Haitink: Shostakovich – The Complete Symphonies (11 CD box set, FLAC)

Performer: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Marius Rintzler, Julia Varady, Elisabeth Söderström, Ryszard Karcykowski
Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conductor: Bernard Haitink
Composer: Dmitry Shostakovich
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 11 CD box set
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: Decca
Size: 3.14 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Disc 01:
01. Symphony No.1, Op.10 – 1. Allegretto – Allegro non troppo
02. Symphony No.1, Op.10 – 2. Allegro
03. Symphony No.1, Op.10 – 3. Lento
04. Symphony No.1, Op.10 – 4. Lento – Allegro molto
05. Symphony No.3, Op.20 – “1st of May” – 1. Allegretto – Allegro
06. Symphony No.3, Op.20 – “1st of May” – 2. Andante
07. Symphony No.3, Op.20 – “1st of May” – 3. Allegro – Largo
08. Symphony No.3, Op.20 – “1st of May” – 4. Moderato: V pervoye Pervoye maya

Disc 02:
01. Symphony No.2 in B major, Op.14 – “To October” – 1. Largo – Allegro molto
02. Symphony No.2 in B major, Op.14 – “To October” – 2. “My shli, my prosili raboty i khleba”
03. Symphony No.10 in E minor, Op.93 – 1. Moderato
04. Symphony No.10 in E minor, Op.93 – 2. Allegro
05. Symphony No.10 in E minor, Op.93 – 3. Allegretto
06. Symphony No.10 in E minor, Op.93 – 4. Andante – Allegro

Disc 03:
01. Symphony No.4 in C minor, Op.43 – 1. Allegro poco moderato
02. Symphony No.4 in C minor, Op.43 – 2. Presto
03. Symphony No.4 in C minor, Op.43 – 3. Moderato con moto
04. Symphony No.4 in C minor, Op.43 – 4. Largo
05. Symphony No.4 in C minor, Op.43 – 5. Allegro

Disc 04:
01. Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.47 – 1. Moderato
02. Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.47 – 2. Allegretto
03. Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.47 – 3. Largo
04. Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.47 – 4. Allegro non troppo
05. Symphony No.9 in E flat, Op.70 – 1. Allegro
06. Symphony No.9 in E flat, Op.70 – 2. Moderato
07. Symphony No.9 in E flat, Op.70 – 3. Presto
08. Symphony No.9 in E flat, Op.70 – 4. Largo
09. Symphony No.9 in E flat, Op.70 – 5. Allegretto

Disc 05:
01. Symphony No.6 in B minor, Op.54 – 1. Largo
02. Symphony No.6 in B minor, Op.54 – 2. Allegro
03. Symphony No.6 in B minor, Op.54 – 3. Presto
04. Symphony No.12 in D minor, Op.112 “The Year 1917” – 1. Revolutionary Petrograd (Moderato – Allegro – Più mosso – Allegro)
05. Symphony No.12 in D minor, Op.112 “The Year 1917” – 2. Razliv (Allegro. L’istesso tempo – Adagio)
06. Symphony No.12 in D minor, Op.112 “The Year 1917” – 3. Aurora (L’istesso tempo – Allegro)
07. Symphony No.12 in D minor, Op.112 “The Year 1917” – 4. Dawn of Humanity (L’istesso tempo – Allegretto – Allegro – Moderato)

Disc 06:
01. Symphony No.7, Op.60 – “Leningrad” – 1. Allegretto
02. Symphony No.7, Op.60 – “Leningrad” – 2. Moderato (poco allegretto)
03. Symphony No.7, Op.60 – “Leningrad” – 3. Adagio
04. Symphony No.7, Op.60 – “Leningrad” – 4. Allegro non troppo

Disc 07:
01. Symphony No.8 in C minor, Op.65 – 1. Adagio
02. Symphony No.8 in C minor, Op.65 – 2. Allegretto
03. Symphony No.8 in C minor, Op.65 – 3. Allegro non troppo
04. Symphony No.8 in C minor, Op.65 – 4. Largo
05. Symphony No.8 in C minor, Op.65 – 5. Allegretto

Disc 08:
01. Symphony No.11 in G minor, Op.103 “The Year of 1905” – 1. The Palace Square (Adagio)
02. Symphony No.11 in G minor, Op.103 “The Year of 1905” – 2. Ninth of January (Allegro – Adagio)
03. Symphony No.11 in G minor, Op.103 “The Year of 1905” – 3. Eternal Memory (Adagio)
04. Symphony No.11 in G minor, Op.103 “The Year of 1905” – 4. Alarm (Allegro non troppo – Adagio – Allegro)

Disc 09:
01. Symphony No.13, Op.113″Babi Yar” – 1. Adagio – “Babi Yar”
02. Symphony No.13, Op.113″Babi Yar” – 2. Allegretto – “Humour”
03. Symphony No.13, Op.113″Babi Yar” – 3. Adagio – “In the Store”
04. Symphony No.13, Op.113″Babi Yar” – 4. Largo – “Fears”
05. Symphony No.13, Op.113″Babi Yar” – 5. Allegretto – “A Career”

Disc 10:
01. Symphony No.14, Op.135 – 1. De Profundis (Lorca)
02. Symphony No.14, Op.135 – 2. Malagueña (Lorca)
03. Symphony No.14, Op.135 – 3. Loreley (Brentano after Apollinaire)
04. Symphony No.14, Op.135 – 4. Le suicidé (Apollinaire)
05. Symphony No.14, Op.135 – 5. Les attentives I (Apollinaire)
06. Symphony No.14, Op.135 – 6. Les attentives II (Apollinaire)
07. Symphony No.14, Op.135 – 7. A la santé (Apollinaire)
08. Symphony No.14, Op.135 – 8. Réponse des Cosaques Zaporogues au Sultan
09. Symphony No.14, Op.135 – 9. O Delvig! (Küchelbecker)
10. Symphony No.14, Op.135 – 10. Der Tod des Dichters (Rilke)
11. Symphony No.14, Op.135 – 11. Schluß-Stück (Rilke)
12. Six Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, Op.143a – 1. My poems
13. Six Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, Op.143a – 2. Where does this tenderness come from?
14. Six Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, Op.143a – 3. Hamlet’s dialogue with conscience
15. Six Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, Op.143a – 4. The Poet and the Tsar
16. Six Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, Op.143a – 5. No, the drum beat
17. Six Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, Op.143a – 6. To Anna Akhmatova

Disc 11:
01. Symphony No.15, Op.141 – 1. Allegretto
02. Symphony No.15, Op.141 – 2. Adagio – Largo – Adagio – Largo
03. Symphony No.15, Op.141 – 3. Allegretto
04. Symphony No.15, Op.141 – 4. Adagio – Allegretto – Adagio – Allegretto
05. From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op.79 – 1. Lament for a dead infant
06. From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op.79 – 2. Fussy Mummy and Auntie
07. From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op.79 – 3. Lullaby
08. From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op.79 – 4. Before a long separation
09. From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op.79 – 5. A warning
10. From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op.79 – 6. The deserted father
11. From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op.79 – 7. A song of poverty
12. From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op.79 – 8. Winter
13. From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op.79 – 9. The good life
14. From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op.79 – 10. A girl’s song
15. From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op.79 – 11. Happiness

Great artists, great set

SHOSTAKOVICH

Few composers have ever been more representative of their age than Dimitri Shostakovich. It was once famously said that it is impossible to create great art out of a steelworks and yet this is precisely what Shostakovich does in his 3rd symphony. OK the last choral movement is a bit over the top but if you can”t enjoy this, the “worst” of DSCH’s symphonies, you’re not a real classical fan.

I’ve come a bit late to DSCH’s music. When I was young, I was taught to despise DSCH as a Soviet apparatchik. I never really took his music seriously until last year. I then heard a recording by (of all people) Herbert von Karajan of DSCH’s 10th symphony and was immediately overwhelmed. Here was a composer who not only wrote for his time but also for history. He is also one of the few artists who, literally, faced death for his music. Read the story of his 4th Symphony. His so-called “war symphonies”(6-8) offer a catalog of some of the worst experiences in human history transformed into high art. 5 is a special case, listen and decide.

I was delighted to find that there was a set of the complete recorded symphonies of DSCH ( listen to the works and read the notes and you will understand the acronym) made by Bernard Haitink and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and London Symphony Orchestras. Although some commentators say there are better performances of individual symphonies ( please read my review of Karajan’s 10th), I think that Haitink has a very profound understanding of DSCH’s psyche and a deep sympathy for where he is coming from. There can be no better set.

I would love to go on and give my views on some of the later, post-war symphonies, which are fascinating, complex and to some extent unreadable, but this is not the appropriate medium. Suffice it to say that this is more than worth the $80 or so that it costs. It is worth a lifetime of listening.

Approaching A Master!

The only qualification that I possess to allow me to review this collection is my love of classical music. And even that seems to me almost presumptuous in commenting upon the compositions of Dimitri Shostakovich. The variety of his compositional abilities and his mastery of symphonic orchestration is amazing. And when you realize the living conditions under which he was toiling during his years of work his accomplishments become monumental. Furthermore he chose never to leave his native Russia, unlike many of his contemporaries who decided that their artistic imaginations could not function under whichever Russian government was in power at a particular time. For anyone to even attempt to understand the work of Shostakovich, this collection or one like it is necessary for such contemplation.