A Knockout Shostakovich 4th from Lazarev

Jeremy Lee writes

Alexander Lazarev is undoubtedly one of the great Shostakovich conductors of our time. In 2010 I went to a concert of Lazarev conducting the Hong Kong Philharmonic in the 11th symphony (a work he recorded with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra on Linn) and was thrilled by the raw power and excitement Lazarev got from the orchestra, and

Inbal’s TMSO Shostakovich 4

Jeremy Lee writes

First and foremost, an apology for the long hiatus that has preceded this review.  As the holidays commence (after a fantastically busy semester), we’ll have much more time to listen and write.

With that, let us turn our attention to Eliahu Inbal, a conductor whose recordings received international attention in the 1970s and 80s with high-profile accompaniment engagements (most notably the Chopin concertos with Arrau) and symphony cycles of

Haitink’s Shostakovich 5 and 9

Jeremy Lee writes

Bernard Haitink’s Shostakovich symphonies, if not placed on a par with Barshai’s and Rostropovich’s, has been generally acclaimed. Nevertheless, listeners curious about Haitink’s way with the symphonies but don’t want to invest in the whole set can purchase most of them individually.  Most readily available is

Argerich shines in Haydn and Shostakovich

Jeremy Lee writes

These two light, cheery works suit Argerich’s mercurial temperament very well.  As you would expect, this performance with Jörg Faerber and the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn (two relatively unknown names) just shines.  The Shostakovich Concerto No. 1’s sardonic humor and sly wit

A Mixed Blessing of a Mustonen Disc

Jeremy Lee writes

By owning this disc and Laurent Martin’s album of Alkan’s Preludes on Marco Polo, I’m proud to say that I am one of the select few who own the complete discography of that set of 25 miniatures–a set which I admittedly am not a great fan of.  Nor am I specially attracted to its coupling, Shostakovich’s Op. 34 Preludes.  So, you might ask, why had