Shostakovich Sanderling

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Symphonies: Symphonies 14 & 15
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln / Dmitrij Kitajenko
2xSACD | SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 2,79 & 2,69 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 841 & 976 MB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # SACD71-039/40 | Country/Year: Germany 2005 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Contemporary

"Symp 15: Very good performance. A lot of character in I, darkness in II. III is devilish. IV is very powerful, with chilling final percussion chatterings. Sanderling's stereo SA-CD is very good, but the sound isn't as good; Fedoseev's SA-CD has character, but Kitajenko has better sound and performance." ~sa-cd.net

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Symphonies: Symphony 13
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln / Dmitrij Kitajenko
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,55 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,01 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # SACD71-038 | Country/Year: Germany 2005 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Contemporary

"Moving, intelligent, and sometimes powerful singing by the bass soloist throughout. Good chorus. Chimes are chillingly reproduced, as are some of the other percussion effects (for instance the woodblock in "In the Store"). Excellent tuba playing in "Fears"." ~sa-cd.net

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Symphonies: Symphony 11
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln / Dmitrij Kitajenko
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,62 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,07 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # SACD71-036 | Country/Year: Germany 2005 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Contemporary

"Beautiful, full rich string sound, and great sound overall. I is fantastic. II is slightly slower than I prefer (about 4'30"), but Kitajenko does very well with it, sustaining tension throughout. III is terrific; you can hear and feel the soft percussion toward the end. IV again has a slightly slower basic tempo than usual, but tension is sustained throughout, and the playing responsive." ~sa-cd.net

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Symphonies: Symphony 12
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln / Dmitrij Kitajenko
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 2,32 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 703 MB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # SACD71-037 | Country/Year: Germany 2005 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Contemporary

"Full and rich start. Slight transient noise from left front in first movement, about 3 minutes in. Horns at start of IV lack a little nobility, but otherwise performance is excellent throughout; timpani in IV, starting about 6'20", are thunderous." ~sa-cd.net

How to characterise this set? Sanderling glories in detail. He can tend towards a steadiness that occasionally decays the pulse and thrust of the music. Often however his unglamorous approach brings out details that others gloss and chamfer. He is not afraid to allow these Northern flowers and trees to bloom at a natural pace. He is no stranger to drama but will not fabricate it unnaturally. Tension is exposed rather than created. This set is in many ways a most agreeable library staple and conductor, orchestra and recording all lend themselves to long-term listening rather than immediate emotional returns and short-term neon high-drama. ~Rob Barnett

The Temple of Apollo at Delphi is the best-known excerpt from Taneyev’s only opera, Oresteia, the mammoth overture to which has all the force of a Romantic symphonic poem. His Overture on a Russian Theme is based on the same folksong that Rimsky-Korsakov used in his own Fantasy on Russian Themes while the shorter works demonstrate in various ways Taneyev’s scrupulous craftsmanship.

Karl Weigl’s music demonstrates once again that the great Austrian/German symphonic tradition did not die with Mahler, but continued to thrive well into the 20th century. Weigl (1881-1949) worked under Mahler in Vienna and enjoyed a fine reputation until, as we’ve heard often by now, the Nazi seizure of power, which forced his emigration to America where he died in comparative obscurity. He nevertheless composed a substantial body of orchestral and chamber music, including six symphonies. If this one is typical, it’s a legacy that urgently calls out for wider exposure. Composed in 1945 and dedicated to the memory of President Roosevelt, the “Apocalyptic Symphony” received its premiere in 1968 under Stokowski.

The Polish-Jewish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996), who lost his family due to National Socialism, fled to Russia and was again later subjected to Stalinist persecution, was one of the unjustly forgotten composers of the 20th century until recently. He left behind a considerable oeuvre, and with an impressive renaissance during recent years, including an acclaimed production of 'The Passenger' at ENO, he is now considered one of the most important composers of the Soviet Union alongside Shostakovich and Prokofiev.'The Idiot', based on the novel of the same title by Dostoyevsky, is Weinberg's final opera, composed during the mid-1980s. The plot: the young Prince Myshkin returns to St Petersburg, penniless after many years spent in a Swiss clinic.