SHOSTAKOVICH, D.: Symphony No. 15 / Hamlet (excerpts) (Russian National Orchestra, Pletnev) Classical PentaTone

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Performance ***** Recording ***** “Mikhail Pletnev delivers a strongly compelling and often illuminating interpretation of Shostakovich’s final symphony. Whereas most conductors opt merely for the sardonic and satirical in the first movement’s ‘toyshop in a cloudless sky’, Pletnev emphasises the music’s menacing subtext, the muffled trumpet quotations from Rossini’s William Tell Overture sounding particularly grim. Pentatone’s wonderful SACD recording enhances this impression with each instrumental strand in this very linear composition projected with amazing clarity. “

Erik Levi

BBC Music Magazine

“This is my first experience with Pletnev the conductor, and I come away very impressed. This is a fine performance, and a noteworthy interpretation of Shostakovich’s final symphony Art Lange

Fanfare

“Pletnev understands this symphony as well as the best of them [The eleven Hamlet numbers] balance the density and powerful beauty of Symphony No. 15. Again, Pletnev shines with the Russian National Orchestra. This is among the best of this excellent [Shostakovich] cycle by Pentatone.”

El Tablon de Scherzo (Spain)

“Pletnev, heading the Russian National Orchestra, finds – might we say at last finds – just the right spirit, thus offering an apt interpretation which puts this disc, in addition to being a remarkable sound recording, at the top of an SACD discography.” Jean-Jacques Milo

Opus Haute Definition

“Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra deliver one of their finest performances Pletnev’s restraint enhances the symphony’s ambivalent character. In the end, after the haunting closing measures have faded to silence, it seems the symphony remains as enigmatic as ever, and Pletnev has admirably preserved that essential quality. PentaTone’s audio is spacious and deep, and everything that can be heard vividly comes through.”

AllMusic.com

“A very recommendable disc” David Hurwitz

ClassicsToday.com

“The Russian National Orchestra, under its founder and longtime director Mikhail Pletnev, play [Shostakovich’s] swan song with a wide repertoire of tender, subtle tones and a huge dynamic range, all the nuances of which are clearly audible, thanks to the excellent recording technology There is no shortage of “Russian” orchestral style: exciting rhythmic precision, expansive arcs and a dark, earthy tone, beneath which one senses a certain wildness. At the end of the symphony [is] the surreal ticking and at the final moment, a confident A Major chord - a transition without fear and without pain, as if one has gained access to a great secret. What moving music!”

Stand (Germany)

“Pletnev’s performances make another valuable addition to this splendid ongoing Shostakovich cycle.” Graham Williams

SA-CD.net

“This is an excellent addition to PentaTone’s ongoing series of recordings of Shostakovich symphonies” Peter Joelson

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