Shostakivich Picks!

[Stonebraker]

Hi all! Just requesting some suggestions for picking up some Shostakovich stuff. I've recently really begun to enjoy classical music, and have moved from Brahms, and touched a little bit of Mahler. I was listened to baltimore public radio the other day, and they played Shostakovich's ballet suite no. 4, and I throughly enjoyed it.

So just want some Shostakovich things to pick up from my country library and my college library, and perhaps some really good stuff to buy. Any advice on your favorite works by him, esp. symphonies, and what conductors interpret Shosta. well, and what recordings are the very best.

Thanks in advance if anyone responds

[moldyoldie]

His Symphony No. 8...as expressed and expounded on in several posts of this linked thread. However, it's definitely not lightweight stuff.

[Barry]

I started a thread just like this on one of our old boards a handfull of years ago when I first started to get interested in Shostakovich and received a lot of good advice. For me, it was seeing a live performance of his first violin concerto that first did the trick.
So I recommend you get that for starters. Any of of the recordings by David Oistrakh should be fine.

His symphonies 1, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 10 are all big favorites of mine, as are a number of the string quartets (probably the third and eighth being at the top of the list.

Some good Shostakovich conductors are Mravinsky, Kondrashin, Bernstein and Ormandy. For the quartets, I have and love the old Melodiya set by the Borodin Quartet, but am not sure if that's still available. I'm sure others can give recording recommendations for those.

[paulb]

Ck out the Ebay listing for Shosty's syms/Kondrashin. I find syms 5-15 all enjoyable. Some may strike you immediaetly, while others down the road.
Also violin concerto 1/Oistrakh, with either Ormandy/sony, Rozhdestvensky/BBC classics or Marvinsky/praga

I see the Mravinsky is re-released on Chant du Monde.

[ch1525]

You really can't beat the quality and value of the Fitzwilliam Quartet's cycle of Shostakovich's String Quartets:

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000 ... ostakovich: The String Quartets</a>

[Sergeant Rock]

Hi all! Just requesting some suggestions for picking up some Shostakovich stuff. I've recently really begun to enjoy classical music, and have moved from Brahms, and touched a little bit of Mahler. I was listened to baltimore public radio the other day, and they played Shostakovich's ballet suite no. 4, and I throughly enjoyed it.

Then you should definitely pick up this Brilliant box set. It's very cheap with superb performances; none better:



Sarge

[BWV 1080]

The violin and viola sonatas

[RebLem]

I have 3 complete sets of the Shostakovich Symphonies and about 7 of the quartets. My favorite integral sets are the Barshai of the symphonies (and its on Brilliant, at a bargain price) and the St Petersburg Quartet for the quartets (and the piano quintet and the 2nd piano trio) on hyperion, which is definitely not a budget label. Both are extraordinarily well recorded. Others have said the Kondrashin is the best set of the symphonies.; I don't know about that because I have never heard them. And, as far as I know, they are currently unavailable, but if anyone knows of a source, I would like to know. I do feel certain, however, that whatever the quality of the performances themselves, they cannot hold a candle to the sound quality of the Barshai, and since the Barshai is in almost every single case superior to the Haitink and and rostropovich sets, which I also have, I can assure you that although Kondrashin may have an interpretive edge here and ther, Barshai is really damn good and belongs in every Shostakovich lover's collection on both counts--interpretation and sound quality.

The Borodin Quartet cylcel from Melodiya is still available, along with the Piano Quintet with Richter. Inferor sound quality, but a the best performances, by and large, I have ever heard. The St Petes are almost as good interpretively and vastly superior sonically. Every Shostakovich lover should have both sets, really, and others as well, but personally, I recommend starting with the St Petes.

[J Nguyen]

Nobody's mentioned the Op.87, 24 Prelude and Fugues, yet; so, I might as well do it. I feel it's an under-appreciated masterpiece and one of the best contributions of any composer to piano literature, but that's just me.

Keith Jarrett's version is pretty good, but it's unconventional. He plays the pieces with a bright enthusiasm, but the darker sections don't feel as powerful those of other performers. Tatiana Nikolayeva is the standard by which these pieces are judge because he dedicated this work to her and was partly inspired by her performance of Bach's Well-Tempered Klavier- Shostakovich's 24 Prelude and Fugues are pretty much her signature pieces. I heard Scherbakov plays a great Op.87 as well, but I haven't had the pleasure of listening to it yet.

[david johnson]

sym 5, mitropolous/nypo

dj

[hautbois]

Then you should definitely pick up this Brilliant box set. It's very cheap with superb performances; none better:



Sarge

I am not sure about the price over there, but Chailly's 2 cds made with the Royal Concertgebouw are absolutely stunning. The set mentioned above seems to be much more expensive in my local Towers than the 2 cds added up together.

[Sergeant Rock]

I am not sure about the price over there, but Chailly's 2 cds made with the Royal Concertgebouw are absolutely stunning. The set mentioned above seems to be much more expensive in my local Towers than the 2 cds added up together.

In Europe the three CD Brilliant box set can be had for Euro 6.99, far, far cheaper than the two Chailly CDs.

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/ ... sk/hitlist

Chailly is good too, of course, but Kuchar actually has better and more detailed sound. I find the performances more idiomatic too. For Euro 2.50 per disc this is a no-brainer.

Sarge

[Haydnseek]

Brilliant Classics have put all of their fine Shostakovich recordings in one 27 CD Box which must be one of the best bargains out there:

http://records.joanrecords.com/epages/j ... /View/8128

[gperkins151]

Brilliant Classics have put all of their fine Shostakovich recordings in one 27 CD Box which must be one of the best bargains out there:

http://records.joanrecords.com/epages/j ... /View/8128

Wow!

When does this get released?

[hautbois]

Now that is just superb, definitely a no-brainer. Brilliant classics releases superb sets i find, though they are sold at ridiculously expensive prices here in Kuala Lumpur. What a pity.

[Novitiate]

Now that is just superb, definitely a no-brainer. Brilliant classics releases superb sets i find, though they are sold at ridiculously expensive prices here in Kuala Lumpur. What a pity.

Hautbois, I don't know how much they're selling the set for in KL. But you can get the set for 49.99 euros from jpc.de, with a flat delivery charge of 24.99, which is pricey for a one off, but if you were to get a whole lot of the really cheap brilliant sets ... Might be worthwhile checking out.

I'm not sure on the tax situation though.

[Philoctetes]

His Symphony No. 11 as conducted by Stokowski with the Houston Symphony Orchestra has fast become my favorite overall symphony.

[Stonebraker]

Thanks for all the picks everyone! I truly appreciate your help. (although the librarians at my school and local libraries probably don't appreciate me taking 20 some odd CD's out at once!)

Thanks agin

[david johnson]

http://records.joanrecords.com/epages/j ... /View/6324

this is the b /c box i purchase a few years ago for under $20.

dj