Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5

Chronique

Before the release of Rostropovich's recording of his interpretation of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 with the National Symphony Orchestra in 1983, everybody accepted that the Fifth was what Shostakovich supposedly said it was: "a Soviet artist's reply to just criticism." After the release of Rostropovich's recording of his interpretation, everybody had to grapple with the notion that the Fifth was actually what Rostropovich apparently thought it was: "a Soviet artist's banal reply to dumb criticism." Given inside information from his friend Shostakovich, Rostropovich's interpretation revealed a staggeringly banal Fifth with trite themes, trivial developments, and tawdry climaxes. According to Rostropovich's interpretation, Shostakovich had composed a work that replied to dumb criticism with dumber music, music that his dumb critics could not help but enjoy. In the 20 years since he first recorded his interpretation, Rostropovich's performances have gotten bigger, louder, and dumber. This performance with the London Symphony Orchestra recorded live in July 2004 is thick, turgid, and viscous with a finale of blinding stupidity. The London Symphony responded to Rostropovich with not enough polish and too much enthusiasm. The tone is raw and rough, but the ensemble is too loose and the intonation is too careless. This supports Rostropovich's interpretation, but makes for unpleasant listening. The LSO Live recording has plenty of impact, but not enough immediacy.
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