Shostakovich Symphony No. 10
CD - ‘My aim was to convey human feelings and passions in this work,’ Shostakovich said of his newly completed Tenth Symphony in 1953. And it is clear exactly what it was that he wanted to relate: Stalin was dead and with the Tenth Symphony, Shostakovich effectively put his memories of the great tyrant behind him.
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After his music had been publicly denounced for being too abstract in 1948, Shostakovich had finally plucked up the courage to write another symphony.
Ever since Kirill Kondrashin and Bernard Haitink first led performances of Shostakovich's Symphonies in the late 1970's, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has astonished audiences and record buyers with their level of refinement and involvement in this repertoire. With the tenure of Mariss Jansons, a degree of authenticity is added; like Kondrashin before him, Jansons has experienced himself what it is like to work under Soviet conditions.
Following the award winning RCO Live release of his interpretation of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony, Jansons's take on the composer's Tenth Symphony, presented in this new hybrid SACD, adds a another benchmark performance to the orchestra's discography.
Performers
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Mariss Jansons, chief conductor
Press quotes
'Jansons brings an overwhelming Shostakovich'
- Maarten Beirens, De Standaard
'Jansons spectaculary solves riddles in Shostakovich's Tenth... Jansons, who witnessed von Karajan's legendary 1969 performance of the Tenth in Moscow, equalled that performance on all fronts on Thursday. Here spoke D.SCH.'
- Peter van der Lint, Trouw
'Jansons is sensual, subtle and agressive... The Tenth, already so full of ideas, was thus given the face of a human life compressed into an hour, including all the shades between despair, exuberance and agression. The latter was at times depicted so frighteningly that there were even a few nervous giggles.'
- Mischa Spel, NRC Handelsblad