Shostakovich - Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43 / REMASTERED (Century's record.: Kirill Kondrashin)

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) Symphony No. 4 by Kirill Kondrashin / Remastered.
🎧 Qobuz https://bit.ly/3HFDdEk Apple Music https://apple.co/3GhTiQW
🎧 Amazon Music https://amzn.to/3xEO78x Tidal https://bit.ly/3O9y5dZ
🎧 Deezer https://bit.ly/3y6yckE Spotify https://spoti.fi/3xxyijO
🎧 Youtube Music http://bit.ly/403TA60 SoundCloud http://bit.ly/3ZX70k2
🎧 Naspter, Pandora, Anghami, LineMusic日本, Awa日本, QQ音乐 …
Click to activate the English subtitles for the presentation (00:00-01:35)
00:00 Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43 - I. Allegro poco moderato (Remastered 2022)
25:34 Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43 - II. Moderato con moto (Remastered 2022)
33:56 Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43 - III. Largo, Allegro (Remastered 2022)

Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Kirill Kondrashin
Recorded in 1962
New mastering in 2022 by AB for CMRR
🔊 FOLLOW US on SPOTIFY (Profil: CMRR) : https://spoti.fi/3016eVr
🔊 Download CMRR's recordings in High fidelity audio (QOBUZ) : https://bit.ly/370zcMg
❤️ If you like CM//RR content, please consider membership at our Patreon page.
Thank you :)   / cmrr  

Symphony No 4 in C Minor, op. 43 (1934/36). The first performance was planned for the beginning of 1936, but the score was withdrawn by the composer and the performance was not given until December 30th 1960 by the Moscow Philharmonic, cond.: Kirill Kondrashin.

The work opens with a long Allegretto poco moderato, extremely tragic in character, with strident bursts from the brass. A savage, sarcastic, almost desperate irony is present in the wind. The strings are given far more lyrical episodes, whilst melodic fragments disintegrate, disappear and reappear. All these elements are evocative of Mahler, whose example Shostakovich had completely assimilated and which was to follow him to the end of his career. Towards the middle of the movement, a surprising fugal episode occurs on unaccompanied strings, with a slow entry by the brass and percussion ending in a fortissimo of rare violence. Calm is restored. Soon, however, laments are heard from the wind, supported by the strings, before a return to the jerky, slightly grotesque theme of the beginning of the movement. Calm descends once more, the violin plays a plaintive melody, followed by a melancholy air on the cor anglais.

The short Moderato con moto is also very reminiscent of Mahler with its joyous, ländler-like theme (a brief allusion to the scherzo from the 2nd, "Resurrection" Symphony is slipped in), heavily punctuated by the timpani. The theme is carried away by the strings, sardonic, almost ethereal, taken up and prattled by the wind, then sung by the brass before being returned to the strings, muted and accompanied by a surprising clatter from the percussion which is to be found, unchanged, thirty-five years later in the finale of the 15th Symphony.

The third movement, Largo - Allegretto which is almost as long as the first, opens with a rather lumpish melody on the bassoon (then piccolo and horn), followed by a brief intervention from the brass, to a funeral march rhythm, still very evocative of Mahler (Symphony No.1, "Titan"). There is an acceleration in the strings, then brass with xylophone. All this useless agitation ceases and gives way to a simple little melody on flute and harp in distinct waltz time which becomes ironic, then vulgar (piccolo, trombone). The atmosphere gradually changes (strings). A storm of brass, supported by clarinet, bassoon, flute, oboe and xylophone breaks forth over the violent beating of the timpani. The entire orchestra becomes involved in a desperate and hopeless race, but is stopped in its tracks by the beating of the tomtom. An uneasy calm is restored, although menacing sounds can still be heard, notably a distant alarm floating over resigned-sounding strings. A string melody leads to the coda, an imaginative instrumental tissue woven by the harp, celesta and timpani, whilst the brass fade into the distance. The celesta's final notes hang in the air. This closing page is one of the most moving and powerful in the Composer's entire orchestral output.

Shostakovich - Symphony No. 8 in C minor Op. 65 / REMASTERED (Century's record.: Kirill Kondrashin):    • Shostakovich - Symphony No. 8 in C minor O...  

Dmitri Shostakovich PLAYLIST (reference recordings):    • Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906-1975)