While not the first or last recording of
Shostakovich's Ninth Symphony or First Piano Concerto anyone should hear, there are two irrefutable reasons for
Shostakovich fans to check out this disc: the Two Choruses after A. Davidenko and the Suite from The Adventures of Korzinkina. Recordings of the Suite are rare and recordings of the Choruses are rarer so while neither the pro forma red-and-black social realism of the Choruses nor slapstick black-and-white humor of the Suite are top-drawer
Shostakovich, they're nevertheless entertaining in addition to filling in the holes in our knowledge of the Soviet composer's many-sided talent. Valery Polyansky, himself a former choral director, conducts the Russian State Symphony Orchestra and the
Russian State Symphonic Capella in a fervent if not entirely convincing performance of the Choruses and a funny if not exactly edifying performance of the Suite. Without the
Capella, Polyansky and the Orchestra turn in a witty and well-played Ninth Symphony that only misses greatness because of a too portentous Largo and a too ironic Allegretto. With trumpet player Vladimir Gontcharov and piano player and presumed family member Tatiana Polyanskaya, Polyansky and the Orchestra turn in a dryly witty but brilliantly virtuosic First Piano Concerto outclassed only by the composer himself, who recorded the work many times and whose panache and enthusiasm as a performer cannot be beat. Chandos' sound is big, bold, and colorful, which suits the music admirably.