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.
