Shostakovich: Symphony No.4, two 2004 recordings compared

In January 1936, a severe lambasting in the Pravda newspaper of Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, which had originally attracted much praise, unsettled the composer so much that he became increasingly dissatisfied with his Fourth Symphony, ceasing rehearsals. In the general atmosphere of paranoia many fellow composers denounced him, and after a year of reflection he embarked on his Fifth, which went on to receive great acclaim. The Fourth Symphony, along with the officially condemned Lady Macbeth, was shelved for a quarter of a century, eventually receiving its premiere in 1961.

This is a towering work, requiring a huge orchestra, and thought by many aficionados to be one of the strongest works of his early period, revealing his true musical vision, unencumbered by the cultural restrictions of the time. As such, the music evokes a bleak and brutal atmosphere, with aggressive driving rhythms, repetitive themes and overwhelming tuttis. Shostakovich himself was never satisfied with it, calling it “long-winded”, and was particularly critical of the finale. Listening to this last movement, one can hear the Mahlerian references straight away, in the little rustic skipping tune played around with by the wind section, and then taken over by plaintive strings. Things soon become neurotic again with the strings’ driving semiquavers leading to a huge outcry from the whole orchestra, brass sounding a bombastic version of the earlier motif. There is not a great deal of melodic invention here; the work stands and falls by its use of orchestral colour, and if the ensemble fails, then all is lost.

In this regard, both versions under scrutiny are superbly conducted. The recording engineer is challenged by the huge dynamic range, as is your equipment at home. Initially there was a slight bias in favour of the Kirov performance (a live account), but the Bavarian Radio Symphony seems to be even more magically in tune with the edginess of the work under Jansons, more neurotic than the Russians. The all-important wind section is quite astonishing. Also, EMI’s technicians seem to have the high ground with the recorded sound: individual trumpets blast away above the huge orchestral tuttis in the Largo of the last movement, and the timpani sound turns your legs to jelly.