The first thing you will notice about this set, the second complete Shostakovich cycle to appear on SACD, is the excellent live sonics. Interestingly, the best sound seems to follow alongside the best performances: Symphonies Nos. 1, 5, 6, 8, 11, and 12. All are pretty stunning–edgy, visceral, take-no-prisoners performances that stand with the best. The others are a mixed bag, partly on account of the variable response of the orchestra on the day in question, and partly due to Caetani’s sporadic over-eagerness or occasional inability to settle down into quite the right tempo (a particular problem in the Tenth and the first movement of the Thirteenth). That said, Nos. 4, 7, 14, and 15 also are very good interpretations by any standard, and of course no one especially cares about Nos. 2 and 3.
So as far as complete cycles go, this one is competitive. It’s not quite as idiomatic as Maxim Shostakovich (but features better playing and sound); it has fewer dull moments than Haitink (who still has great orchestras and some really outstanding performances); and it’s less wayward than Rostropovich (at least in the LSO bits of his cycle). Probably your best bet overall remains Jansons on EMI, with multiple orchestras, but there’s plenty to enjoy here if you want one big SACD box–and this is a good bit more exciting than Kitayenko’s SACD set on Capriccio.
