Shostakovich: The Symphonies

With a little thought and planning, Universal could have put together a Shostakovich cycle for the ages. You wouldn't think that this is a composer who suits Bernard Haitink, but the fact is that many of these performances are magnificent, including Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 8, 12(!), 13, and 15. Beyond that, Nos. 2, 3, 6, 9, and 11 are also very good. So if we had been given Bernstein's 1 and 7, Karajan's second version of No. 10, Järvi's No. 14, and perhaps one or two from Ashkenazy's cycle (No. 6 or 11, perhaps), this set would have swept the board. As it is, it's quite good, and a welcome reissue for the Shostakovich Centenary. The very worst you could say about the less enticing performances here is that they are just a touch droopy now and then, but Haitink is never less than musical, and he's at or close to the top of his game a remarkable amount of the time. As far as complete sets go, only Barshai (Brilliant Classics) beats this one in terms of both interpretation and sound, and no one betters the Concertgebouw when it comes to quality of orchestral response, although the earlier LPO recordings (Nos. 1-3, 4, 7, 9, 10, and 15) are less impressive in this department. Still and all, with the two song cycles very well done too, this is a safe bet, and very satisfying taken as a whole. --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com Works on This Recording 1. Symphony no 1 in F minor, Op. 10 by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1924-1925; USSR 2. Symphony no 3 in E flat major, Op. 20 "First of May" by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Choir ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1929; USSR ■ Date of Recording: 1981 ■ Venue: Kingsway Hall, London ■ Length: 32 Minutes 32 Secs. ■ Language: Russian 3. Symphony no 2 in B flat major, Op. 14 "To October" by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Choir ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1927; USSR ■ Date of Recording: 01 / 1981 ■ Venue: Kingsway Hall, London ■ Length: 20 Minutes 57 Secs. ■ Language: Russian 4. Symphony no 10 in E minor, Op. 93 by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1953; USSR 5. Symphony no 4 in C minor, Op. 43 by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1935-1936; USSR 6. Symphony no 5 in D minor, Op. 47 by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1937; USSR ■ Length: 50 Minutes 0 Secs. 7. Symphony no 6 in B minor, Op. 54 by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1939; USSR 8. Symphony no 12 in D minor, Op. 112 "To the Memory of Lenin - 1917" by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1961; USSR 9. Symphony no 7 in C major, Op. 60 "Leningrad" by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1941; USSR 10. Symphony no 8 in C minor, Op. 65 by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1943; USSR 11. Symphony no 11 in G minor, Op. 103 "Year 1905" by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1957; USSR 12. Symphony no 13 in B flat minor, Op. 113 "Babi Yar" by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Performer: Marius Rintzler (Bass) ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Men's Chorus ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1962; USSR 13. Symphony no 14 in G minor, Op. 135 by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Performer: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Baritone), Julia Varády (Soprano) ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1969; USSR ■ Date of Recording: 1981 ■ Venue: Grote Zaal, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam ■ Length: 50 Minutes 4 Secs. 14. Poems (6) of Marina Tsvetayeva, Op. 143a by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Performer: Ortrun Wenkel (Alto) ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1974; USSR ■ Date of Recording: 1983 ■ Venue: Grote Zaal, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam ■ Length: 22 Minutes 1 Secs. ■ Language: Russian 15. Symphony no 15 in A major, Op. 141 by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1971; USSR ■ Date of Recording: 03 / 1978 ■ Venue: Kingsway Hall, London ■ Length: 45 Minutes 53 Secs. 16. From Jewish folk poetry, Op. 79 by Dmitri Shostakovich ■ Performer: Elisabeth Söderström (Soprano), Ryszard Karczykowski (Tenor), Ortrun Wenkel (Alto) ■ Conductor: Bernard Haitink ■ Orchestra / Ensemble: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ■ Period: 20th Century ■ Written: 1948; USSR ■ Date of Recording: 12 / 1983 ■ Venue: Grote Zaal, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam ■ Length: 27 Minutes 34 Secs. ■ Language: Russian ■ Notes: Version: 1964