whole entries are indistinct. The first movement delivers a brutal, jackboot drama as the unstoppable side-drummers remain defiantly and heroically unperturbed under the wailing shells. The scherzo masks fear with a long impertinent melody, the adagio is all attrition and the finale defies exhaustion with a return to the howitzer onslaught. No wonder the audience fidgets. --Rick Jones
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