Performing Arts

Bernard Haitink completed the first integral recording of the Shostakovich symphonies by non-Soviet orchestras nearly 30 years ago. He hadn't revisited these works on disc until these new opportunities offered by major orchestras' self-distributed labels.

The Symphony No. 4 was always one of Mr. Haitink's triumphs. This new version is remarkably enhanced by the accompanying DVD, Beyond the Score. A lecturer plus an actor discuss the history of the piece, and Mr. Haitink conducts some excerpts accompanied by absolutely remarkable Russian documentary footage.

The Fourth was the last work Shostakovich wrote unhampered by Stalinist interference and fear of retribution. Not performed for 25 years after its completion, it remained the composer's favorite. The first two movements are wild and dissonant, but epic and majestic as well. The third came after the first attacks by the government, and Shostakovich began his retreat into irony and indirection. This fascinating history comes out in the documentary with enormous vividness, and the regular CD performance by the great Chicago orchestra is pretty swell.

The Symphony No. 10, a masterpiece by any standard, wears the scars of Shostakovich's self-censorship like badges. That ineffable sadness, like a man lost on the steppes, only came into his palette after his brushes with danger and discouragement. The satirical dances using the musical initials of the composer's name thumb their nose at authority, but discreetly.

Mr. Haitink has the measure of this later score as well, and one of his longtime bands, the London Philharmonic, plays admirably for him.Shostakovich

ASymphony No. 4. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Haitink (CSO Resound)A-Symphony No. 10. London Philharmonic Orchestra, Haitink (London Philharmonic)

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