Shostakovich: The Complete Symphonies (12 CD box set, FLAC)

Performer: Arutiun Kotchinian, Marina Shaguch
Orchestra: Gurzenich-Orchester
Conductor: Dmitry Kitayenko
Composer: Dmitry Shostakovich
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 12 CD box set
Format: FLAC
Label: Capriccio
Size: 4.43 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Disc: 1
01. Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10: 1. Allegretto – Allegro non troppo
02. Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10: 2. Allegro
03. Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10: 3. Lento
04. Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10: 4. Allegro molto – Lento – Allegro molto
05. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (The First of May), Op. 20: 1. Allegretto
06. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (The First of May), Op. 20: 2. Piu mosso
07. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (The First of May), Op. 20: 3. Andante
08. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (The First of May), Op. 20: 4. Allegro
09. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (The First of May), Op. 20: 5. Andante
10. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (The First of May), Op. 20: 6. Moderato

Disc: 2
01. Symphony No. 2 in B flat major (To October), Op. 14: 1. Largo
02. Symphony No. 2 in B flat major (To October), Op. 14: 2. Viertel = 152
03. Symphony No. 2 in B flat major (To October), Op. 14: 3. Poco meno mosso
04. Symphony No. 2 in B flat major (To October), Op. 14: 4. Meno mosso
05. Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47: 1. Moderato
06. Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47: 2. Allegretto
07. Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47: 3. Largo
08. Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47: 4. Allegro ma non troppo

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

Disc: 4
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. 7 in C major (Leningrad), Op. 60: 1. War – Allegretto
05. Symphony No. 7 in C major (Leningrad), Op. 60: 2. Memories – Moderato (poco allegretto)

Disc: 5
01. Symphony No. 7 in C major (Leningrad), Op. 60: 3. My native Field – Adagio
02. Symphony No. 7 in C major (Leningrad), Op. 60: 4. Victory – Allegro non troppo
03. Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70: 1. Allegro
04. Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70: 2. Moderato
05. Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70: 3. Presto
06. Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70: 4. Largo
07. Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70: 5. Allegretto – Allegro

Disc: 6
01. Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65 (Stalingrad): 1. Adagio – Allegro non troppo – Allegro – Adagio
02. Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65 (Stalingrad): 2. Allegretto
03. Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65 (Stalingrad): 3. Allegro non troppo
04. Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65 (Stalingrad): 4. Attacca: Largo
05. Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65 (Stalingrad): 5. Attacca: Allegretto – Allegro – Adagio – Allegretto

Disc: 7
01. Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93: 1. Moderato
02. Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93: 2. Allegro
03. Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93: 3. Allegretto
04. Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93: 4. Andante – Allegro

Disc: 8
01. Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103 (The Year 1905): 1. Adagio – The Palace Square
02. Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103 (The Year 1905): 2. Allegro – January 9th
03. Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103 (The Year 1905): 3. Adagio – Eternal Memory
04. Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103 (The Year 1905): 4. Allegro non troppo – The Toscin

Disc: 9
01. Symphony No. 12 in D minor, Op. 112 (The Year 1917 – in Memory of Lenin): 1. Revolutionary Petrograd: Moderato – Allegro
02. Symphony No. 12 in D minor, Op. 112 (The Year 1917 – in Memory of Lenin): 2. Razliv: Adagio
03. Symphony No. 12 in D minor, Op. 112 (The Year 1917 – in Memory of Lenin): 3. Aurora: Allegro
04. Symphony No. 12 in D minor, Op. 112 (The Year 1917 – in Memory of Lenin): 4. The Dawn of Humanity: L’istesso tempo

Disc: 10
01. Symphony No. 13 in B flat minor, Op. 113 (Babi Yar): 1. Adagio: Babi Yar
02. Symphony No. 13 in B flat minor, Op. 113 (Babi Yar): 2. Allegretto: Humor
03. Symphony No. 13 in B flat minor, Op. 113 (Babi Yar): 3. Adagio: In the store
04. Symphony No. 13 in B flat minor, Op. 113 (Babi Yar): 4. Largo: Fears
05. Symphony No. 13 in B flat minor, Op. 113 (Babi Yar): 5. Allegretto: A Career

Disc: 11
01. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: 1. De profundis
02. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: 2. Malagueña
03. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: 3. Lorelei
04. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: 4. Le Suicide
05. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: 5. Les Attentives 1
06. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: 6. Les Attentives 2
07. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: 7. À la Santè. In Prison, at the Sante Jail
08. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: 8. Résponse des cosaques zaparogues
09. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: 9. O Delvig, Delvig!
10. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: 10. Der Tod des Dichters. The Death of the Poet
11. Symphony No. 14 for soprano, bass, strings & percussion, Op. 135: 11. Schluß-Stück. Conclusion

Disc: 12
01. Symphony No. 15 in A major, Op. 141: 1. Allegretto
02. Symphony No. 15 in A major, Op. 141: 2. Adagio – Largo – Adagio – Largo
03. Symphony No. 15 in A major, Op. 141: 3. Allegretto
04. Symphony No. 15 in A major, Op. 141: 4. Adagio – Allegretto – Adagio – Allegretto
05. Das Kölner Shostakovich-Projekt, spoken interviews and commentary

Powerful and Thought Provoking Performances

In the past, Maxim Shostakovich has recorded some excellent performances of his father’s symphonies and some equally bad ones. This set with the Prague Symphony Orchestra is magnificent and represents Maxim’s collective experience of living with this music. The symphonies were recorded live from the late 1990’s to 2006, and some were released on individual CDs. The symphonies are beautifully recorded with applause preserved for about half.

I was drawn to this set after reading the Gramophone Collection articles about Shostakovich’s Fifteenth Symphony, which the writer considered Maxim’s recording as the best. I had a copy of the premier of the symphony on LP. The performance recorded with the Prague Symphony is one of great clarity and probing that has not been equaled.

This set has strong performances of all of the symphonies. There are things to appreciate in all of the symphonies even if there is an occasional bit of poor playing. The First and Ninth symphonies are warmly played and the Seventh is deeply felt, one of the best performances of this work. The Scherzo of the Tenth is nicely played, bringing forth the satiric elements of the music and the Fourth is monumentally played. The Eighth has some great moments but the climax in the third movement does not have quite enough force, especially compared to recordings by Mravinsky. The Eleventh Symphony is well played with attention to the drama of the music; however, I prefer the recordings by Kiril Kondrashin and Mravinsky for the explosive impact they achieve in the second movement and the conclusion of the symphony. The Thirteenth Symphony is very well played with an excellent soloist (Peter Mikulas) and chorus. The first movement is powerfully performed expressing well the outrage of the composer. The performance may not have the power of Kondrahin’s premiere performance but it is a top contender.

Maxim Shostakovich conducts the lesser know symphonies very well. The Second is nicely played; complete with factory siren as is the Third. The Twelfth Symphony receives an excellent performance that tends to play down the bombast. The soloists in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth are very good. I certainly prefer the premiere recording by Rudolf Barshai for the energy he brings to the Fourteenth. I have never heard anyone perform Malaguena at the tempo Barshai used and miss the jarring effect this has on the music.

Overall, the Prague Symphony Orchestra may not measure up to the great orchestras like the Vienna Philharmonic they do raise to the challenge with credit entirely due to Maxim Shostakovich. This set will occupy a place next to my Kondrashin.