SearchsearchUseruser

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 - Storgårds

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 - Storgårds

Chandos  CHSA 5335

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Orchestral


Albert Dohmen (bass)
Estonian National Male Choir
BBC Philharmonic
John Storgårds (conductor)


John Storgårds’s acclaimed series of Shostakovich symphonies continues with this recording of Symphony No. 13. The BBC Philharmonic is joined by the bass-baritone Albert Dohmen and the Estonian National Male Choir. The symphony, subtitled ‘Babiy Yar’, caused a great deal of tension and controversy in the lead-up to its première, in December 1962 – not because of the music, but the poetry. Shostakovich had chosen to set Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s Babiy Yar. Ostensibly an outraged response to the lack of a memorial for the thousands of Jews murdered by the Nazis and dumped in a ravine near Kyiv, the poem implicitly criticised the anti-Semitism then still rife in the Soviet Union. Originally planned as a short cantata, the work grew in stature as Shostakovich chose additional poems by Yevtushenko for inclusion, finally settling on the form of a five-movement symphony. The tone of the poems was as near to being openly subversive as any Soviet literary material could be at the time without actually being banned by the authorities, but the eventual première was a triumph. Arvo Pärt’s De profundis was composed for male voices, organ, and percussion in 1980. Here we hear the composer’s later adaptation of the piece for male voices and chamber orchestra, from 2008. The short work is a perfect example of the style the composer termed ‘tintinnabuli’ and an aesthetic that others would later label ‘holy minimalism’.

Support this site by purchasing from these vendors using the paid links below.
As an Amazon Associate HRAudio.net earns from qualifying purchases.

amazon.ca
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
amazon.com.au
amazon.de
amazon.es
amazon.fr
amazon.it
bol.com
 
jpc
Presto

Add to your wish list | library

 

0 of 0 recommend this, would you recommend it?  yes | no

All
show
Recording
show
hide
PCM recording
Comments (13)
show
hide

Comment by DYB - April 19, 2024 (1 of 13)

One side-note to the description above about Babi Yar being outside Kyiv is that after the war, as the parameters of the city expanded, Babi Yar is now very much inside the city. I grew up about 15 walk from it in the 1980s.

Comment by hiredfox - April 28, 2024 (2 of 13)

There is extensive comment on this history linked to the recent Karabits recording of the 13th which by the way is outstanding.

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 - Karabits

Comment by DYB - April 30, 2024 (3 of 13)

hiredfox> I completely agree on the Karabits recording - an outstanding performance. I am yet to hear this new one from Storgårds, but I'm generally a fan of his work so I'm looking forward to it.

Comment by Scott A. - June 1, 2025 (4 of 13)

The next issue in the cycle, as listed on Presto, contains Symphonies 1 and 3 and is slated for release on August 15th. Unfortunately, it appears to be a plain CD, catalog number CHAN20398.

Comment by Scott A. - June 13, 2025 (5 of 13)

After emailing Chandos, I was told the forthcoming disc of symphonies 1 & 3 was switched to CD because the only hybrid SACD plant went down for 12 weeks of maintenance. They added, "The Shostakovich was not the only victim of this situation, but rest assured we remain committed to the format, and future production is already back on track."

Comment by EugenF - June 24, 2025 (6 of 13)

Just curious which plant was closed for maintenance? Sonopress Germany or Sony DAC Salzburg?

MoFi announced (on Instagram) four days ago that they resumed sacd production (I know they work with Sonopress - which was closed for tree months for maintenance - stating from February).

Comment by Scott A. - June 25, 2025 (7 of 13)

The email said, "There is now only one production line left in the world that presses hybrid SACD - at Sony DADC in Austria. They had to close that line for 12 weeks for essential maintenance, but gave us very short notice of the planned closure."

I know next to nothing about such things, but I would note that I recently acquired an Exton hybrid SACD of Dvorak's 8th, Sibelius' Luonnotar & Rautavaara's Cantus Arcticus by Sakari Oramo & The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (OVCL-00870), and the disc has a date of 2025 and clearly says "Made in Japan," so, unless it has closed in the last 6 months, I guess there's one in Japan, too.

Comment by Adrian Quanjer - June 28, 2025 (8 of 13)

That's correct. However, Sony does multi-channel. Your Japanese SACD is Stereo.

Comment by EugenF - June 30, 2025 (9 of 13)

Thank you for clarifications Scott A.
This is a very interesting information about '12 weeks for essential maintenance' at Sony DADC Salzburg.

My guess is that all 3 pressing plants (Sony DADC Austria & Japan and Sonopress Germany) can now produce hybrid sacds.
Latest MoFi's new albums on sacds are hybrid (they use Sonopress).

Comment by Scott A. - July 2, 2025 (10 of 13)

Heard from Chandos that the next up (after the 1st/3rd CD in August) will be the 2nd/5th early next year. That one will be on SACD, and in surround.

Comment by breydon_music - July 6, 2025 (11 of 13)

Chandos' commitment to SACD is reflected in the scheduling in the next couple of months of a John Wilson 2-disc set of "My Fair Lady" and another instalment in Gardner's Nielsen series, both SACD.

Comment by hiredfox - July 12, 2025 (12 of 13)

For completeness I asked ChatGTP to provide an up-date on SACD pressing plants;


There are currently three pressing plants worldwide still manufacturing SACD discs as of mid‑2025:

Sony DADC – Thalgau or Salzburg, Austria (Europe/EMEA region)

Sony DADC – Japan (Sony DADC plants in Shizuoka and Ibaraki, Asia region)

Arvato/Sonopress – Germany (occasionally pressing SACDs for clients like Mobile Fidelity)


Locations in detail;

Austria (Sony DADC): Consolidated into a single facility in Thalgau (with Salzburg operational as part of Austria operations)—this is the primary hybrid SACD press line for EMEA regions
Discogs
.
Japan (Sony DADC): Includes facilities in Shizuoka and Ibaraki. These handle the majority of pressing for Japanese and Hong Kong releases, including SHM‑SACDs and Japanese audiophile labels
.
Germany (Arvato/Sonopress): Occasionally used for specific reissue labels in the US such as Mobile Fidelity. Some SACDs labeled “Made in Germany” are produced here

.

Comment by Adrian Quanjer - July 15, 2025 (13 of 13)

John, I love it. ChatGPT can do wonders. Thanks for having it sorted. I use it, too, for drawing all sorts of info out of the net. AI can turn the pages faster than we can. However, human intelligence must prevail. And ChatGPT does not know what is not available on the net. And it may take fake information for real, I suppose. But playing around with it is great fun. I gave it a try to write a review about John Smith, playing a violin concerto with Emmy Drawer conducting the Chillingborough Philharmonic. The result, one whole page within less than a minute, was amazingly well crafted, though unsuitable. Firstly, it didn’t know that the artists do not exist. Secondly, despite all the perfect language (albeit with Americanisms like ‘fervor’ and ‘color’), it is completely devoid of anything personal. Photoshopped.