Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9

Album review

Yakov Kreizberg's catalog with PentaTone tends to represent familiar classics, ranging from Mozart's violin concertos to Strauss' waltzes, so it's not surprising to find an account of Dmitry Shostakovich's widely acclaimed and highly accessible Symphony No. 5 in D minor included on this 2007 hybrid SACD. What's less expected is that the rest of the program is occupied by the comparatively unfamiliar Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, a far less popular work that has left many puzzled by its ambiguity. The Symphony No. 5 has been well-documented and performed more frequently than any of Shostakovich's other symphonies, so it presents few problems for the listener; Kreizberg's rendition satisfies all expectations for drama and pathos, as well as for the obligatory bombast in the Finale. But the ironically neo-Classical Symphony No. 9 was long eclipsed by its immediate predecessors, the wartime Symphony No. 7 in C major, "Leningrad," and the Symphony No. 8 in C minor, "Stalingrad," so it is seldom programmed, even today; and among Shostakovich's postwar works, its ranking has been well below the late commemorative and elegiac symphonies. Kreizberg should be praised for giving this underdog work a place on the bill, because the pairing with the Symphony No. 5 brings it much-needed attention, and the sardonic performance by the Russian National Orchestra puts it in sharp relief against the first work. The playing in both symphonies is first-rate and the DSD reproduction is simply fabulous in depth and color. But the astute interpretations make this album essential listening for Shostakovich's admirers, particularly for those who haven't discovered the Symphony No. 9 yet.
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