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Discussion: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 - Rostropovich

Posts: 23
Page: 1 2 3 next

Post by jdaniel@jps.net November 29, 2004 (1 of 23)
Chris, I've listened a lot to the redbook version and notice that on occassion the acoustic can barely contain some of the loudest passages. Do you sense the same compression in surround?

Post by Castor November 30, 2004 (2 of 23)
jdaniel@jps.net said:

Chris, I've listened a lot to the redbook version and notice that on occassion the acoustic can barely contain some of the loudest passages. Do you sense the same compression in surround?

I too would like to have the answer to that.
I got rid of the RB version because of the constricting feel to the sound and what, to me, sounds like excessive closeness in the miking. The Barbican acoustic has always been problematic and I just hope the MC version helps. It is a great performance.

Post by Chris November 30, 2004 (3 of 23)
jdaniel@jps.net said:

Chris, I've listened a lot to the redbook version and notice that on occassion the acoustic can barely contain some of the loudest passages. Do you sense the same compression in surround?

Yes, I mentioned that in my review.The Barbican is not an ideal venue for large-scale music.It lacks the vast acoustic and openness of larger halls.But I'm pretty sure Tony Faulkner captured things very much as they sounded there and then.I haven't heard it in surround yet.But it sounds clearly better as an SACD than RBCD in stereo.Even live, and in better halls than the Barbican there is sometimes a tendency for the sound to congest a bit at the very loudest climaxes.I heard a slight tendency even live in Gothenburg a couple of weeks ago when BIS recorded Tchaikovsky's second there.A full fff orchestral fortissimo with cymbals, gongs and the whole lot at "full throttle", is not an easy thing to record cleanly even in the best of halls. And apart from the slight congestion in some climaxes this LSO LIVE SACD sounds very close yes, but also very realistic and quite similar to the Mercury Firebird.I don't think there is much compression either. I think that the actual dynamic range captured in the Barbican is larger than what was captured in Watford Town Hall in 1959 for example.
It would of course be ideal technically , if the LSO could make their recordings in Watford intstead,but then it wouldn't be LSO LIVE any longer would it?

Post by Johnno November 30, 2004 (4 of 23)
I've just been to the LSO website and order it -- and the Davis/Sibelius 3 and 7. I heard the start of the 7th on a "Gramophone" Editor's Choice CD and thought it sounded impressive.

Post by Johnno December 13, 2004 (5 of 23)
I received my SACD of it a couple of days ago and played it yesterday (stereo only) through my new SA11-S1. I hadn't heard any 'LSO Live' recordings in their entirety before, so I have to say that the close, dry recording came as a bit of a shock. The dynamic range, however, is very wide -- the opening pages are barely audible while the 9th January massacre is overwhelming in its impact with timpani and bass drum hammering away for all they're worth, not to mention the rest of the percussion involved there.

I'm also frequently disappointed in the performance, which strikes me as often mannered (such as the unnatural slowing down twice in that second movement climax -- I'm going to find it very hard to live with that) and I do have to wonder how it was voted Record of the Month in "Gramophone". Interpretively, I felt the finale fared the best and I was reasonably happy with that, but why does the conductor allow the percussion to keep sounding after everyone else has stopped playing? Perhaps I'm being too harsh, but overall I prefer both Haitink and Cluytens even if they aren't always the most exciting performances. (Interestingly, I reached a rather different conclusion to both the Rostropovich performance and recording when I listened to the relatively short extract from the second movement on the "Gramophone" Editor's Choice CD, so such samples are obviously not always suitable guides to purchasing discs).

I have yet to play the Colin Davis' Sibelius 3 and 7. If the sound is similar, these two discs might be the only LSO Live I buy!!

Post by mdt December 14, 2004 (6 of 23)
I have yet to play the Colin Davis' Sibelius 3 and 7. If the sound is similar, these two discs might be the only LSO Live I buy!!
I have the Brahms 3rd and Verdis Falstaff from LSO-Live. I'm somewhat dissapointed with the sound of the Brahms, it seems slightly congested whereas the sound of the Falstaff is much more open and vivid alltough it was recorded in the same venue. I dont know wether this considerable difference is due to the conductors (Haitink/Davis)or the orchestraters (Brahms/Verdi) recording venue, orchestra and engineering team are the same for both recordings.

Post by Castor December 14, 2004 (7 of 23)
Johnno said:

I received my SACD of it a couple of days ago and played it yesterday (stereo only) through my new SA11-S1. I hadn't heard any 'LSO Live' recordings in their entirety before, so I have to say that the close, dry recording came as a bit of a shock. The dynamic range, however, is very wide -- the opening pages are barely audible while the 9th January massacre is overwhelming in its impact with timpani and bass drum hammering away for all they're worth, not to mention the rest of the percussion involved there.

I'm also frequently disappointed in the performance, which strikes me as often mannered (such as the unnatural slowing down twice in that second movement climax -- I'm going to find it very hard to live with that) and I do have to wonder how it was voted Record of the Month in "Gramophone". Interpretively, I felt the finale fared the best and I was reasonably happy with that, but why does the conductor allow the percussion to keep sounding after everyone else has stopped playing? Perhaps I'm being too harsh, but overall I prefer both Haitink and Cluytens even if they aren't always the most exciting performances. (Interestingly, I reached a rather different conclusion to both the Rostropovich performance and recording when I listened to the relatively short extract from the second movement on the "Gramophone" Editor's Choice CD, so such samples are obviously not always suitable guides to purchasing discs).

I have yet to play the Colin Davis' Sibelius 3 and 7. If the sound is similar, these two discs might be the only LSO Live I buy!!

Having now played this a few times in MC,I agree with everything you say Johnno. The surround channels do nothing to improve the harsh sound and dry acoustic of the Barbican. The SACD is, however, a considerable improvement on the RB version, particularly in the very loud passages.
The overall timing of 72m compared with, say, Barshai (60m) makes the first and third movements seem interminable. This is a pity as the orchestra play magnificently but the lack of allure in the sound gives a dead quality to the strings in particular.
I too doubt that I will be buying any more 'LSO live'.

Post by Johnno December 14, 2004 (8 of 23)
Castor said:

Having now played this a few times in MC,I agree with everything you say Johnno. The surround channels do nothing to improve the harsh sound and dry acoustic of the Barbican. The SACD is, however, a considerable improvement on the RB version, particularly in the very loud passages.
The overall timing of 72m compared with, say, Barshai (60m) makes the first and third movements seem interminable. This is a pity as the orchestra play magnificently but the lack of allure in the sound gives a dead quality to the strings in particular.
I too doubt that I will be buying any more 'LSO live'.

I agree with you, too. I neglected to mention that I thought the first movement was never going to end, fond as I am of it. Like the "Gramophone" reviewer, I've always felt that the third movement was the weakest one, and Rostropovich doesn't make me think otherwise. I also agree with you about the orchestral playing. The LSO is unquestionably one of the world's finest and it's also one of my favourites. However, I was listening to the Leon Botstein/LSO Popov/Shostakovich disc yesterday. What a stunner that is! Sensational performances and glorious sound, and an almost total contrast to this 'LSO Live' disc. End of story.

I believe the Barshai performance is excellent. It's not available on SACD though, is it?

Post by Castor December 15, 2004 (9 of 23)
Johnno said:
The LSO is unquestionably one of the world's finest and it's also one of my favourites. However, I was listening to the Leon Botstein/LSO Popov/Shostakovich disc yesterday. What a stunner that is! Sensational performances and glorious sound, and an almost total contrast to this 'LSO Live' disc. End of story.

I believe the Barshai performance is excellent. It's not available on SACD though, is it?

Hi Johnno,
Sadly the Barshai set is not on SACD, but you can pick up his set of all 15 symphonies on Brilliant Classics for little more than the price of one SACD! A real bargain.
Thanks for your view on the Telarc Popov. I have held off on this one after reading one unfavourable review, but will order it now as I doubt that we will ever see any competition.

Post by mdt December 15, 2004 (10 of 23)
I too doubt that I will be buying any more 'LSO live'.
I'd give that a second thought, the Falstaff is excellent musically and sound wise.

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