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While Kurt Masur's new Shostakovich "Leningrad Symphony" may not displace memories of Bernstein, Järvi, Kondrashin, or Mravinsky in this monumental work, it's still a highly welcome addition to an already crowded field. For starters, Teldec gives the piece its most vivid and realistic sound to date, and the New York Philharmonic simply plays the pants off of this music as well. In fact, while it's usually their vibrant brass and reliable woodwinds that quickly come to mind when one mentions the New Yorkers, here it's their rich and fluid strings that'll raise eyebrows. No doubt, this Philadelphia like string sonority is the offspring of the New York Phil's fruitful collaboration with Kurt Masur over the last decade or so. Just turn to the start of the third movement to hear what I mean: the violins play in unison one of Shostakovich's most haunting melodies with a precision and sweep that could be a dead ringer for Eugene Ormandy and the Phildelphia Orchestra at their peak. But wait! The New York trombones also belt out the symphony's opening motto at the peroration of the finale's coda with a weight and amplitude that compares even with the brutes from Chicago for Bernstein (DG)--and so it goes. In the first movement, Teldec engineers manage to capture the long, gradual build of the big march without strain or distortion at its peak, and without its very beginning falling completely off the map of audibility either. Not bad for a live recording! Softer, more contemplative sections benefit from the Teldec treatment as well. Try sampling the long, exquisitely quiet passage in the second movement for solo bass clarinet, with three flutes playing rapid accompanying figures. As for Kurt Masur, while he may not offer any great new insights as Bernstein does in his 80's remake for DG, neither does he get in the way of the work's very own logic and momentum. If there's one small shortcoming in Masur's recording at all, it's that the percussion could stand to be just a tad more forward at the climax of the first movement, and at the very ending of the symphony itself. If you're looking for the ultimate in angst and alienation, then stick with Bernstein's remarkable, one and only recording with the Chicago Symphony. But if you want to cut your expense in half and own a straightforward presentation of the "Leningrad Symphony" with excellent sound and outstanding playing, then this new one is clearly the ticket for you.
--Barry Guerrero, ClassicsToday.com
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