# Revisiting Recordings of Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony



## Knorf

Ok, I faced down an emerging case of imposter syndrome: just yesterday I highly recommended that interested parties investigate Frank Shipway's Shostakovich Symphony 10, because it is on sale for €3.99 at jpc.de. (As are all of the Royal Phil. SACD edition, but I think most of those RPO recordings are no more than unremarkable, "nine-to-fiver" quality.)

But someone cast doubt on the Shipway recording. It wasn't at all unfriendly, but I stayed up _way_ too late, and listened straight through two of my favorite recordings of Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony: the first with Kirill Kondrashin/Moscow Phil., and the second with, yes, Frank Shipway/Royal Phil. In recent weeks, I've also listened to Mravinsky/Leningrad Phil. (1976) and Karajan/Berlin Phil. (1982.) I've heard also numerous others, but to keep things simple, I'll refer to just those four.

I cannot imagine any reason at all why anyone would find the Shipway Shostakovich 10 anything other than a stellar performance, from both conductor and orchestra. It's also a terrific recording, at least in the SACD incarnation!

Shipway's overall approach is most similar to that of Karajan, which makes sense knowing that Shipway studied with him (as well as Barbirolli.) However Shipway's interpretation actually lies somewhere between Karajan and Mravinsky or Kondrashin, and I think that's all to the good.

Like Karajan, Shipway's first movement emphasizes brooding and dark lyricism. It's a shade less impulsive or agitated at climaxes than either Mravinsky or Kondrashin, but a shade more so than Karajan as well. The coloring is darker than Karajan: a bit less smoothly burnished, and a bit more mysterious in quieter sections. All four are wonderfully dramatic, to be honest.

In the second movement, Shipway reminds me of Mravinsky the most. Furious, very fast, and absolutely ruthless. Shipway's recording, by comparison, features a much tighter ensemble. The tempo never lets up even for a split second, and the result is that this is one of very few recordings that comes closest to Shostakovich's marked tempo of quarter (or crotchet) = 208. It's just barely under four minutes, 3'59" from first note to last (4'02" for the track including silences.) Kondrashin is close, but doesn't keep the tempo quite as steady. In fact, the intensity flags slightly by comparison towards the end of the movement. Only Mravinsky is in the same league, but with Shipway's superior orchestral execution, particularly in the woodwinds, this movement is breathtaking.

In third movement, I find Shipway to be more agitated overall than Kondrashin, and more imaginative in his pacing of phrases than either Mravinsky or Karajan. (I can never get over the Russian horn players' use of vibrato, but that's just me, probably.) Again, the climaxes in Kondrashin and Mravinsky are more impulsive, but Shipway finds more poignancy and heartbreak than either, if less anger, as does his horn soloist.

In the introduction to the fourth movement, I find Shipway and Kondrashin to be the most desolate. Indeed, in their recordings there is a bigger contrast between this section and the exuberance of the allegro that follows, than with the others. Karajan however is more playful overall, especially towards the end (when the timpanist famously loses count of the DSCH motif), Mravinsky is more driven. In this movement, I find Shipway to be most similar to Kondrashin, with darker shade in the moments where it all goes wrong, and with both being a slight touch more circumspect in the coda than Karajan. Mravinsky's battering ram is in a class of its own.

In terms of recording quality, Shipway is much better than the other three. With those three, I know that's a bit of a low bar. Actually, I'd say Shipway's (on SACD) is one of the best recorded Shosty 10s I know! It's a fabulous recording anywhere.

In terms of interpretation, I learn something from all four. In such great music, no one performance can ever have all the answers. But Shipway's breathtaking second movement is really something special! And I like his third movement the best interpretively as well. In the first and last movements it's hard to beat Kondrashin, but Shipway's atmosphere in the first movement is riveting, and Karajan's exuberance in the last certainly leaves you with a smile. Mravinsky's is, "That was amazing! But didn't a bunch of people just get killed?!"

In terms of orchestral execution, again I find Shipway's RPO to be superior. Mravinsky's Leningraders play like their lives depended on it, and the strings especially are truly superb, but there are moments of distressing wind intonation and occasional poor ensemble. Karajan's Berliners take fewer risks, except for the horn solo in the mvt. III, but I like the horn solo in Shipway better anyway; it is more nuanced. Oh, yes, there's Karajan's timpanist playing DSCH one too many times in the coda. Kondrashin's Moscow Phil. is very close to the quality of the RPO for Shipway, but the RPO is just ever so slightly more tightly marshalled. The woodwinds in Shipway are out-of-sight good, the best of the four by a long way, especially the double reeds.

In the end, among those four celebrated accounts, it is Kondrashin and Shipway that I will return to the most often.

TL;DR-Frank Shipway's Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 is woefully underrated, and actually entirely competitive with some of the most lauded recordings of that symphony that there are.

There are some recent recordings I still need to hear that have been widely praised. Namely, Nelsons/Boston and Petrenko/Liverpool. I may get those one of these days, and let's be honest: this symphony has done very well in recordings. But for now, I'm pleased with Kondrashin and Shipway.


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## flamencosketches

Man, I feel bad now. I had no idea I was going to trash your sleep schedule with that comment. It sounds like you got enjoyment out of the exercise at least. 

I guess I owe it to you to listen to my two Shostakovich 10ths (I have Petrenko/RLPO and Shipway/RPO) and see if my opinions have changed any.  So give me a couple of days to get back to you on that.


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## flamencosketches

I have to hand it to you, Knorf. I listened to Shipway's Shostakovich 10 again and found it quite a bit more exciting than I did in previous hearings. I think my main problem is with the first movement, which comes off as a little distended, episodic, and underpowered in places, compared to other recordings I've heard. (I'll have to listen to an alternative recording, and will try and do so soon, to confirm that I still feel this way about the Shipway.) But you're right that the second movement is quite a scorcher. The third and fourth movements are quite well done too, really. Overall, not as boring as I remembered it.


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## Knorf

flamencosketches said:


> Man, I feel bad now. I had no idea I was going to trash your sleep schedule with that comment. It sounds like you got enjoyment out of the exercise at least.


Please don't, because I did enjoy the exercise. And because I haven't been writing about music for fun in such a long time, it is reminding me what a real pleasure it can be. I wouldn't have done it, if I didn't want to.

And who cares about sleep schedules in the age of COVID-19?  My wife only grumbled a little



> I guess I owe it to you to listen to my two Shostakovich 10ths (I have Petrenko/RLPO and Shipway/RPO) and see if my opinions have changed any.  So give me a couple of days to get back to you on that.


I'll hold you to this!


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## sstucky

Try Ancerl and the Czech PO in 1955 on DG.


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## chill782002

The Shipway is excellent, but my favourite performance of this particular work remains Kurt Sanderling's 1977 recording with the Berliner Sinfonie Orchester (at that time the East German rival to the Berliner Philharmoniker, now known as the Konzerthausorchester Berlin).


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## Ulfilas

The Nelsons on DG blew me away. I haven't been so convinced by the more recent instalments in his cycle, but the 10th is very convincing and powerful.


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## chill782002

Ulfilas said:


> The Nelsons on DG blew me away. I haven't been so convinced by the more recent instalments in his cycle, but the 10th is very convincing and powerful.


Thanks for the recommendation, I haven't tried the Nelsons but will give it a go. Milan Horvat's recording with the ORF Symphonieorchester is also well worth a listen (uncertain of the date but probably early 70s). I have an excellent Bruckner 4th conducted by him with the same orchestra as well. Horvat was a conductor who never received the recognition he deserved.


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## Ulfilas

A couple of other good 10ths, Jansons/Philadephia on EMI, and Skrowaczewski with the Halle Orchestra on their house label.

You might have seen this survey, worth a look in any case:

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/article/the-best-recordings-of-shostakovich-s-symphony-no-10


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## Heck148

Stokowski/CSO, live from 3/66 wins it clearly for me...nothing like it....brooding expressiveness combined with manic, wild abandon....CSO sounds phenomenal....[CSO Archival set <<CSO in 20th Century>>] the 2ble reed playing is fantastic. Great bassoon playing, solo and section.

There are some other good ones - Mravinsky, Mitopoulos, Solti among them...Karajan is good, one of his better efforts, but he doesn't generate the fury, the energy of some of the others....haven't heard Nelsons/BSO....missed the live series....others - 4, 7 - have been very good....


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## CnC Bartok

I was very impressed by the Shipway, which is a recent acquisition, so its place in my pantheon isn't yet absolutely clear.

My favourites remain Mravinsky, his Leningrad recording on Erato, and Ancerl on DGG. Petrenko is very very good too, and so is (sorry!) Neeme Jarvi on Chandos.


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## realdealblues

Must admit, I've never heard Shipway's Shostakovich 10th.
I've got:

Ancerl
Barshai
Haitink
Jansons
Karajan (1961 & 1981)
Kondrashin
Petrenko
Rostropovich
Sanderling, Kurt
Sanderling, Michael
Solti

Couldn't say which is my favorite. I've only heard Ancerl, Barshai, both Karajan's and Kurt Sanderling more than once, the rest I've all only heard once. Maybe at some point I'll compare them all and take a look at Shipway as well.


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## Malx

CnC Bartok said:


> I was very impressed by the Shipway, which is a recent acquisition, so its place in my pantheon isn't yet absolutely clear.
> 
> My favourites remain Mravinsky, his Leningrad recording on Erato, and Ancerl on DGG. Petrenko is very very good too, and so is (sorry!) Neeme Jarvi on Chandos.


Don't apologise for liking Jarvi's Shosty 10 - it is a worthy contender that has long retained its place on my shelves.


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## Knorf

Ulfilas said:


> A couple of other good 10ths, Jansons/Philadephia on EMI, and Skrowaczewski with the Halle Orchestra on their house label.


Indeed, both are excellent. I'm an avowed fan of Stan, and his Shostakovich 10 is new to me as of a month ago, and I enjoyed it muchly. It's terrific! However, I'd still give the nod to Shipway between those two.


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## Kiki

Usually I turned to Kondrashin and Mravinsky in this repertoire. They sound authentic to my non-Russian ears. However, the sound quality is pretty sorry (even the Erato Mravinsky, which cracks up at tutti).

(I have an obsession: over the years, I've hunted down 3 out of 4 of Mravinsky's recordings, 1955, 1976.III.03 and 1976.III.31; but it bugs me that the 1954 is still nowhere to be found. Does it really exist?)

For better sound, I really like Vasily Petrenko's, perhaps introvert, account. One can feel the music, and the complex emotion behind it.

I like Karajan's 3 recordings. The music is paced and intensified until one cannot breath. The beautiful sound is not a problem for me. The problem is sound quality, ranging from average (1981) to bad (1966) to downright horrible (1969).

Mariss Jansons' 3 recordings are interesting in the sense that they slow down through the years, but they also become more attentive to details (fuzziness?), and arguably less exciting but more intense.

IMO a slow tempo is not necessarily a problem. It depends on where the pressure points are and how the intensity is built up and released.

Also enjoy Barshai and Haitink. My dark horse is Donald Runnicles. I even enjoy Ashkenazy's. (Don't crucify me!)

Speaking about the Neeme Järvi 10th. It's gloriously played, it has got glorious sound, and I think he created great contrast between passages and there are quite a few memorable, terrifying moments. Certainly underrated/underexposed.

I've read the Shipway mentioned a few times already. I need to check it out.


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## starthrower

I didn't find Shipway's 10th at JPC.


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## KenOC

I've had Shipway's 10th for several years and always enjoyed it. Very little to choose from between Shipway's recording and HvK's, and both are very good.

Another more recent recording that I currently am more likely to reach for is Andris Nelsons with the Bostoners. Nelsons is kind of like a grown-up Petrenko.


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## Knorf

starthrower said:


> I didn't find Shipway's 10th at JPC.


Yeah, my OP was back in April, and the RPO discs have mostly disappeared from JPC in the months since then.


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## CnC Bartok

starthrower said:


> I didn't find Shipway's 10th at JPC.


I got myself a copy on CD on Amazon, 3rd party seller. If you're ok with downloads, it's apparently in the Bach Guild Big Shostakovich Box, which you chaps and chapettes on the other side of the pond can get pretty inexpensively!


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## Merl

Kiki said:


> Usually I turned to Kondrashin and Mravinsky in this repertoire. They sound authentic to my non-Russian ears. However, the sound quality is pretty sorry (even the Erato Mravinsky, which cracks up at tutti).
> 
> (I have an obsession: over the years, I've hunted down 3 out of 4 of Mravinsky's recordings, 1955, 1976.III.03 and 1976.III.31; *but it bugs me that the 1954 is still nowhere to be found. Does it really exist?) .*


Is this the 1954 one, Kiki?

https://www.discogs.com/Shostakovich-Leningrad-Philharmonic-Orchestra-Mravinsky-Symphony-No-10/release/11771213


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## Kiki

Merl said:


> Is this the 1954 one, Kiki?
> 
> https://www.discogs.com/Shostakovich-Leningrad-Philharmonic-Orchestra-Mravinsky-Symphony-No-10/release/11771213


You are a genius, sir!

OK I wasn't going to take the info in Discogs for granted ("First issued in 1954"), so starting with the LP catalogue no., and to cut a long story short, I landed at Naxos' Japanese site. Voilà! Recorded on 24 April 1954, Leningrad; not stated as a live recording, so a studio recording. These match with the discography info of the 1954 recording perfectly. Now, I can see that eclassical and chandos.net are selling it. Time to shop around.

Thanks, Merl!


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## Kiki

Finally heard the Shipway Shostakovich #10.

The first movement is probably the weakest link in this performance. It is a slow burn that does not quite intensify enough to torture. It just feels a bit more cozy than I would have liked.

However, I am glad to say that, from the second movement onwards, it is a winner. The 2nd movement is a high-octane press that is close to perfect. The third movement is light footed and very clean. In the finale, towards the end of the pensive Andante, I am really impressed when the violins enter, there begins a magical transformation into the Allegro, and it sucks you right in all the way to the end!

Overall, I am really impressed by this performance, despite my reservation for the first movement, which is by no means slack, just that I have heard more convincing accounts.

Remember to turn up the volume though. For me that made the soft timpani/bass drum/snare drum sound more agreeable.










Also came across this 1954 recording, a piano duet arrangement made by the composer, played by the composer and Mieczysław Weinberg.

I'm really impressed by how well this arrangement captures the essence of the symphony. A bonus surprise for me is that the piano writing at the quiet closing passage in the 1st movement reminds me a lot of the gallows and the subject hanging on it in Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit - the hollowness and the sound world are remarkably similar - and I can't resist drawing, probably far-fetched, similarities between the gallows and the alleged "meanings" in this symphony.


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## david johnson

sstucky said:


> Try Ancerl and the Czech PO in 1955 on DG.


YES!!!...the best  I also enjoy the early HvK.


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## Knorf

Bumping this thread, since I just reviewed the excellent Tenth with Jansons/BRSO.

I think my top-five remain Shipway/Royal PO, Kondrashin/Moscow PO, Mravinsky/Leningrad, Skrowaczewski/Hallé, Karajan/Berlin (1982). Roughly in that order. 

But I certainly wouldn't think someone was crazy if their favorites included one of the others from Karajan or any from Jansons, not to mention the likes of Järvi, Haitink, Berglund, or Ančerl. 

I still need to hear Petrenko and Nelsons. I'm hoping the latter will be for me the first truly competitive Tenth from an American orchestra. For me, no others I've heard are. 

People mention Barshai a lot. For me, it's really never felt very competitive in such a field with so many heavy-hitters; but it's not at all poor in quality.

Also, for me, as is typical for him, Solti's Tenth has all the emotionally intensity of a toddler banging furiously on pots and pans in the kitchen. No, thanks.


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## Merl

Knorf said:


> ..... Also, for me, as is typical for him, Solti's Tenth has all the emotionally intensity of a toddler banging furiously on pots and pans in the kitchen. No, thanks.


Lol, that made me laugh more than I should have, Knorf. :lol:


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## RobertJTh

I like Inbal in the 10th. The rest of his Vienna cycle is fine (and terribly underrated) too.











chill782002 said:


> Milan Horvat's recording with the ORF Symphonieorchester is also well worth a listen (uncertain of the date but probably early 70s). I have an excellent Bruckner 4th conducted by him with the same orchestra as well. Horvat was a conductor who never received the recognition he deserved.


I've got that one too, on Point Classics, right?
Not bad at all, I just wonder if it's really Horvat or an Alfred Scholz' Ghost Conductor Club member. 
And yes, Horvat was good at Bruckner - I've got a Bruckner 5 an 6 by him (if it's him) issued under the pseudonym "Cohn Weiss", it's pretty decent.


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## Kreisler jr

For those looking for the Shipway, one should note that these recordings have appeared on a variety of (usually) cheap discs since ca. 2000, first on CD, later also SACD. I think I once read some complaint about the sound on some of the SACD issues (not necessarily DSCH 10) but I found the sound on the older standard CDs very good. That series was a mixed bag but besides the DSCH 10 there was also a good Mahler 5th with Shipway (too slow adagietto, though), DSCH 5, Sibelius 2nd, Fantastique with Mackerras, Planets with Handley and a few Haydn and Mozart? symphonies with Jane Glover that might be worth trying although not all are as distinguished as the DSCH 10.


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## Heck148

for Shost #10 - Stokowski/CSO - live from '66 - CSO archival release - the clear winner...amazing

Mravinsky/LenPO [3/76], Solti are really excellent as well...Mitropoulos/NYPO is very good, also, tho the early 50s CBS sound isn't the greatest.


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