THE MUSIC SALON: classical music, popular culture, philosophy and anything else that catches my fancy...
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Today's concert: Shostakovich, Gergiev, Mariinsky
After his Fifth Symphony restored his standing with the State, Shostakovich a couple of years later wrote this rather quirky, but deeply felt symphony. It consists of a dramatic slow movement that always sounds a bit apocalyptic to me, followed by two deeply sardonic scherzi. And that's it. Fairly short for a Shostakovich symphony and one of my favorites. I just stumbled across this performance with Gergiev conducting the Mariinsky orchestra in a concert at Salle Pleyel in Paris, filmed by a French crew. Pretty well directed in that there are no out-of-focus shots on someone not playing. Perhaps too many closeups of the bore of the principal flautist's instrument. Wow, does the principal flute ever have a lot of work in this piece! Gergiev is conducting with a toothpick (literally) as he sometimes does. This is a powerful, committed, driving performance where everyone is really together. Great performance.
I also really like Shostakovich's Sixth. The following is from conductor Mark Wigglesworth:
'In the Sixth Symphony, Shostakovich wanted to express an illogical and contradictory world and so chose a form that is both those things. The upbeat nature of the two scherzos should sound hollow, the phoney heartlessness of large groups of people. It is daylight, and false. Stalin had asked for light and boisterous finales. Shostakovich responded with such extreme agreement that he was again able to satisfy the conflicting demands of his mentor and his conscience. The writer Ian MacDonald puts it perfectly: ‘If you want light music, you are going to get it – and with vengeance.’ At the most bombastic moments of the finale, a thought must be spared for the pain of the first movement. The contrast makes for uncomfortable listening. You feel almost guilty at being carried away, however briefly, by the joie de vivre of the finale. It was a guilt that many did not want to own up to when it came to supporting Stalin.'
I also really like Shostakovich's Sixth. The following is from conductor Mark Wigglesworth:
ReplyDelete'In the Sixth Symphony, Shostakovich wanted to express an illogical and contradictory world and so chose a form that is both those things. The upbeat nature of the two scherzos should sound hollow, the phoney heartlessness of large groups of people. It is daylight, and false. Stalin had asked for light and boisterous finales. Shostakovich responded with such extreme agreement that he was again able to satisfy the conflicting demands of his mentor and his conscience. The writer Ian MacDonald puts it perfectly: ‘If you want light music, you are going to get it – and with vengeance.’ At the most bombastic moments of the finale, a thought must be spared for the pain of the first movement. The contrast makes for uncomfortable listening. You feel almost guilty at being carried away, however briefly, by the joie de vivre of the finale. It was a guilt that many did not want to own up to when it came to supporting Stalin.'
https://www.markwigglesworth.com/notes/marks-notes-on-shostakovich-symphony-nos-5-6-10/
There is perhaps a tad too much mind-reading in this kind of commentary, but it certainly captures the complex, ironic mood.
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