Shostakovich - Symphony 10 [Solti-Chicago Symphony Orchestra]Now here's something very special, the Hungarian Georg Solti conducting Shostakovich's mighty Tenth Symphony, over the last year i've been appreciating this Conductor more and more, he really has an exciting way of presenting a work, especially a long work, so you get to see each tree, but never at the expense of missing out on the grandeur of the whole forest.
This time listening, i was excited by the short 4 minute second movement, in some ways it seems out of place right after a 20+ minute slow movement, the gigantic and the tiny, but that's Shostakovich for you, juxtaposing two 'clashing / opposite' movements, this 'little scherzo' is relentless, right from the beginning the high woodwind come in and go berserk [0:04-0:22], the Symphony is scored for lots of percussive instruments, and the excellent use of a xylophone adds to the melee [0:48+], out of canter instruments make their appearance in the fray, the bassoon chugs away in the background [1:43+], the brass make crude fanfares [2:13+], and then more doleful ones [2:36+], while the timpani do drumrolls, and then drumbeats [3:18 & 3:23], the snare drums make its mark, and the movement end with a nice upward 'squeal', wow, Shostakovich really knows how to cram so much drama into 4 frantic minutes.
Here's Solti conducting the second movement on YouTube.
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