Shostakovich: The Complete Symphonies [Hybrid SACD] [Box Set] [BOX SET] [HYBRID SACD]

Arutiun Kotchinian (Performer), Dmitry Shostakovich (Composer), Spoken Word (Composer), Dmitri Kitayenko (Conductor), Gürzenich-Orchester (Orchestra), Marina Shaguch (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Arutiun Kotchinian, Marina Shaguch
• Orchestra: Gürzenich-Orchester
• Conductor: Dmitri Kitayenko
• Composer: Dmitry Shostakovich, Spoken Word
• Audio CD (September 27, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 12
• Format: Box set, Hybrid SACD
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Capriccio
• ASIN: B000B8QEVA
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #260,247 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shotakovich for the Ages! It doesn't get better than this. , November 8, 2005

By	Denis (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

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.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A set to top Haitink for sound & interpretation, February 17, 2006

By	Larry VanDeSande (Mason, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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 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.

I cannot in good faith give an unqualified five star recommendation for this reason. It would be like giving a five star recommendation 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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Symphonic Greatness", June 6, 2007

By	Frank Pandel (USA) - See all my reviews

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