Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93

"A welcome archive find: Haitink wows the Proms with great Shostakovich. Haitink seems to be turning up on orchestra's own labels all over the place these days - LSO, LPO, Chicago SO - but as long as he turns in performances of this calibre there should never be any sense of "here we go again". His Shostakovich may not bite but it certainly lours, oppressive and thoughtful in equal measure. The cumulative effect is impressive indeed."
(Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice Awards Issue 2008)

Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony was first performed shortly after Stalin's death in 1953. This was the first of his works to be completed without the restraints of strict communist artistic control hanging over him. A dark and tragic tone is projected throughout the symphony and the distinct contrasts create a dramatic and intense work.

Recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall during the 1986 BBC Proms under conductor Bernard Haitink, the London Philharmonic Orchestra gives a compelling account of this monumental symphony. He instinctively knows with this symphony when to increase tension and when to relax - and whilst relaxing he never loses your attention, there is always direction and an onward undercurrent. The tiny rays of sunshine in the otherwise ominous slow opening are perfectly judged examples of this.

"The 10th is almost equally impressive [as Haitink's Shostakovich Symphony No. 4]: taut and controlled in the first movement, wonderfully introspective in the third movement Allegretto and the introduction to the finale." The Guardian, 22nd August 2008 ****

"Haitink's long-term vision of the music's organic development comes across compellingly in this live recording. While there are distinct contrasts between the propulsive scherzo, the ghostly dance of the third movement and the inexorable force of the first movement and finale, the thread of the argument is sustained with probing power." The Telegraph, 23rd August 2008