This is one of the stronger issues in Haitink’s complete Shostakovich cycle, mainly due to the magnificent playing of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, which shakes off its cultured air and lets it all hang out. The brass project powerfully; the strings are nimble and tough, but still manage to keep their silken edge. And where will you find a woodwind section more colorful and sonorous than in Amsterdam? Hatink keeps the whole, long work moving with urgent tempos, especially in the two slow movements, whipping up an impressive noise in the second movement’s climax. Decca captures it all in full, clear sound with plenty of depth. So, in abstract, this is a pretty good effort.
However, there are deeper levels in this music that Haitink never even approaches, let alone penetrates: the grim stoicism of Rostropovich on Teldec, the dark anger of Berglund on EMI (just returned to currency), and let’s not even talk about the frenzied hysteria whipped up by conductors like Rozhdestvensky on Melodiya. Returning to Haitink after these guys is like driving a Volvo after zipping around in a Ferrari.
