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Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8 - Wigglesworth

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8 - Wigglesworth

BIS  BIS-SACD-1483

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Orchestral


Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8

Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Mark Wigglesworth (conductor)


This recording marks the return of Mark Wigglesworth’s Shostakovich cycle. The series continues with the excellent Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, with which Wigglesworth has enjoyed a longstanding and successful relationship.

The fruits of this collaboration are obvious in this recording of Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony – a work which the conductor in his own liner notes describes as ‘a poem of suffering’, quoting the composer. Although written at the turning point of World War II, and to the open disapproval of Stalin’s propaganda machine, the symphony is far from jubilant. Instead, the themes Shostakovich explored – albeit in deepest secrecy – were the pain and the terror which the Russian people had experienced during the pre-war years.

Mark Wigglesworth’s previous Shostakovich interpretations have been highly praised for being “gripping”, “moving” and “compelling”. With the present work – containing what is “possibly the most terrifying music Shostakovich ever wrote” according to Wigglesworth himself – the emotional temperature is no lower, and is brought even higher through the great power and clarity of the Studio Master format new to this series.

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PCM recording

Recorded on 20th-22nd December 2004 at the Music Centre for Dutch Radio & Television, Studio MCO5, the Netherlands, 24/44.1

Recording producer: Robert Suff

Sound engineer and surround mix: Thore Brinkmann (Take5 Music Production)

Digital editing: Jeffrey Ginn

SACD authoring: Bastiaan Kuijt

Equipment: Neumann microphones; Stagetec A/D converter; Yamaha O2R96 mixer; Samplitude hard disc recording system; Spendor loudspeakers

Executive producer: Robert Suff
Reviews (2)
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Review by Graham Williams - February 11, 2006

Shostakovitch described his 8th symphony as a poem of suffering and Mark Wigglesworth, more than many conductors, reflects this view, in his performance.

The opening bars of the first movement are played with more articulation and less attack than, for example, Haitink, and though Wigglesworth adopts what seems a dangerously slow tempo for the rest of the movement, he sustains it wonderfully, aided by the excellent Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra. Such is the conviction of the playing; there is never a sense of stasis. Tension is maintained, and rises inexorably, as the music builds in power, reaching a huge climax at 16.45 and an even greater one at 19.00. Both are handled unflinchingly and without any sense of strain by the magnificent BIS recording that manages to keep the textures clear even in the most climactic moments. The sudden hushed tremolando strings and the superbly played cor anglais solo that follows, at first desolate and then consoling, can’t fail to make a deep impression on any listener. At the end of this long movement (29.54) BIS have left a much-needed silence of 20 seconds for one to recover before the next begins.

For the first scherzo Wigglesworth again adopts a steady but quite jaunty tempo, which seems to emphasise both the sense of menace and Mahlerian irony in the music.

The recording powerfully captures the terrifying, relentless ostinato of the second scherzo, while the central section has both a confident, brazen and very Russian sounding trumpet solo, underlined by crisp percussion.

In this performance, the passacaglia that follows has sense of desolation and despair with sensitive, hushed playing and close observance to Shostakovich’s many espressivo markings.

The finale is characterised by some excellent solo wind playing and trenchant heavy brass at its climax, while the closing pages sound both uneasy and enigmatic; consistent with Wigglesworth’s overall concept of the work.

The SACD booklet contains a six- page analysis of the symphony by the conductor and his views on it, which I found valuable in understanding his approach to this music.
As I have indicated above, the engineers have provided a superb recording and the surround channels have been used judiciously to open up the acoustic.

This is a performance that grows in stature on repeated listening and I recommend it highly.

Copyright © 2006 Graham Williams and HRAudio.net

Performance:

Sonics (Multichannel):

stars stars

Review by Mark Novak - February 26, 2006

This performance is a disappointment. It really is too slow - much of it loses tension which should be ripe in this work. I compared the second scherzo (allegre ma non troppo) of a number of recordings as an example. Wigglesworth is simply too slow. On the other end of the spectrum, Litton (Delos CD) is manic and terrifying - maybe too much so but it is exciting. Both Levi (Telarc CD) and Haitink (London CD) are just about right in tempo.

As for sonics, I find that the Bis is lacking in low bass. The double basses lack bite and body and the tympani and not exciting. Of all the version I have of this work, I would say that the Litton has the best sonics - rich and ripe strings with excellent body and low end with biting, realistic brass. Litton's is a fast performance (just under 60 min) so one must factor that in when selecting. Levi is very closeto Litton sonically - a really good recording as is the Haitink.

This is my favorite Shosty symphony followed closely by 5. Lots of choices out there and many I have not heard. One must have at least one good recording of this monumental work and Wigglesworth is not the one to have. It pains me to say this because I love Bis recordings in general but I call it like I see it.

Copyright © 2006 Mark Novak and HRAudio.net

Performance:

Sonics (Stereo):

stars stars