This recital, recorded
live at the Musikverein in December
2006, was the last of a series of seven
concerts that Julian Rachlin had organised
to celebrate the centenary Shostakovich’s
birth. Using his personal friendships
and musical associations Rachlin assembled
a star cast of performers.
I have mixed feelings
about the present programme. Part of
me is disappointed that the players
did not include the celebrated Piano
Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67 (1944).
Conversely, another part of me is pleased
to have the opportunity of hearing the
less heard Piano Trio No. 1.
Undoubtedly the feature work is the
Piano Quintet, widely
recognised a masterwork of the genre.
The 17 years old Shostakovich
started composing his Piano Trio
No. 1 during a convalescence in
the Crimea and completed it in Petrograd.
It is a hidden gem of the repertoire.
The trio is dedicated to a sweetheart
Tatyana Glivenko and is cast in a single
movement.
I admire the way the
trio of Rachlin, Maisky and Golan seamlessly
glide through the contrasting emotional
demands. These range from the grave
seriousness of mourning to the light-hearted
gaiety of a fun fair; the intense fury
of a violent brawl to the moving tenderness
of a passionate love affair. Liberal
use is made of string vibrato;
an interpretative approach that feels
highly appropriate in this fledgling
score. Perhaps the best known versions
of this work are those from the Stockholm
Arts Trio on Naxos and the Beaux Arts
Trio on Warner Classics; recordings
that I know but are not part of my collection.
The five pieces were
arranged by the composer’s friend Lev
Atovmyan - spelt as Atovmain in the
booklet. Over the years Atovmyan had
been assigned by Shostakovich to make
several arrangements of his stage and
film scores as well as two-piano reductions
of some of the symphonies. It seems
that the published score incorrectly
credited the original sources of some
of the pieces.
The opening work No.
15 ‘Guitars’ is taken from
his film score The Gadfly (1955),
a piece played by Rachlin, Jansen and
Golan with moving tenderness and ebullience
in the gypsy-like dance section. The
buoyantly performed Gavotte was
originally taken by Shostakovich from
his incidental music The Human Comedy,
Op. 37 (1934). One feels a sense of
exhaustion just listening to the poignant
Elegy which is in fact The
Panorama of Paris theme also from
The Human Comedy, Op. 37. The
arranger Atovmyan used the theme for
the fourth movement waltz on several
occasions but it seems that its origins
have not been accurately determined.
With this picturesque interpretation
of the waltz one can easily imagine
the scene of a Viennese café
and fin-de-siècle culture. The
concluding piece is a jaunty polka
entitled Dance of the Milkmaid
and the Tractor Driver from the
ballet The Limpid Stream, Op.
39 (1934-35). The players convey a firm
bucolic quality that tends to overshadow
any claim for a gypsy-feel to the music.
Shostakovich composed
his Piano Quintet in 1940 after
his String Quartet No. 1, Op.
49 (1938) and Symphony No. 6 in B
minor, Op. 54 (1939). The composer
played the piano part at the first performance
in November 1940 at the Moscow Conservatory
with the Beethoven Quartet. The score
had been requested by the members of
the Beethoven Quartet who were his lifelong
friends and had premiered all the string
quartets bar the first and last. The
Quintet provided Shostakovich
with one of his principal chamber music
successes and 1941 he was awarded a
Stalin prize for the score receiving
a hundred thousand roubles.
The Quintet
is cast in five movements and opens
with a Prelude marked Lento
- Poco piu mosso - Lento. The performers
reveal dense textures and play with
considerable intensity and rapt concentration.
A lighter central core to the movement
suggested vestiges of Russian cubist
inspiration from say: Lyubov Popova;
Kasimir Malevich; Nadezhda Udaltsova
et al. The Fugue: Adagio,
music of a serious character evocative
of a bleak and wintry wilderness, left
me wanting an even slower pace. In the
Scherzo marked Allegretto
the players capitalise on the spiky
and impetuous quality of the music.
Still the tempo feels rather too feverish
compared to the Borodins/Leonskaja version.
Superbly interpreted, the Intermezzo:
Lento had the effect of making time
stand still. I could picture a scene
of despair and devastation, evocative
of a defeated army retreating through
a stark winter wasteland. Between 4:17-4:50
the players intensify the trudging march
through an austere landscape. The capricious
Finale: Allegretto is
a movement that does not immediately
reveal its qualities. The performance
here is one of commitment and raw energy
and contrasts greatly with the Borodins/Leonskaja
account who manage to blend power with
an impressive composure.
As a first choice in
the often recorded Piano Quintet
I would recommend the exciting and perceptive
1995 Berlin performance from the Borodin
Quartet and Leonskaja. The quality of
their ensemble and Leonskaja’s splendid
piano tone is commendable. It can be
found on a digital double set from Teldec
Ultima 8573-87820-2 (c/w Piano Trio
No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67 and String
Quartets No.s 1 and 15, Op. 49 and
Op. 144). Another desirable version,
high on brilliance and virtuosity, is
the 2000 Toronto recording from the
Vermeer Quartet with pianist Boris Berman
on Naxos 8.554830 (Schnittke Piano
Quintet).
The first and last
tracks on this Onyx Classics disc contain
only applause and any audience noise
during the actual performances is barely
perceptible. The recording is decently
balanced and the players are warm and
closely recorded. The essay in the booklet
from Andrew Huth is an interesting and
straightforward read.
These are interpretations
of Shostakovich chamber music for Onyx
Classics of a rather uneven quality
but there is no doubting the expertise
of the players. I would buy this disc
alone on the strength of the Piano
Trio No. 1 in C minor.
Michael Cookson
Julian Rachlin (violin) ABC;
Janine Jansen (violin) BC;
Yuri Bashmet (viola) C; Mischa
Maisky (cello)AC; Itamar Golan
(piano) ABC 
