Reply #42: For Shostakovich, and Russian stuff in general, [View All]

[Snow]

Viktor Yampolski. He really loves that music, and he knows how to make that love come across. I've sung under him, and he's very expressive, emotional, communicates very well without being patronizing. One I remember was the Hayden Cecila Mass, another piece Viktor really likes, and what a joy it was to perform it under him.

I'll dispute two of the choices other posters made, just because I feel disputative. To my ear, von Karajan is a very pedestrian conductor. He recorded tons, but I've never really heard anything special in any of it. If someone can tell me differently, I'll listen.

Second, I've heard some of the old-timers - was it Stokowski or Toscaninni - or both? - had outrageous tempers. Maestro Yampolski has more temper than he needs, and that's really a relic that he needs to get rid of. It's not effective, it gets in the way, and if you're a really shrieking maniac temper tantrum thrower (Vktor is not that bad), then you really compromise your musicianship.