Just playing the opening few minutes of the 4th - gosh, so many recordings to try!
Haitink is weighty and a bit ponderous in both recordings, fantastic sq on Decca, real bass slam at the very start - that's rare on classical recordings ime.
Pletnev is ludicrously slow. That's not to say he's wrong. Shostakovich can intend to be ludicrous.
Previn is similarly paced to Haitink, but a bit more in the way of immediacy in the accenting. I prefer that.
Slovak (Naxos) seems a bit laidback and uncommitted.
Kondrashin suffers from poorer sound quality. Important in this work imo.
Neeme Jarvi is a bit dynamically bland, he just kind of chugs along. He doesn't seem to have an interpretation as such.
The one that hasn't let me jump on to the next recording because its got me seriously involved is Ashkenazy. It's the precision of the orchestral section voicing, especially the brass and also the woodwinds. He's quite fast, too, which I think works well. Yup, I'm staying with Ashkenazy for now.
A lot more to try, though!
Haitink is weighty and a bit ponderous in both recordings, fantastic sq on Decca, real bass slam at the very start - that's rare on classical recordings ime.
Pletnev is ludicrously slow. That's not to say he's wrong. Shostakovich can intend to be ludicrous.
Previn is similarly paced to Haitink, but a bit more in the way of immediacy in the accenting. I prefer that.
Slovak (Naxos) seems a bit laidback and uncommitted.
Kondrashin suffers from poorer sound quality. Important in this work imo.
Neeme Jarvi is a bit dynamically bland, he just kind of chugs along. He doesn't seem to have an interpretation as such.
The one that hasn't let me jump on to the next recording because its got me seriously involved is Ashkenazy. It's the precision of the orchestral section voicing, especially the brass and also the woodwinds. He's quite fast, too, which I think works well. Yup, I'm staying with Ashkenazy for now.
A lot more to try, though!
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