THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501210032
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Album review
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4; Symphonies No. 5 and No. 2 (Denon) - The infamous 1936 Pravda attack on Dmitri Shostakovich falls like a great shadow between the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies. The composer was working on the Fourth when the criticism began; fearful of further reprisals, he withdrew the work until its premiere in 1961.
The Fourth is perhaps the composer's most difficult score - abstract, intense, sprawling and packed with ideas barely kept under control, like Mahler on a bad trip. Yet despite all its wildness, it offers many rewards. It is perhaps the last work in which Shostakovich felt totally free to express himself.
In contrast, the Fifth may be the most popular symphony written in the 20th century. It displays the brooding lyricism so characteristic of Shostakovich, as well as the composer's talent in handling the symphony orchestra.
Less skill is evident in the early Second Symphony, an empty, musically banal ode to the October Revolution complete with factory whistle and choral finale. The politics don't sink this one but a lack of artistic inspiration does.
Denon offers skilled performances by Israeli conductor Eliahu Inbal and the Vienna Symphony. If these aren't the last word in intensity and anguish, Inbal still finds a great deal of the poignant, haunting quality that distinguishes the composer's best music. Denon's sound is outstandingly natural.
- Paul Sayegh MEMO: To hear excerpts from these recordings, call Infoline at 640-5555 and
punch 6275. by CNB