Customer Reviews

Shostakovich: The Complete Symphonies [Hybrid SACD] [Box Set]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In addition to being a spectacular sonic triumph, this 12 CD set of the complete symphonies of Shostakovich surpasses the alternatives interpretively and in the sheer splendor of the orchestral playing.

Here is a Russian conductor, Dimitri Kitajenko, born in Leningrad, who understands every note of this music - from the searing, long-breathed melodies of the slow movements to the grotesque parodies to the light-hearted humor to blazing finales. Kitajenko is quoted as saying that, to play Shostakovich symphonies well, you need an orchestra of soloists. Well, he got what he wanted in the marvelous Gurzenich Orchestra of Cologne. They play with ferocious intensity and a deep commitment to the idiom of this music.

Kitajenko takes the music on the slow side, but it never flags or wavers in the sense of concentration. In the Fourth Symphony, for example, the first movement unfolds slowly - taking more than thirty minutes - with each strand of sound finding its way into the structure clearly. Fast movements are played with awesome precision and abandon. Never have I heard the Seventh Symphony - "Leningrad" - lifted to such level in every movement. The Eighth is remarkable in its sadness and power in a traversal nearly 70 minutes long.

To have such spectacularly played symphonies would be reward enough, but the sound in Super Audio is beyond belief. This is what high quality surround sound was meant to be. You are there! There is a spaciousness and bloom around the sound, with every instrument of the orchestra clearly heard. You simply have to hear it to believe it.

About half of the performances are live, usually recorded in two separate performances. The concert setting gives a slightly expanded acoustic, but the studio performances have great sound as well and are not the least bit lacking in tension and commitment.

The written notes are quite helpful, although the English translation is not done by a native English speaker and is sometimes quite odd and funny. Symphonies 6, 7 and 9 comes in a two-disk jewel case, and the English notes are wrongly printed. But these are small quibbles.

If you love the music of Shostakovich, this is the set to have. Considering the number of disks and that they are hybrid disks in both PCM stereo as well as Super Audio 5.1 surround, it is a very reasonable price. If you want all the symphonies in first-rate performances in a modern surround-sound sonics, I highly recommend this set.

For those seeking an integral set of the Shostakovich symphonies, the choice up to now has been Haitink for the best combination of interpretation and modern sound...with a brief nod to Barshai's inexpensive production on the Brilliant label. Recorded in the 1980s, the Haitink set fundamentally captures the architecture of the 15 symphonies without always capturing the very Russian message of the music.

The new set by the Cologne orchestra and conductor Dmitri Kitaenko -- who is probably best known to collectors as the accompanist to Kissin's 1984 recording of the Chopin piano concertos -- will now supplant the Haitink set for most collectors as the best combination of sound and interpretation.

A Russian born in Leningrad, Kitaenko takes a modern Mahlerian view to the longer embittered symphonic canvasses. Typical of his style is the "Leningrad" Symphony No. 7 where he fails to generate the manic excitement older (Mravinksy) and newer (Gergiev) Russian conductors in the march section. Kitaenko maintains control of the proceedings with insight and sensitivity and never lapses into Bernstein's lengthy meandering, either.

Kitaenko leads good-to-excellent versions of the orchestral Symphonies 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 15. He does well with the death-influenced choral symphonies, Nos. 13 and 14. He tries hard to make something of the early patriotic Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 without completely succeeding.

Kitaenko astutely interprets Symphony 2 to show the emerging mature style that carried through Shostakovich's genre with a lengthy largo followed by a livelier allegro, followed by Shostakovich's desire to be a modernist before closing out the piece with a patriotic chorus. Here I find Kitaenko's work more instructive than inspiring but still important in this way.

What will characterize this body of work for most listeneres in the exemplary SACD sound. The depth of sound is unparalleled in my experience, and it makes no difference whether the recording was made in concert or without an audience. There is exceptional truthfulness, clarity and depth throughout the series and the orchestral playing in uniformly on pitch, sensitive to the message of the music, and done with steadfast execution.

For perhaps the first time in my life I can play these CDs on my car stereo and hear everything without having to turn up the volume to define lesser instrumental parts and cover road noise.

While you can independently acquire Symphony No. 8 from this set today, it is clear from the packaging that all of them will be available individually in the future. American Record Guide reported in its January-February 2006 issue that individual recordings would be available next year.

You may or may not know this set has been praised to the skies by critics and listeners as being the essential work of this composer and becoming available just in time for the 2006 "Shostakovich year".

ARG praised this as the greatest integral set of Shostakovich symphonies ever produced and McQ on the Tower.com Web site gave the inidividual recordings as average score of 4.3 on a 5 point scale. Everyone agrees the sound on this set is as good as sound has ever been in this kind of music. That's true whether you are playing it on an SACD player or a conventional CD player.

So why did I score it 4 stars instead of five? I don't think Kitaenko's approavch is properly Russian, although I know other sets where that is the case where I enjoy the music immensdely such as this one Complete Symphonies (Hybr), also captured in fine super audio sound that is a shade better than Kitaenko's.

I also have some reservations with the packaging in this set and an important reservation about one symphony. The most important Shostakovich symphony -- his Symphony No. 5 that was produced at the crossroads of his career and a work of art meant to project the slaughter of Russians society by Stalin -- is perhaps the weak link in the entire set. To make matters worse it is paired on a CD with the Symphony No. 2, the poorest of the Shostakovich symphonies. In this case giving a five star recommendation here would be like giving same to a Beethoven set where the Symphony No. 9 was a failure.

In addition, the Symphonies Nos. 6, 7 and 9 are produced on a two-CD set that requires you to play two CDs to hear the "Leningrad". In a full-priced SACD issue like this one, I am certain buyers would prefer this symphony intact on one CD and would be willing to pay the extra $5-$7 for it.

A couple other things about the packaging of symphonies bother me, also. The relatively unimportant Symphony No. 12 occupies a single disk while many recordings link it to Symphony 6. And for reasons that are not clear, the completely unrelated Symphonies 14 (songs of death) and 15 (orchestral and leaning toward 12 tone) are grouped together in a two-CD set.

This means when the CDs are all separately released, Symphony No. 12 will occupy a CD and you will pay for a set to get Nos. 14 and 15. Combined with splitting the "Leningrad" symphony over two disks, this seems like poor market planning to me.

Also, while these performances are labeled stereo SACD, they do not play on my 5.1 surround sound system any way but in traditional stereo. I cannot find authentication on the packaging of the SACD format and assume they are super audio in stereo imaging.

Finally, I believe the overall production is very "German", if you will, meaning highly controlled and produced in a School of Industrial Perfection vein akin to Karajan or Szell. There is plenty of warmth throughout the sequences but I think it would have benefitted from some of Mravinsky's fire and brimstone in critical moments of the more bitter sequences of Symphonies 5, 7, 8 and 10.

The Symphony No. 9 -- where Shostakovich used music to defeat Stalin's demand for a World War II victory symphony and tried to show Stalin puffing himself up to the size of a frog -- is very gentlemanly and pales in comparison to the sarcasm, wit and excess portrayed in Jarvi's recording.

Still, with these reservations the set has far more going for it than against it. The Capriccio production is destined to be on many critics' "best recordings of 2006" lists and replace the Haitink set as the preferred integral grouping of Shostakovich recordings. You can pay the long dollar today for this set knowing you will hear good to excellent interpretations most of the time in the best sound ever produced for Shostakovich.

Ever wonder how influenced we are when we aquire an "initial" recording of a symphony or work that gives us a feeling that it can not be surpassed! But then we are intrigued/concerned about listening to a "newer" recording just to be sure. Wait no longer. Beg, borrow do whatever it takes to aquire this worldclass complete recording of the 15 symphonies of Shostakovich. All on SACD hybrid multichannel and DSD. It's obvious that Dmitrij Kitajenko seems to have rehearsed these symphonies for 20 years before embarking on this task begun in 2002. The Gurzenich Orchestra Koln has maintained its tradition of excellence since 1857. It has premiered many famous works such as Mahler's 5th. The 5 scale rating above shall be considered a reference standard. I will elaborate further: Sym 1@ 8 rating/ Sym 2-3@ 5/ Sym 4@ 10/ Sym 5@ 8/ Sym 6@ 5/ Sym 7@ 10/ Sym 8@ 5/ Sym 9@ 5/ Sym 10@ 8/ Sym 11@ 4/ Sym 12@ 10/ Sym 13@ 5/ Sym 14@ 10/ Sym 15@ 10. Exceptional sonics/ imaging and dynamic range that keeps you focused all grace this stunning set, all in individual SACD boxes and complete booklets!

Highly Recommended

I have just finished playing the entire 12-SACD set over a single weekend. A most illuminating experience, to be sure. Playing a sequence like this really helps chart the development of the great composer's symphonies, highlighting their strong links as well as broad trends over the nearly 50 years of Shostakovich's symphonic output.

I could give you reams of notes on individual symphonies, performance, and sonics. But I won't. I'll get to the bottom line first, and then add a few comments.

This is a great set of matchless 20th century symphonies. It is finely played in deeply committed performances, led by a conductor who feels Shostakovich in his bones. The sonics range from excellent to staggering.

Basically, the majority of these performances would go at or near the top of the tree if released separately. Taken together, however, the cumulative impact makes this the best complete set, and by quite a long way.

Readings tend towards the slow and intense, but the force of the playing and readings often - but not always - makes this work. Some of the performances (4th, 8th, 10th and 13th) are the longest I have ever heard, but the concentration never flags, and these are triumphs, as are the readings of the 3rd, 5th, 6th and 9th.

Sonics are excellent, very natural sounding with good staging and dimensionality. But there are some lapses here, which seem related to microphone closeness. It is noticeable that closer-miked symphonies (5, 10th, 11th) are transferred at higher level and run out of dynamics; there is some noticeable gain-riding of climaxes on these. More distant recordings (for example 8 and 9) sound even cleaner and display pile-driving dynamic range.

But I'm not going to quibble. Back to the bottom line- this set of the Shostakovich symphonies is a magnificent achievement, and belongs on the shelves of anyone who loves Shostakovich. And, even if you don't, what have you got to lose?

Get this whilst you still can.

I've put this set on my 'wish list' if available at a decent price - no, I've not heard the recordings yet, but I believe that the 2* rating is undeserved and feel the offering should have a higher overall rating (thus, my 5*) - the rationale is quoted below (i.e. a comment that I left in the poor rated review) - Kitajenko in the Prokofiev Symphonies is just outstanding, and to reiterate, I just cannot imagine that these performances are not as 'highly charged'! Plus, in just re-looking at the AMG review, in the individual symphony ratings, Kitajenko was listed in well over 2/3 of these works; the other 'overall' recommended complete set was the Barshai, which I own and enjoy - would love to obtain the other just as an alternate!

"Well, I'd have to agree w/ the other comment made - I own Kitajenko in the Prokofiev Symphonies - my favorite set (also have Jarvi; and dumped Gergiev as a result of listening to the others); I can only imagine that Kitajenko would also be excellent in the Shosty works; now I've not heard these recordings so cannot give an objective 'listening' opinion; however, I've been reading the Nov-Dec 09 issue of the 'American Record Guide' which has a feature article on the Shostakovich Symphony recordings available - as an 'overall' recommended set, Kitajenko..."

P.S. (4/12/10) Well I've owned the Kitajenko set of Shosty Symphonies for a number of months - and now can agree w/ my rating of 5*; yes it is hard to rate such a breadth of composition at the very top - there must be one or two performances not up to those standards, thus a 4* rating might be more appropriate? But this conductor and orchestra do wonders w/ many of these works!

I hate to disagree with the previous reviewers, but I think this set is a huge disappointment. First, there is little attention to the musical phrase and, as a result, little tension is developed. It is done in a very matter of fact way. Compare to Atlanta's recordings; not even close. But it's not the orchestra in my opinion; its a lack of vision on the part of the conductor. I'd like to hear these conducted by Yuri Temirkanov, a superb musician.