Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15 (Live) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra & Bernard Haitink

• Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975): Symphony No. 15 opus 141 (1971)
• 1I. Allegretto08:11
• 2II. Adagio16:45
• 3III. Allegretto04:17
• 4IV. Adagio17:46
• Total Runtime46:59

Info for Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15 (Live)

All the concerts given by Bernard Haitink in his capacity as honorary conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra each year are considered high points of the Amsterdam concert season. In March 2010, Haitink made a guest appearance with the orchestra conducting a programme featuring Brahms’s Violin Concerto (with Frank Peter Zimmermann as soloist) and Dmitry Shostakovich’s Fifteenth Symphony.

In the widely acclaimed Shostakovich cycle realised by Haitink conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the 1970s, the Fifteenth Symphony was recorded by the LPO. Now nearly forty years later, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, under the direction of its conductor laureate, is very proud indeed to add the present recording of Shostakovich’s swansong to its discography.

“Haitink's supreme control of pacing [in the slow movement] ensures that all the pregnant silences in the music are imbued with a real sense of anxiety...Likewise Haitink's slow tempo in the main section of the finale pays dividends...Haitink eschews some of the grotesque character implied in the toyshop music of the first movement, but with the Royal Concertgebouw delivering sensationally taut playing, there is no obvious loss of impetus.” (BBC Music Magazin)

“What impresses, as in [Haitink's] recent Bruckner Fourth for LSO Live...is the formal cohesion and unforced gravitas of the music-making. His prestigious band is in fine fettle...The sound engineering of 2010 conveys the warmth, detail and ample resonance of the Concertgebouw even if certain instrumental solos are brought a little close” (Gramophone)

“Haitink underplays the opportunities for grotesque humour and the sardonic edge to some of the writing, focusing instead on its genuinely symphonic breadth, the deep shadows and pregnant pauses. It’s gripping from start to finish, and the playing Haitink inspires is rarely short of stunning, vibrant with tension.” (Andrew McGregor, BBC Review)

“Haitink paces the initial alternation of brass chorales and cello soliloquys superbly...Few, if any, symphonic endings have conveyed such emotion through such economy of means - a quality Haitink conveys in considerable measure...This account surpasses what was already a highlight of Haitink's studio cycle.” (International Record Review)

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Bernard Haitink, conductor

Recorded Live at Concertgebouw Amsterdam on 17, 18, 19 and 21 March 2010

No biography found.

Booklet for Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15 (Live)