Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Suite for Variety Orchestra No.1 (late 1950s; arr. Levon Atovmyan)
National Philharmonic of Russia / Vladimir Spivakov
rec. date and venue unknown
Spivakov Sound RCID32620770 [24]
All but the most dedicated Shostakovichians are likely to miss out on this download-only release, so low-profile has its rollout apparently been. It deserves better, for it documents an ebullient performance of that evergreen confection, the Suite for Variety Orchestra No.1, or the “Jazz Suite No.2” as it was erroneously known for many years.
Why and for whom Shostakovich concocted this suite in the first place has never been established. Even the identity of its arranger is only a matter of educated conjecture, but it bears enough fingerprints to make all but certain its attribution to Levon Atovmyan. He was important and still little appreciated figure in Soviet music, who was a close friend of Shostakovich. At least the music is by Shostakovich, that much is undeniable, but the suite’s array of colors and sumptuous orchestral padding are distinctive tells of Atovmyan’s involvement. So are the liberties the nameless arranger permitted himself: the suite’s “Finale” is virtually an original composition based on Shostakovich.
In any case, the music is delightful stuff, and so is this recording conducted by Vladimir Spivakov.
The outer movements, the “March” and “Finale” – both based on material from the score to the 1940 film The Adventures of Korzinkina – move forward with a strong but not too eager sense of forward lean. The “Dance I”, based on the “People’s Holiday” cue from The Gadfly, darts across the soundscape in balletic fashion, prancing lightly on the downbeats. Spivakov for the most part leads the suite’s waltzes at moderate tempi without much fussing, though he does encourage a bit of portamenti from his strings; that lends the performances a not unwelcome whiff of Lawrence Welk and Jackie Gleason. (It is not hard to imagine “The Great One” cajoling Bobby Hackett into a dolesome trumpet solo in the famous “Waltz II”.)
Spivakov’s National Philharmonic of Russia – not to be confused with either the Russian National Orchestra or the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra – is a fine ensemble. Unsurprisingly for a musician who began his career as a virtuoso violinist, he coaxes gorgeous playing from his strings. When they reprise the theme towards the close of the “Waltz I”, the sound they produce is luxurious. Very appealing too is the satisfyingly fat sonority of the orchestra’s brass, whose playing faintly harkens back to the style of the Soviet era.
Perhaps it is fitting that Spivakov’s personal label has given this somewhat mysterious music a somewhat mysterious release. Aside from a cover image, no documentation or liner notes of any kind are included. Where the venue was, when this was recorded and who the production staff were is left to the listener to guess. Whoever engineered this recording did an excellent job; it is warm, focused and impactful. Some may find it miked a little too close, but I think it alluringly complements the “pop” quality of this suite. What I do not like is how the sound mix tends to bury the tuned percussion, piano excepting.
Another potential drawback: this release is £7.48 (US$10.25) for 24 minutes of music. If you are accustomed to the now standard 80-plus minutes of music in a single classical release, or have to count every cent in this era of endless inflation, you may balk at the price. But take a chance and you will find a recording at least the equal of the one led by Riccardo Chailly (Decca 4759983).
As Martin Grey, a salesman for Joseph Cheaney shoes, said in a YouTube video posted more than a decade ago, “When you get over the cost of anything that you purchased, the joy of using it goes on.”
Néstor Castiglione
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