Expanded Chamber Music

Some unusual music on a disk by the Scottish Ensemble led by Clio Gould. The recording consists of arrangements of string quartets by Ravel and Shostakovich made by Rudolf Barshai for a small string orchestra. The Ravel is a petite symphonie a cordes d'apres le quatour en Fa majeur while the Shostakovich is chamber symphony from string quartet no 10. The music is beautifully played and in superb sound from the audiophile Linn label. The Ravel responds naturally to the increased forces with the luxuriant laid back feel being reinforced. For the Shostakovich, on first listen it appears that all the sharp angles and rough edges have been smoothed out by the addition of the orchestrations but in time, the underlying bleakness and honesty of his later music remains apparent and the orchestrations add poignancy. Shostakovich declared that Barshai's arrangement was "okay", which is enough indication of his acceptance of the venture.