When Decca first issued Bernard Haitink's Shostakovich symphony cycle between 1977 and 1984, it was the first non-Soviet cycle of the works. When the cycle was re-released as a set in 2006, it was still only the third non-Soviet cycle -- Eliahu Inbal had completed a perfunctory cycle for Denon and Ladislav Slovak a lackluster cycle for Naxos in the meantime -- but it was nevertheless by far the finest. One had to make some allowances for the earlier performances of Symphonies No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 7, No. 9, No. 10 ...
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When Decca first issued Bernard Haitink's Shostakovich symphony cycle between 1977 and 1984, it was the first non-Soviet cycle of the works. When the cycle was re-released as a set in 2006, it was still only the third non-Soviet cycle -- Eliahu Inbal had completed a perfunctory cycle for Denon and Ladislav Slovak a lackluster cycle for Naxos in the meantime -- but it was nevertheless by far the finest. One had to make some allowances for the earlier performances of Symphonies No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 7, No. 9, No. 10, and No. 15 by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Then a fairly characterful, reasonably polished, and relatively powerful ensemble, the LPO wasn't quite up to strenuous demands of the scores -- the First is irony deficient and the Seventh runs out of steam midway through the third movement. All such doubts disappear when the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam takes over the Symphonies No. 5, No. 6, No. 8, No. 11, No. 12, No. 13, and No. 14. Then, now, and always one of the great...
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