On the subject of Kondrashin, I know that Peter Katin who occasionally posts here, always with fascinating insights, has worked with him and found him shall we say 'difficult' (as a person that is, not necessarily in musical terms).

If you happen to read this Peter, anything you feel able to share with us about the experience of working with him would, of course, be of very great interest.

Mr Grew--Delighted to have your company on my expedition of rediscovery. A first report back from my fork of the path: I discovered yesterday evening, quite to my surprise, that I had in fact unwittingly acquired a performance of Symphony No 4 conducted by Kondrashin, on the new Concertgebouw Live 14CD collection. I listened last night; I can't say I'm fully converted yet, though it didn't produce the negative reaction Shostakovich used to bring about in me, and there were some very striking moments. I wasn't very taken with the reproduction quality, which seemed rather limited dynamically and somewhat disturbed by audience noise. I look forward to receiving my Aulos set in the post next week some time.

In the meantime, I shall persist, and am about to listen to the Jerusalem Quartet's new disc of Quartets Nos 6, 8 and 11.


In response to your other comments, Mr Grew:

You've touched the heart of the matter. The question of whether music and art might best represent the 'awkwardness' or the 'seeking and striving' (or some mixture of the two) is hard to decide, but seeing things in those terms does, I feel, help us to recognise that 'inadequate' may not be so much a pull in the opposite direction to 'adequate' as the flip side of the same coin. One only need look underneath. That recognition, in turn, helps us to have patience. And that in its turn may help us to understand. Back to Shotchavoich.


Oh, and this:
Indeed, that is something like what I meant. The platform is not necessary (especially in this age of mechanical and even electronic reproduction), but the audience is essential.

Just on the subject of the Eighth and quotations between other symphonies, has anybody else been struck by the indentical starts to the opening violin theme of the Eighth and the 'infamous tune' in the Seventh?

Absolutely, Ron - as if to announce at the beginning that the Eighth is a more introspective and personal account of the same "material" as the Seventh.

Roslynmuse, I suggest that you acquaint yourself with the Fourth as soon as you can. It's the clearest indication we have of the direction his music might under other circumstance have gone in, quite apart from its own qualities, and the fact that it could well have been an enormously influential piece on musical (and especially symphonic) thinking throughout the world had it been performed in 1936.

I've just finished reading the newish revised version of Ian MacDonald's book on Shostakovich, which, although I don't see eye to eye with it on some historical & political points, is a massive improvement on the original version: occasionally maddening but well worth a look for anyone who's getting interested in Shostakovich.

Stephen Jonson in Discovery series about Shostakovich Quartet 8 called Shostakovich face as Poker face. I feel so too.
Is this a face of a person who never smiles.
I felt that it was excellent explanation of this tragic quartet (dedicated to himself after he is dead).
I never knew that his marrige to Nina was open marrige. I thought they were in love and he was deeply affected by her death.

I wonder if any of us is really enough of an addict to acquire the Melodiya Kondrashin box in addition to the Aulos box and then let us know if one of them sounds substantially better?

(For those who came in late - the Kondrashin cycle used to be around in annoyingly dodgy transfers on Le Chant du Monde and then was remastered by Aulos so well that it made an already highly desirable set of recordings absolutely indispensable.)

I note that the new Melodiya box includes the Oistrakh/Kondrashin recording of the second violin concerto (magnificent piece, great performance with horns and drums rampant) as well as Stepan Razin, October and The Sun Shines Over Our Motherland. Don't know the last-named but the Stepan Razin recording is magnificent. I suppose it being in that box rules it out for convenient reissue elsewhere... 

Wasn't meant all that personally Ron, but if the cap fits...

In fact if it had come out in that form at the time I was still searching for the Kondrashin recording of Stepan Razin I would probably have shrugged my shoulders and bitten the bullet, so to speak. But Bryn and Anna came to my rescue on that front which means the only things new to me in the box would be Kondrashin's thoughts on the Sunshine cantata and October. 

I've seen the cycle conducted by Maxim Shostakovich highly recommended. Anyone here know it? I don't think it contains his mid-'70s recordings of the Michelangelo songs or the 15th symphony though, which are certainly must-hears.