[.ca] Symphony No. 7 - Leningrad

Looking Into The Face Of Madness:
As the years have passed it has become apparent that much of what we know of this symphony's origins and meaning has been more myth than reality. That it was written in Leningrad during the Nazi siege is partially true. In reality a good part of the symphony had been written before the Nazi invasion even started. In the 1930's and 1940's the Leningrad Philharmonic (now the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic), after the concert season was over, would have a week or so of private readings of new works or works in progress. In early June 1941 , some 3 weeks prior to the Nazi invasion, they gave a reading of a new symphony by Shostakovich that the composer told friends was about 80% complete. That symphony was the 7th. No doubt there were additions and changes made but the bulk of the work was on paper months before the siege of Leningrad began. Its meaning, according to the composer and friends that he spoke to, was already in his head. The symphony was a requiem for Leningrad, Russia's cultural capitol, whose intellectual and artistic life had been destroyed by Stalin's purges. When the work was finally finished he told several friends privately that the work was a requiem for a Leningrad that Stalin had destroyed and that Hitler finished off. It is that sentiment that guides Yablonsky's excellent performance. This is is no propaganda poster paen to heroic warfare but a grim , dark look into the face of madness. Yablonsky deftly builds up each movement to its proper climax avoiding the empty bombast that mar far too many performances of this work. In the symphony's quieter movement's one at times gets an eerie sense of a disconnect with reality. The quiet is supposed to soothe but Yablonsky often subtley unsettles the listener. The symphony's ultimate climax here is no hallow, forced cry of victory. In Yablonsky's hands it is an unreal and stately death dance. The Russian Philharmonic still has the characteristic sound of Russian orchestras that will hopefully not fade with time. The steely wall of brass that at times seem to perform acrobatic feats both assault and cut into the listener. When they trill or flutter one feels the air being cut. The woodwinds, especially the reeds, have a full dark and pungent tone that is perfect for this music. Naxos has again given the listener a real bargin as this performance is more worthy of full price than most full priced performances. Naxos has already recorded a somewhat weak cycle of Shostakovich's symphonies under Slovak. It is to be hoped that this first by Yablonsky is the beginning of a new cycle.

Shostakovich 7: Leningrad Op 60:
Superb. Simply superb. I have the Haitinik and Barshia versions of Shostakovich's 7th, and both are wonderful. This recording is beyond wonderful. It's splendid. It's magnificient. Add it to your Shostakovich collection. You'll never regret it.

• Allegretto
• Moderato (Poco Allegretto)
• Adagio
• Allegro Non Troppo