# 100 Favorites: # 85



## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

*Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8
Bernard Haitink, Concertgebouw Orchestra *










Haitink's Shostakovich cycle with the Concertgebouw is a landmark, and many music fans swear by it. I'm not one of them. For the most part, I think Haitink's approach to DSCH is just too sober and unadventurous. Haitink has an impressively tight grip on the reins, but sometimes Shostakovich's music calls for letting loose and getting a wild ride. But here we come to the exception that proves the rule: Haitink's emotionally cool approach works perfectly with the Eighth. It is easily the best performance in his cycle. I'm not sure whether it works because Haitink drives the music harder or because the music has a profound emotional charge even if the conductor plays it straight. For whatever reason, this is a thrilling, powerful performance. I prefer it over all others, including Yevgeni Mravinsky's famous Eighth with the Leningrad Philharmonic.


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