Russian Giant: Shostakovich Symphony No. 8

Conductor Claude Villaret and the TPO acknowledge the audience’s sustained applause following its performance of Shostakovich Sym. No. 8.
Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. 27 March 2010. It surprises me that at this advanced stage of my life, I am less eager to attend concert performances of those musical works that I have known well for all of my life, and, instead, yearn for the new, or at least for works that I haven’t heard before. This might be less adventuresome than it at first sounds because, by some measure, what is new to me is considered quite staid and old hat to others. Shostakovich is a case in point.

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) is a composer I would not have listened to thirty years ago. I was then steeped in melody and classical structures, so the dissonance of Shostakovich and his lack of predictable familiar patterns put me off. But perhaps 15 years or so ago in Munich, Germany, I heard and liked a live performance of Shostakovich’s violin concerto no. 2, and the CD of that work, which I purchased after the concert, also contained Shostakovich’s violin concerto no. 1, and with these two pieces under my belt, I was on my way. There followed a recording of Shostakovich’s symphony no. 5 and three of his piano concertos. Before I knew it, I had a small collection of Shostakovich’s music to choose from at home, which I did do with some regularity.

When the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra programmed Shostakovich’s massive Symphony No. 8 as part of its regular concert season, I decided to attend and to prepare myself for the occasion by purchasing, via an MP3 download, a performance of the work by the LSO under Rastropovich, and listening to it at least twice before the live event. The fact that I immediately liked it was some indication to me of the expansion of my musical horizons. Because of the complexity of the work and the big sound it requires, I was somewhat doubtful about the TPO tackling it, and thought that it might be a little ahead of itself. Well, I need not have been concerned.

Under the direction of Swiss conductor Claude Villaret, the TPO gave a stunning performance of this sometimes somber, sometimes exciting, and always emotional, work, and its 68-minute length was quickly absorbed. The musicians, mostly Thai students supported by their musician professors, played as if they had been brought up on modern Russian composition; it had the ring of authenticity. I was particularly impressed by the strings, which played richly and with unison equal to any professional orchestra. The individual woodwind and brass soloists and their ensembles sounded flawless. Much credit must be given to Villaret, who gave the performance perfect direction and, more importantly, had molded the players during rehearsals into a beautiful instrument for displaying Shostakovich’s complex richness. In short, this was a thrilling performance, which was recognized as such by the generous applause of the appreciative audience.


There was some excitement getting to the Mahidol Salaya concert hall, because my driver had to pass through the heart of the red shirt protest near Sanam Luang. It took about 30 minutes extra to navigate through the mob, but they were in a festive mood, as was I, and they seemed to like having their pictures taken. Coincidentally, I was wearing a red hat, so they could take me for one of their own.