MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

alternatively
CD: AmazonUK AmazonUS

Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
Symphony No. 7 in C, Op. 60, Leningrad (1941) [72:23]
Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio/Vladimir Fedoseyev
rec. live, Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory, December 2004
RELIEF CR991079 [72:23]

Experience Classicsonline


 
Vladimir Fedoseyev plays the first movement of the Leningrad straightforwardly and with a clear sense of direction, avoiding the interpretive extremes of inflation and casualness. Some may want more incisive attacks at the start, or more emphatically marked accents in the march's climactic statements after 13:15 -- as the passage stands, it's effective but generic -- but there's something to be said for allowing the composer's effects to register on their own. The resulting performance, while suitably epic, also feels somehow more accessible and user-friendly than most.
 
That's not to say that Fedoseyev is indifferent to niceties of rhythm and structure. In the transition between themes, the flute phrases offer a palpable relaxation within the established pulse; a bit later on, the conductor renews the forward impulse, again without pushing the actual tempo. Nor does the conductor leave expressive details to fend for themselves, encouraging beautiful, sensitive playing. Note the expressive oboe in the third theme; the violin solo at 5:53, a fragile echo of the flute solo preceding; the mournful bassoon weaving through stark pizzs at 21:03. Cool, crisp flute soli register strongly, especially against spare accompaniments. Even in the juggernaut march, pure intonation and poised attacks temper the cheeky E-flat clarinet. The string passage at 23:26, with violins wending their way above a vibrant chordal accompaniment, injects a cautious optimism into the proceedings, as does the gentle, soaring passage at 24:47.
 
Fedoseyev brings enough profile to the remaining movements so that they're not an anticlimax, underlining their kinship with the analogous movements of the Fifth Symphony. The Moderato (poco allegretto), like the first movement, could be crisper in attack, but the composer's irregular scansions and angular melodic contours keep the mood edgy, as do the quiet, flutter-tonguing flutes later on. The conductor maintains a buoyant lilt in the waltz passages, even when the brasses are hammering away. The brief calm at 10:18 proves deceptive.
 
The Adagio attains some of the precision, and the sense of importance, that was in abeyance earlier. The organ-like wind chords at the start, cleanly attacked, are imposing; the strings' theme is stoic; yet another waltz-like flute solo is wistful. In the episode at 7:20, the pumping syncopations are vigorous and agitated. The fierce, proud brass chorale at 9:33 suggests a triumph over adversity, though the mood is short-lived. At 12:48, the midrange strings sing their hushed theme - still another waltz! - with an understated dignity.
 
The finale is steady and propulsive; the brass chords impede the momentum a bit at 4:09, but the dotted rhythms are alert in the weighty passage after 7:32. But surely the horns' unison theme at 13:08 should cut through the accompaniment more strongly? The conclusion is another sweeping tutti, but dissonances and skittish moving parts suggest that the triumph is not complete, the struggle not yet ended - an accurate reflection of the situation on the home front at the time.
 
For all my reservations, this is an affecting and well-realized performance - much of it actually came off better the second time around. Besides, it's not as if there's a clear alternative recommendation. I don't share the general enthusiasm for Bernstein's Chicago Symphony account (DG), finding it a bit too spacious, and coldly reproduced to boot. His earlier New York Philharmonic version (Sony), taut and dramatic, takes in some rough playing, as does Svetlanov's Melodiya issue. Jansons's scrupulous, musical account (EMI) doesn't command attention as did his stunning Oslo Fifth. Bychkov (Avie) offers suave playing, suavely recorded. Perhaps the performances in the complete cycles of Rozhdestvensky (Melodiya) and Barshai (Brilliant Classics), neither of which I've yet heard, will best balance this score's diverse elements.
 

Stephen Francis Vasta
Stephen Francis Vasta is a New York-based conductor, coach, and journalist.
 


 

 

 



 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Error processing SSI file