CD Review | Matthias Goerne, Late Shostakovich Songs

This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en: Français (French)

80%

80%

Alpha Classics
4
User Ratings (0 Votes)
0

Shostakovich: Suite on Verses of Michelangelo, October

Matthias Goerne, baritone; Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France; Mikko Franck, conductor

Alpha Classics, 2025

This new CD release from baritone Matthias Goerne and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Mikko Franck contains two late works by Shostakovich. The first and most substantial is the Suite on Verses by Michelangelo Buonarroti, Op. 145a. This was written in 1974, shortly before the composer’s death and sets 11 of Michelangelo’s verses in Russian translation. It was originally scored for voice and piano, but then the composer created the orchestral version heard here.

It’s very Shostakovich and a bit bleak. The composer provided titles for each piece (originally known just by their opening line) and these include “Wrath,” “To the Exiled,” “Death” and “Eternity.” So mostly what we hear from the orchestra is Shostakovich in a sombre or even angry mood. There are a lot of brooding low strings and passages where blaring brass combines with timpani, or where high strings duel with tuned percussion. The use of the voice matches this. It’s mostly quite emphatic and sits quite low. At times the vocals are unaccompanied or very lightly scored. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. The second poem, “Morning,” gets a faster, lighter treatment that sounds almost wistful and in “Night” there’s some lovely lyrical writing for both strings and voice. Then there’s a surprise at the end. The last poem, “Eternity,” is quite unexpected with some very jolly playing from the piccolo, lots of bright, cheerful tuned percussion, and a lighter, faster vocal line before a quiet fade-out.

The suite is given a fine performance. Goerne is very precise and matches the colour of his voice to the mood of the text and music very convincingly. Franck’s tempi are apt and the orchestra produces the sound one expects in Shostakovich. The strings can do the legato, gloomy thing but they also rise to the almost percussive effects called for at times. The woodwinds are excellent and the brass blares as it should, if not quite with the aggression of the old Leningrad Philharmonic recordings. The percussion gets quite a workout. Things are all as they should be.

The second piece is the much shorter October, Symphonic Poem, Op. 131. It’s a 1967 commission for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution and probably one of the last “official” pieces the composer wrote. Honestly, it sounds a lot like other “official” pieces by Shostakovich and one’s never sure where he is actually parodying himself. It starts quite dark and then has a more intense “struggle” section followed by tense lyricism until proletarian rejoicing breaks out—first as a happy, little tune and then with a classic “triumphalist” finish with lots of brass and percussion. The conclusion is kind of halfway between a march and a gallop. So typical.

The recorded sound is clear and doesn’t get overwhelmed, even in the most densely scored passages. The voice in the Michelangelo suite is balanced well forward but not excessively so. The recording is available as a physical CD, MP3 and 44.1/16 and 48/24 format FLAC/WAV. I listened to the standard resolution digital. There’s a booklet with full texts and translations.

All in all, worthy versions of two less-often-performed Shostakovich works.