Nobilul este dirijorul rus Evgeny Mravinsky, membru al unei vechi familii aristocratice rusesti. Macelarul: Stalin. Mai mentionez si ca Mravinsky iese din categoria artistilor “du jour“, ramanand insa, mandru si ascetic, in Panteonul marilor nume care au facut si inca mai fac cinste scenei “clasice”*.

He premiered Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony… The fate of Shostakovich’s latest symphony appeared to lie in his hands. The result was an astonishing performance and the audience went wild: men and women wept openly during the Largo, and as the finale progressed listeners began to rise gradually to their feet, greeting its final chords with tumultuous applause as Mravinsky waved the score above his head. [aici]

Citind despre finalul controversat al Simfoniei, descris chiar de Shostakovich - E ca si cum cineva te-ar bate cu bata, strigandu-ti: datoria ta e sa te bucuri! Datoria noastra e sa ne bucuram! - mi-am adus aminte de filmul The Simpsons. La un moment dat, Homer conducea o sanie cu caini pe care ii biciuia urland: Run! Run! Run! Urmatoarea secventa ii arata pe caini dormind langa foc, iar pe Homer biciuindu-i si strigand: Rest! Rest! Rest! Citind si cartile lui Herta Müller, mai ca imi vine sa adaug faptul ca societatile totalitare foloseau  / folosesc biciul si pentru a zbiera: Exult! Exult! Exult!

Va invit sa ascultati mai jos ultima parte a acestei Simfonii - 4. Allegro non troppo - sub bagheta lui Evgeny Mravinsky:

Intreaga Simfonie, in format Flacq, poate fi DL de aici: Part. I + Part. II (Pass: Lanternativa)

Mai multe detalii despre CD, aici.

O minunata descriere a dirijorului, aici.

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Herbert von Karajan once recorded Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony and was pretty much happy about it. He then asked the orchestra manager to find him the record of the same symphony played by Mravinsky’s orchestra. “I hear he did a good job playing it,” Karajan smiled. Listening to Mravinsky’s record a whole three times in a single night, Karajan called the studio in the morning and asked them to delete his own version. He never got back to the Fifth Symphony again…

* De multe ori folosesc termenul “muzica clasica” pentru a defini toate genurile, subgenurile si perioadele  muzicale care se trag din traditia liturgica si seculara occidentala.