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CD Review

Dmitri Shostakovich

Symphonies

• Symphony #2 "To October"
• Symphony #10

London Philharmonic Orchestra/Bernard Haitink
Decca Ovation Series 425064-2 76:01

• Symphony #5 *
• Symphony #9

* Concertgebouw Orchestra/Bernard Haitink
London Philharmonic Orchestra/Bernard Haitink
Decca Ovation Series 425066-2 76:08

These are just two of the eleven releases in Decca's Haitink cycle of the fifteen Shostakovich symphonies, which began in the mid-1970s with the Tenth. I followed the series closely, obtaining most of the releases on LP as they came out. On the whole, I think Haitink did well with these often problematic works. His best efforts were the Fifth and Tenth Symphonies, works whose heart and soul he seemed to grasp with an uncanny sense of rightness. His Second, however, lacked the punch and clarity that Kondrashin had brought to it in his 1960s Melodiya recording. Haitink's Ninth is nearly in the class of his Fifth and Tenth, and eminently recommendable.

To those coming to Shostakovich for the first time, these two recordings then probably represent Haitink's best work in the cycle. True, his Eleventh is possibly the most compelling version among the dozen or so recent ones, but it documents a work that is, let's face it, patently inferior – not as bad as the dreadful Twelfth, but probably on the level of the bombastic Seventh and the experimental and weak Second and Third. I have often wondered how Shostakovich could write a masterpiece like the Eighth after writing such rubbish as the Seventh. In many ways, he was the orchestral parallel of the keyboard-oriented Liszt.

Now, there are so many cycles of Shostakovich's symphonies to choose from, that it becomes hard to select a favorite. Järvi, Rostropovich, Inbal, Rozhdestvensky and many others have turned in fine work here, but Haitink's efforts, though often missing a Russian character and certain idiomatic elements, are probably on a level with most of the better cycles now available. He is especially good at capturing the composer's darker and more epic sides, less effective at delivering his bombastic and more youthful, experimental music.

In the end, these two discs are quite recommendable, as are those containing the Eighth (probably the second-best recording of the work – with Kondrashin the best), and the Thirteenth. Decca provides good sound and fine notes.

Copyright © 2001, Robert Cummings