Shostakovich
Moscow, Cheryomushki & Symphony No. 1
Philharmonia/Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Signum SIGCD990 60:51 mins
It’s amazing to realise that Shostakovich’s First Symphony received its world premiere in Leningrad exactly 100 years ago and almost single-handedly launched the international career of one of the greatest composers of the 20th century.
Even those who don’t particularly care for Shostakovich’s music have to concede that the sheer boldness and precocity of invention exhibited in this work by the then 19-year-old composer is extraordinary.
Santtu-Matias Rouvali and the Philharmonia revel in the grotesque juxtapositions of mood explored in the first movement. Some may be surprised by the somewhat leisurely tempo adopted for the waltz-like second idea. But to my mind, it works very effectively as a striking counterpart to the sinister material that dominates much of the rest of the musical argument.
Rouvali adopts a similar strategy in the second movement, contrasting the helter-skelter ideas of the opening with a more ominous cortège-like middle section, here delivered at a slow but mesmerising tempo.
Some may feel that the big climaxes in the first two movements don’t quite achieve the heft and ferocity of other recordings. Yet once again, this restraint seems deliberate, since Rouvali notches up the emotional temperature for the rest of the symphony, transforming a work of youthful high spirits into something far more tragic.
But what makes this performance such an outstanding experience is the combination of Rouvali’s interpretation with some superb orchestral playing. These qualities are equally exhibited in the suite from the operetta Moscow, Cheryomushki. Though hardly top-drawer Shostakovich, it’s enormously entertaining.
