Shostakovitch, Paavo Berglund, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra - Fifth & Tenth Symphonies download mp3 flac

Gramophone Review - March 1976 - Robert Layton

"Let me say straight away that in terms of the quality of recorded sound, this two-record set is of outstanding fidelity. There is vivid presence, definition and separation of orchestral detail, a most natural musical balance and splendid range throughout the aural spectrum. Heard in SQ quadraphony, it is the nearest thing to the concert hall experience itself; the texture is analytically clear yet beautifully in perspective, and the acoustic setting is warm but not over-reverberant. The listener is placed well forward so that there is plenty of body and the natural timbre of each instrument is beautifully captured. In stereo the effect is hardly less impressive, with admirably clean detail and splendid ambience.

"Summing up my impressions as a whole, I must confess that I feel a certain literal quality about this reading of the Tenth (and for that matter its companion) which robs it of complete artistic conviction. Put the coda of the first movement alongside that of the long deleted Mitropoulos version and one is instantly struck by the authenticity of feeling the latter conveys. One is brought much closer to Shostakovich's expressive world. Again, as in No. 5, the recording is beyond praise but for all the undoubted merits of these readings, I would hesitate to recommend them in preference to their rivals. In the Fifth, either Maxim Shostakovich (also on HMV) or André Previn (on RCA) is the saver recommendation and in the Tenth, Karajan (on DG) has greater inner feeling. But whatever the artistic merits of this set, I feel confident that it will do sterling service demonstrating fine SQ equipment.