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Posted by Nick Barnard
on May 19, 2012, 10:12 am, in reply to "Re: Shostakovich - Petrenko"
2.24.221.135
Here is what I wrote for Amazon's "customer reviews": I find it remarkable the gushing hype that seems to accompany all things Petrenko. For sure this is a fine disc [Shostakovich 10] and very well played indeed by the RLPO. At bargain price it is a strong contender but what has me scratching my head is how quickly other reviewers seem to have forgotten the classic - and I do mean classic- performances of the past. Forget Karajan - never quite sure he had a hotline to the soul of Soviet Russia. Mravinsky/Svetlanov/Rohzdestvensky/Kondrashin were there and any of their recordings have an authenticity of spirit that no-one can match today as well as the hair-raising sound of a soviet orchestra baying for blood. OK is you have an aversion to that sound world (but surely it is as authentic a part of this composer as any HIP of Mozart or Bach)try others but even then I would say try Berglund (the Bournemouth SO in trenchantly exciting form) or Jarvi with the SNO on Chandos. I do understand that every new generation of collectors wants to discover repertoire for itself anew in new performances but I do regret that that means the great versions of the past are left behind.
For expressing a negative review the majority of people consider this "unhelpful" so we are truly in a world where everything always has to be smily-face wonderful. Shostakovich would have approved...............
Let us be clear; Petrenko is a technically very gifted conductor with a commendably clear and individual musical view. From my perspective I don't think its a very interesting view once one has stopped applauding the bravura playing from the orchestra. I felt exactly the same when blind reviewing his "Isle of the Dead" for this site and I attended the Manfred Prom and felt exactly the same - great playing, generalised interpretation.
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