A wonderful idea if a bit of an exaggeration, the disc billed as Shostakovich: The Two Viola Sonatas, Opus 40 and 147, and Viola Suite from The Gadfly, Opus 97a, is almost but not quite a success. It's a wonderful idea because all three of
Shostakovich's chamber works for viola have never been joined together on the same disc. It's a bit of an exaggeration because
Shostakovich only actually wrote one chamber work for viola -- the Opus 147 Sonata. The other two works are transcriptions made with the composer's approval, one of the Cello Sonata, Op. 40, by the work's original dedicatee and the other of the Suite from The Gadfly, Op. 97a, by the violist of the Beethoven quartet. And it's almost but not quite a success because only the Opus 147 Sonata actually sounds appropriate played on the viola. As a viola sonata, the Opus 40 Sonata sounds weak and under-characterized, with the massive piano part too often obscuring the soloist, while as a viola suite The Gadfly score sounds trite and unremarkable, with the melodies seeming more tawdry than evocative. At first, thought, one might attribute the responsibility for this flaw to violist
Lars Anders Tomter and pianist
Håvard Gimse, but when the real viola sonata starts, the strength of their playing and the depth of their interpretation makes it clear that
Shostakovich had a much better idea how to score for this combination than did his arrangers. For a pair of performances of transcriptions, this disc may be interesting to those who already know and love the original works. But for a great performance of an original work, this disc will be enthralling for anyone whether they already know the work or not. Somm's 2003 sound is a bit distant, but clear and atmospheric.