Shostakovich: The Complete Symphonies

I love the music of Shostakovich. The ebb and flow of emotion...grief, pain, joy, pathos...you name it. And in this set Haitink gets it right. In some respects, Shostakovich wrote the same symphony 15 times. They run into each other almost like one glorious, gigantic composition like Wagner's Ring. And glorious they truly are. Secondly, unless you are lucky enough to have a super high end system in an isolated music room where neighbors are a non-issue, these are for headphone listening only. If played loud enough on speakers to hear the pianissimo passages, the fortissimos will shake the walls, rattle the windows and have the police knocking on your door! A set well worth exploring over and over again. No doubt.

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.

An outstanding collection of masterful modern symphonies.

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.

This is a compilation of the Haitink cycle released individually by London in the 1980s. TWO OMISSIONS: The "Overture on Russian and Kirghiz Folk Themes" that was included with the Symphony 6 & 11 release from 1985 and The Age of Gold suite that was included on the Symphony 2 & 3 release from the 1987 CD. If you're looking for renditions of those pieces, you won't get them with this set. This is my favorite cycle of the DSCH symphonies.

Some of the finest orcjhestral recordings are here. #5 and #8 have the best sound of any recording and are among the greatest sounding orchestra recordings ever made. If you are looking for highly disonant, desolate Shostakovich - this is not for you. Haitink still lets even the most dismal moments in these works sing. Every collection should have this set.

Buy this. The recordings are great and it comes with a booklet discussing the background of the pieces. Well worth it.

For lovers of Shostakovich's symphonies: Excellent renditions. Excellent value.

Mi primera sinfonía de Shostakovich (la 5, Haitink, Decca) estaba en un cd con una obra de Kandinsky como portada. Cuando me dispuse a buscar las sinfonías completas primero me hice con la versión en SACD del sello MDG (bien); después y, alentado por las críticas, con la integral de Barshai/Brilliant (bien también). El sobresaliente es para esta edición que nos ocupa: excelente sonido Decca años 70, interpretaciones a cargo de Haitink, dos grandes orquestas y ninguna sinfonía dividida entre 2 discos (¡hasta la caja es chulísima!); pero y, como otro usuario opina, lo de los sobrecitos blancos es muy cutre a este elevado precio (podrían haber puesto las portadas originales o, al menos, obras de Kandinsky en ellas :)) Amazon España: ¿lo del euro más barato nada más comprarla es por una promoción "compre una segunda unidad por un euro menos" :( ??

These are beautifully played and recorded. It is probably true that some of the other versions recorded by Russian Orchestras sound more authentic and are closer to Shostakovich's intentions, but it is marginal, and these versions benefit from the best recorded sound. The CDs are very nicely packaged in a cardboard box with individual paper/polythene sleeves with a decent booklet including full translations of the lyrics, just as LPs used to be. Exemplary! All boxed sets should be produced like this instead of those fragile, bulky jewel cases.

Alles wunderbar geklappt. Danke

ショスタコーヴィチはマーラーの影響を受けている。マーラーやブルックナーの複雑で現代的な音楽を得意とするハイティンクは当然ショスタコーヴィチも得意になるのだと思う。ハイティンクは現代音楽の王ではないだろうか。

Je possède plusieurs versions des symphonies de Shostakovich et je dois avouer que sans m'en rendre compte, régulièrement, si j'écoute une symphonie, c'est la coffret Haitink qui se retrouve dans mes mains. Des prises de son excellentes, un chef au sommet de son art et quel orchestre.