This is not a reissue of a classic recording as most of Classic Records’ output but a newly-recorded project done nine years ago in Graz, Austria by the well-known producing team of Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz. At first I was surprised to see this Shostakovich Fifth wasn’t the thrilling version by Leopold Stokowski in the Everest series which Classic has been reissuing. However, it has no connection with that and that one will not be issued because it was recorded on half-inch tape rather than the audiophile-oriented 35mm sound film which comprises the current Everest reissue program.
As with all of the Classic HDADs, there are five different playback options to select from here, requiring two separate discs in another approach to the Dual Disc idea. The first disc is a standard 44.1K/16 bit CD for comparison and for playing on one’s computer, portable or in the car. The DVD has a red and a blue center ring – the red is for the DVD-A option, either two or three-channel. The blue side brings up the two and three-channel options, but at a lower resolution for those with only a standard DVD player rather than a DVD-A or universal player. With such a raft of options, it’s unfortunate a surround sound option isn’t one of them, but perhaps the original recording was only three-channel. The liner notes speak of the transfer having been made from the original 35mm film, but of course this is an error; there is no indication of what the original recording format was but 35mm film is no longer used for that due to its restricted shelf life.
This most popular of Shostakovich’s symphonies has been an audiophile spectacular for a long time. The Russian musicians have a fine feel for the work’s drama, and the recording is excellent. You couldn’t go wrong with this recording. However, having just reviewed the Concertgebouw’s SACD of the same work, I’m afraid I have to lean toward its interpretation – and not just because it is captured in excellent surround sound. I feel that Kogan takes the last movement far too fast, losing a good part of its massive impact found in Stokowski, Bernstein and others. There was no information on the two-minute-long “Coachman’s Dance” encore; I have no idea what Shostakovich ballet music this was excerpted from. It seems rather an odd piece tacked on to the conclusion of the massive and emotional Fifth Symphony – too brief to be considered a “filler.”
– John Sunier
