Shostakovich: Symphony No 11 / Rostropovich, London So CD

 Brilliant performance
Certainly an underrated work of Shosty's, perhaps truly his greatest symphonic work. It's depiction of events of the 1905 revolution, in sound, are stirring, frightening and moving, and easily overlayed on the Soviet revolution and its results. The work displays the composer's unmatched skill in producing long, extremely quiet passages that are entirely engrossing, and which, at the moment of greatest tension, explode in power and fury. The work is meant to be extremely quiet, to draw the interested, attentive listener in, and this performance of it is exceptional, the best of many I've heard. Rostropovich, a great musician, shows exceptional discipline in shaping and steadying the first two movements, the LSO plays with absolute assured control, fineness and power. At this price, comparable to the rest of the LSO Live line, the 1st choice for this extraordinary work.
Submitted by george (San Francisco) 
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 find another version
The 1st movement: too slow, the drums are too loud and distracting, the horn sounds different [in a bad way] from every other version I've heard of this work. Also, there is too much hiss, and there is audience noise. If you really like the 1st movement the best, as I do, then this CD isn't for you. Try a studion version, or a remastered live recording.
Submitted by sasandone (PA, USA)
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 Best for listening to in a soundproof room.
Rostropovich makes a slow (but powerful) symphony even slower. Like too many recordings of No. 11, a great deal of the first two movements are played at a volume so low that it's almost impossible to hear anything for long stretches, which is a shame, because (slushai!) the person with good enough ears to make out the orchestration and the melody will be totally blown away. Some may dive into profundities about the artistic importance of making soft notes soft and whatnot, but in this case the root problem is a sloppy Rostropovich and an absent recording engineer. The London Symphony Orchestra does a so-so job, no obvious mistakes. Rostropovich is probably a lovely human being and fascinating to talk to, but celebrity doesn't add anything to the music. This one's stocked in the below $10 racks for a reason. I haven't yet found a decent recording of "The Year 1905", and it annoys the hell out of me.
Submitted by a reviewer (Beltsville, MD)
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