Shostakovich - Symphony 10 [Solti-Chicago Symphony Orchestra]
I believe that Solti came late to the works of Shostakovich, but made up for lost time in getting to know and conduct his works, i got to know Shostakovich's Tenth through listening to Karajan's digital version, the long first movements dissonance came into tuneful focus out of the swirl, that was a great moment when i first learnt to embrace dissonance as my friend, rather than the enemy of sweetness, in comparison i haven't heard Solti's Tenth anywhere near as much, and i guess the jury is still out on his interpretation, this is the fourth time i've listened to this disc, and the second time it's appeared in my Blog [25th April 2010], it's certainly a dour work, and yet... like the Fifth Symphony, there's a triumph there, a blaze of glory over adversity.
Georg Solti [1912-1997] was a Hungarian Conductor, he had a long tenure with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and made many great recordings, this one he made in 1990, it's a live recording, and i must admit it's not perfect, there's a shrillness there, not enough warmth, the front cover is artwork of Shostakovich, nicely laid out, the blues and purples nicely juxtaposed with the orange lettering.
I guess i always seem to enjoy the first movement the most, but on this listen i found myself so much enjoying the third movement Allegretto, i found Solti to be a bit quirky at the beginning of the Symphony, but i must admit he's good at the fortes, and when the music gets intense he really gets into it, i enjoyed the ending of the Symphony, really whipped up into a frenzy, and a spontaneous roar of well deserved applause at the end,
Here's Georg Solti conducting the third movement on YouTube.
