Gould Conducts Shostakovich Symphonies

Two of the least known symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich are his second and third, both dating from the 1920s, when he was in his 20s himself.

Both symphonies have patriotic themes - the second is subtitled "To October," referring to the October 1918 revolution, and the third "May Day." Both conclude with choral sections with revolutionary texts. And neither was particular liked by the composer in later years.

The young Shostakovich

The result has been to give the works a reputation that is mostly unwarranted. Despite its complexity, the music a century later does not seem particularly extreme. It is experimental, and it does have patriotic texts seemingly tacked on to the ends of both symphonies. (The composer roundly disliked Alexander Bezymensky's text for the second symphony's finale.)

There is much that is striking and enjoyable as well. The opening movement of the second symphony begins with an extended passage of rumbling in the basses, which is sometimes taken to be a depiction of life evolving from the primordial ooze, but more likely signifies the stirrings of revolutionary feelings preceding the October revolution. Subsequently, the composer builds up numerous contrapuntal lines, possibly depicting the conflict itself. This seemingly programmatic basis does give the work some cohesiveness.

Morton Gould

Its successor symphony is more of a collage. "The Third Symphony is full of false starts, false climaxes, tonal passages interrupted by high-pitched discords, sudden eruptions from the bass drum which interrupt a melody...even an apparent quote from the beginning of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony," the critic Royal S. Brown wrote in his High Fidelity review (enclosed).

Composer-conductor Morton Gould did much to rescue these works from obscurity via his 1968 recording for RCA Real Seal. The cover proclaims the LP as containing two world premiere recordings, but the second, at least, had been recorded the previous year by Ladislav Slovák for Supraphon, and Melodiya issued a performance under Igor Blazhkov in 1968 as well. Still, these were generally unknown works before Gould championed them.

His performances with the Royal Philharmonic are a fine accomplishment, well played and recorded, although note that the bass rumblings at the open of the Second Symphony are cut at such a low level as to be almost inaudible. My only other complaint would be that the chorus perhaps lacks the appropriate revolutionary fervor in the second's finale.

It could be that the singers disliked the text as much as the composer. Even the record company supplied neither texts nor translations, perhaps fearful that the words would turn the American record buying public into fervent Bolsheviks. Undeterred by such fears, I have included them in the download. Also in the package are the usual scans, reviews. etc. 

To my knowledge, the recordings have not been reissued. This transfer was requested on another forum; I thought some followers here might be curious about it as well.

September 1968 Gramophone ad