Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No.5, Opus 47

Dmitri Shostakovick (1906 - 1975)



1 Moderato 2. Allegretto 3. Largo 4.Allegro non troppo

Cellos and double basses open the symphony with a declamatory theme characterized by wide leaps, the violins stating the same theme antiphonally. A short descending figure for first violins soon appears, of which much is made later in the movement. Then the violins begin a lengthy and melodious theme, leading to a passage in which the horns and woodwind are prominently employed. A brief and dissonant climax is reached and a second theme is introduced over a persistent rhythmic figure for lower strings, and the harp. The theme itself, stated by the first violins (espressivo), is again characterized by the wide leaps and plunges in intervals that distinguish the entire movement. Divided violas and cellos antiphonally end this part of the movement with a brief phrase from which proceed solo passages for flute and clarinet. Horns now enter with a pretentious theme over a persistent rhythm for lower strings and piano. The animation increases as strings and woodwind expand the brief descending phrase that occurred at the beginning of the movement. A rapid march section now ensues, brass and wind presenting a jaunty version of presented material, leading to an impassioned return on strings and wind of the opening theme and a tremendous climax in unison for strings and wind. Now the second theme returns presented by flute and born over the insistent rhythm of the strings. Woodwind plays a prominent part; the clarinet, oboe, and bassoon engaging in an extended passage, which leads to a quiet closing section, in which fragments of the leaping theme are presented by trumpet and lower strings, while the celesta adds a somewhat chilling effect as the movement ends. After the heroic cast of the first movement, the second movement (Allegretto) has a gay and boisterous quality that furnishes much needed diversion. The rhythm alternates between ¾ and 4/4 and times; the themes are obvious enough and they recur in more or less the conventional manner of the classical scherzo with its trios and repeats. The solo violin, flute, and bassoon are used with exhilarating effect during the course of the movement; the quartet of horns is prominently employed and the xylophone brightens the texture of music periodically.

For his intense and Rhapsodic slow movement, the composer has dispensed with the brass instruments all together, has divided his violins into three sections, violas and cellos into two, respectively, and relies on harp, piano, and celesta to add bright glints to his orchestral palette. Third violins, first violas, and second cellos begin the movement with an expressive, and at times almost liturgical, section, presenting the main thematic material. This leads to an episode, memorable for its beauty, for the harp and two flutes. The strings again take up the burden of the movement and are soon joined by wind in an impressive passage (largamente). A new and intense episode is now presented by solo oboe and clarinet over a string tremolo. The fervor of the movement is caught by all the instruments as they join in a string proclamation. A new episode is brought forward by the lower strings to the accompaniment of a semiquaver figure by the clarinets and the persisting violin tremolo, which ends in a brief and powerful climax. A descending figure on the cellos restores the quiet intensity of the opening; harp and celesta combine magically with the tremolo of the first violins as the movement ends.

Timpani and brass, as if they had been silent too long, open the finale of the symphony with a stirring them in march rhythm, which is to return periodically to this rondo-like movement. Strings and woodwind soon join in a subsidiary theme, but quickly the march theme makes itself heard from the trombones, bassoons, and lower strings. This is expanded at length, leading to a passage (accelerando) for horns and strings. After a short while, the main theme of the first movement is hinted at by the solo trumpet over a rushing semiquaver accompaniment for wind and string and this material is transformed into a passage of tremendous power. Then a diminuendo brings a contrasting section, opening with a passage for solo horn, which gradually re-establishes the mood of the slow movement.

But the urgency of the march theme is not to be denied and soon timpani and side drum are heard. The excitement mounts as brass and woodwind play with thematic material, while the strings remain silent for a time as the initial enthusiasm of the movement is recaptured. Finally the strings re-enter; the piano and an assortment of percussion instruments join in an apotheosis of the march theme—a musical affirmation of compelling power and sweeping grandeur, for a parallel to which one must go back to Sibelius’s second symphony or some of the symphonies of the nineteenth-century masters.

Bruch: The Complete Violin Concertos

It may well be that you've heard the adagio from Bruch's second concerto and thought it to be a wonderfully romantic piece, and you would be right. However it is, as far as Max Bruch's music is concerned, just the beginning. The adagio appassionata has a beautiful melody that will stay in your head all day. The wonderful solo part is backed by a strong and emotional performance from the orchestra and the piece is allowed to open at just the right pace. The romance,also on the second cd, continues the melodic trends that make Bruch one of the more under appreciated composers available. His love for the romantic melodies that make his music so beautiful is often seen by critics as a lack of complexity in the pieces but must, by genuine music lovers, be seen as something for which we should be grateful. In memorandum is yet another piece to testify to this. Both the virtually unknown concertos are also superb successes-very tuneful and cause the kind of stirring often felt when listening to Beethoven. This set should be in everybodies collection, for it takes a hard soul not to enjoy them. If, like me you enjoy a moment alone with your thoughts, to close you're eyes and wonder wistfully at the pleasures of life, then this cd will warm your heart. --Nick Listen to Samples

Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor; Bruch: Violin Concerto #1; Itzhak Perlman

In addition to the bargain price of this 1990 recording the music lover will find two of the more solid performances of two very popular and demanding violin concertos from the vast repertoire available. Itzhak Perlman is in top form for these performances, marrying his impeccable technique with the poetry inherent in his approach to the scores. The Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op. 26 by Max Bruch has become one of Perlman's signature pieces and for good reason. He tosses off this stagy work with such grace that it becomes more than most violinists are capable of finding in the score. It is a jewel of a performance. The Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 by Felix Mendelssohn has been a staple in the repertoire since its composition in 1844-45 and the hurdles of the first movement cadenza have threatened even the most daunting of violinists. The passagework is extraordinarily demanding technically, yet even more difficult is finding the poetry inherent in the lines echoed later in the orchestra. Some soloists (including Joshua Bell) may find more lightness and delicacy in the execution, but few can match Perlman's dexterity and emotional sweep. The Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, still one of the finest orchestras, is beautifully conducted by Bernard Haitink. The balance between orchestra and soloist is far more than just technical aplomb between the artists and engineers: these performances are examples of perfect communication between soloist and conductor and orchestra, making this recording one of the strongest available today. Grady Harp, October 06 --Grady Harp Listen to Samples

Violin Concerto No.1, G Minor, Opus 26

Max Bruch (1838 – 1920)

1. Prelude (Allegro Moderato) 2. Adagio 3. Finale (Allegro Enegico)

If one compares it with the other famous concertos of the nineteenth century, one is amazed at its unconventional overall form. True to radition, it had three movements, but in terms of sheer musical material, there is as much in the finale as in the two other movement s put together, and although the conventional fast-slow-fast sequence is retained, the surprising fact is that sonata form is used for all three movements, while tradition calls for ternary song form for the slow movement and (usually) a rondo for the finale. Bruch was naturally aware of this and, not without reason, first chose the title “Fantasy” for the work. However, he allowed Joachim to persuade him that “Concerto” was a more effective title.
The additional title “Prelude” (Vorspiel) was retained for the opening Allegro. The absence of any marked division between the movements, after the example of the Mendelssohn Concerto, emphasises the “Fantasy” character as do the recapitulations in the first and second movements, which are clearly abbreviated and tuned into transitions. The Hun-garian-style theme of the finale, which has a close affinity with that of Brahm’s Violin Concerto, may have been provided by Joachim, who was Hunarian born.
Max Bruch was born in Cologne in 1838 and died in 1920 in Berlin, where he was professor of composition and vicepresident of the Music Academy. He is known today almost exclusively for his Violin Concerto in G minor, which belongs with the violin concertos of Beethoven. Meldelssohn, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky to the select repertory of nine-teenth-century violin works. His great choral works, which were very widely performed in the late nineteenth century and esteemed above those of Brahms, his many concertos and concert pieces, the chamber music, and a great many songs all seem to have faded.
The Violin Concerto in G minor, Op.26 was not only Bruch’s first instrumental concerto, but his first big orchestral work in general. Since he had thus far published only vocal music, it is not surprising that he had considerable difficulty with the composition and spent much time making alterations and refinements before he was finally satisfied with the result. The sketches go back to 1864, and the first performance was given in Koblenz on April 24,1866. After this, however, Bruch withdrew the work and revised it thoroughly, seeking advice on the writing of the violin part from many musicians, both composers and violinists. In particular he conculted Joseph Joachim, to whom the concerto was finally dedicated and who gave the first performance in the definitive version in Bremen on January 7, 1868. In a letter to his publisher Simrock in 1872, Bruch wrote: “…The composition of violin concertos is a cursed difficulty business…From 1864 to 1868, I took my concerto to pieces at least half a dozen times, and conferred with violinists before it finally achieved the form in which it is now generally known, and played everywhere.”
The concerto became widely popular very quickly, and although at first Bruch was vastly delighted with its success, he soon came to execrate all violinists who played only his “universal” concerto and neglected his other violin works. He even sent in a letter to the musicologist Philipp Spitta in the winter of 1893 some satirical epigrams in the manner of Goethe and Schiller. One of them, headed “Prohibition by Order of the Polica, concerning M.B.’s first Concerto, “reads: “Since recently the astounding eventuality has come to pass/ That violins have of their own accord, been playing the First Concerto We make known with all possible haste, to reassure fearful soues/ That we hereby sternly prohibit the said concerto.”
The reason for the continuing popularity of this G minor work lies largely in the fact that it was the first concerto and also that both sentiment (in slow movement) and virtuosity (in the finale) were fully exploited.

Tchaikovsky : Symphony No. 5 ; Rimsky-Korsakov : March from Tsar Saltan Suite

This recording was made in 1984, rather early in the relationship between Previn and the Royal Philharmonic. They seem to have been sympatico from the word go. Previn's 1970's recordings of the Tchaikovsky ballets are considered classics in some quarters. I think the same holds true for this symphony. Previn has a beautiful sense of the ebb and flow of the piece, with the strings following his every nuance with full tone and great delicacy. The highlighting of the usually hidden brass parts is one of the great features of this reading, adding color and texture that is often missing from performances of this piece. When Previn reaches the development section of the fourth movement, the tempo really takes off, in a way that is reminiscent of Dorati's great Mercury Living Presence version. All in all, this has to be one of the best Tchaikovsky 5ths in the catalog. The 1984 engineering is very satisfying, too, rather veiled but full bodied and beautifully detailed.--David Saemann Listen to Samples

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 in E minor/Fantasy Overture "Romeo and Juliet"

Some of Leonard Bernstein's last concerts with the New York Philharmonic were among his best: Ives 2, the all Copland final program, and I'd have to say that this Tchaikovsky reading fits in there as well. All of the Bernstein recording's are different "views" of the piece, not neccessarily the definitive performance, to counter a review I read for another recording of the same piece. Here everything's very precise, and defined: the final trumpet at the end of the first movement, and the furious final Presto in the finale have never sounded so energetic. I've actually seen the NYPO do this piece twice (with Mehta and Masur), both very fine performances, but even on disc there is a lot of excitement that is found which usually only comes across in the concert hall. It reminds me a little of the Solti/CSO recording I heard a few years ago. The filler, "R&J", is gorgeously done (I'm actually listening to it as I write this) and the Philharmonic rarely sounds better. A very quality sendoff; it's ironic (looking at it now) that this CD was released just a month after LB died. He sould have been allowed to hear this concert again.

TCHAIKOVSKY: SYMPHONY NO.5, OPUS 64

This is a very fine performance of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony and, being a live recording from a concert, it has a certain sense of spark that many studio recordings miss. The usual manic energy associated with Gergiev's conducting adds to this in no small measure! As a live performance, then, it certainly makes its mark- the amazing whipping up of speed in the coda leaves you breathless and it's hardly surprising that the audience went mad at the end. Making allowances for the inevitable mistakes that happen in a concert, the symphony is extremely well-played and the strings perform astonishingly, particularly in the finale. Gergiev's choices of tempi feel absolutely right and the result is somewhere between the romantic approach of Karajan and the histrionic view taken by Mravinsky(whose stereo versions of the last three symphonies are unmissable). The opening sounds suitably dark and forboding, while the climaxes in both the first and the second movements are given plenty of power by the VPO's brass players. The third movement waltz is played with consummate charm, as you would expect from an orchestra that could play Strauss waltzes in its sleep. All in all, then, it is hard to argue with the interpretation when listening to it straight through as in a concert, so it certainly merits four stars. On repeated listening, though, one or two things do begin to grate a bit once the adrenalin rush has subsided. The recording balance does seem to give excessive weight to the brass and, along with Gergiev's emphasis on the aggression of the piece, this can come to sound a little crude, as can some of Gergiev's decisions to ignore what the score says. In the finale, for instance, the timpani spend most of the time playing at least forte but the score mostly indicates mp-mf, while some of the phrasing can at times seem rather brash. Nevertheless, these are minor points and it is hard not to be carried along by the power of the performance. It is certainly worth buying and is well worth the price even if you do get only 46 minutes of music. If you want a safer version, try Jansons on Chandos; more faithful to the score and superbly played, but it does lack the immense excitement of Gergiev's performance.--Tom Gauterin Listen to Sample