Among Yo-Yo Ma’s many virtues, an openness to many musical traditions and a refusal to lower his standards in his many collaborations rank high. In his new Christmas CD Songs of Joy and Peace there are guest appearances from Alison Krauss, James Taylor (singing George Harrison’s Here Comes the Sun) and Dave Brubeck, now 87, plus his cellist son Matt.
Ma is also a world music enthusiast, and there are contributions from Cuban jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera, Canadian fiddler Natalie MacMaster, and seven members of the Brazilian Assad family. Ma says he wanted this CD to be like a party, and though it feels too tasteful for that, and certainly never gets wild, it’s nonetheless a welcome contribution to the Christmas spirit.
Lastly, Taiwan’s National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) has released a new pair of CDs in its NSO Live series. They contain Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony and Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life), recorded at concerts in 2006 and 2007 respectively. The conductor was Lu Shao-chia (呂紹嘉).
Fine though the Strauss performance is, it’s the Shostakovich symphony that’s the masterpiece. Completed in 1936 when the 29-year-old composer had just been officially condemned by the Communist Party, it’s an astonishing work. Too serious for official taste, and so liable to be suspected of containing criticism officialdom couldn’t understand, but others might, Shostakovich put it away in a drawer and it wasn’t performed for another 30 years.
It works on a gigantic scale and as a result the NSO, no tub-thumping orchestra, is in many ways its ideal interpreter. This performance must rank high among world recordings of the Fourth, and it’s a pity it isn’t being issued by an international record company. It’s superb, anyway, and the easiest way to find it is at any NSO performance
— BRADLEY WINTERTON
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