Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphonys 5 & 9 - Bernard Haitink

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1. Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.47 - 1. Moderato
2. Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.47 - 2. Allegretto
3. Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.47 - 3. Largo
4. Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.47 - 4. Allegro non troppo
5. Symphony No.9 in E flat, Op.70 - 1. Allegro
6. Symphony No.9 in E flat, Op.70 - 2. Moderato
7. Symphony No.9 in E flat, Op.70 - 3. Presto -
8. Symphony No.9 in E flat, Op.70 - 4. Largo -
9. Symphony No.9 in E flat, Op.70 - 5. Allegretto

 This release vividly illustrates Bernard Haitink's variable success with the Shostakovich symphonies. Alongside a few really excellent performances (Symphonies Nos. 5, 8, 13, and 15), there are some that are more or less good (Symphonies Nos. 1, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 14), as well as a few outright failures (Symphonies Nos. 2, 3, 6, and 12). You'll note that, Symphony No. 6 aside, Haitink does least well with what are generally conceded to be the weakest works. Indeed, his interpretations are always strong on basic musicality, but short on humor, bitterness, garishness, bombast--in short, those moments of extreme tension or emotional excess that give some of this music its unique excitement and character. Nevertheless, it would be unfair to say that Haitink underplays the Fifth Symphony. Aside from the magnificent orchestral contribution, there's plenty of fire in the first movement climax (and a coda of ghostly beauty), ample poetry and intensity in the Largo, and a finale that takes its triumph at face value (though I personally prefer the more ambivalent readings of, say, Maxim Shostakovich, Kondrashin, Sanderling, or Rostropovich). In the Ninth, though, Haitink misses some of the clowning in the first movement, which ideally needs a marginally less brisk tempo to make its points. His Scherzo also lacks devilishness and bravura, while the finale never really catches fire. He's at his best in the slow music, the lovely second movement especially, but that's only two-fifths of the work. Still, the performance certainly isn't terrible, and the Fifth ranks among the best. So at mid-price I'd not hesitate a minute. --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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