Symphonies nos. 1, 14 & 15

"Wigglesworth's performance of the First Symphony particularly, though, seems intent on demonstrating how much that work does actually foreshadow what followed from the Fifth Symphony onwards ... Wigglesworth and the Netherlands Radio Orchestra do a fine job in clarifying the tangled textures, and in making their choral finales seem a bit more than just propagandist doggere".

Read review

"Mark Wigglesworth's Shostakovich cycle has been remarkably consistent, and on the whole very fine ... The performances however, while good, are not the best in the series ... Good then, but not great, and mainly for collectors of this particular cycle".

Read review

"Der sænkes tempi og udmales dynamiske nuancer. Med to ikke-russiske sangere, hvoraf den ellers fremragende basbaryton Quasthoff er decideret fejlcastet som russisk bas, får Rattle ikke det frem, en Rudolf Barshai i nyere tid har præsteret".

Read review

"Eine ganze Lebensspanne deckt diese Folge des Schostakowitsch-Sinfonien-Zyklus mit dem Boston Symphony Orchestra und Andris Nelsons ab ... Nelsons beschönigt nichts, er bringt die noch etwas ungelenke Instrumentierungskunst des Konservatoriums-Absolventen ebenso zur Geltung wie die Anspielungen in der letzten Sinfonie ... Kristīne Opolais singt die (Todes-) Lieder in der 14. Sinfonie stellenweise sehr opernhaft ... Das Boston Symphony Orchestra hat inzwischen seinen Schostakowitsch-Ton verfeinert. Es sind nicht nur die einzeln stark besetzten Fraktionen im Orchester, es ist auch deren gute Abstimmung untereinander, die einen farbenreichen und flexiblen Gesamtklang ermöglichen".

"Nelsons's scrupulous, atmospheric attention to dynamic detail, the Boston Symphony Orchestra's sophisticated beauty and perfect engineering combine to give us finetuned mastery in Shostakovich's last and most refined symphony, the Fifteenth ... The rest is more a matter of taste ... The Chamber Symphony impresses througout, but lacks the edge of the original Eighth Quartet".

"Unter der Leitung von Simon Rattle stürzen sie sich [BPO] mit einem Entdeckergeist in diese Musik, der sie viele Nuancen finden lässt ... Selten erklingen die zahlreichen bruitistischen Passagen ... mit einer solch ätzenden Schärfe".

"Quasthoff's customary probing only fitfully brings a more generalised meaning to life. Mattila is better, but miscast ... This is all a great pity, because the Berlin strings catch every shade and dynamic under Rattle's rigorous direction".

"That evening's performance of Shostakovich Five, the force of which still resonates in this invaluable memento of an overwhelming occasion ... This equally alive account of the First is bright and clear".

"These connections [nos 1 & 15] are brought vividly to life here. As in previous recordings in this fine Shostakovich cycle, Mark Wigglesworth provides compelling and insightful interpretations that keep you transfixed".

"Wigglesworth et un bon Orchestre de la Radio néerlandaise privilégient l'élan, les couleurs vives, l'humeur capricieuse et les traits les plus spectaculaires".

"I don't recall being gripped quite as much by this work as in this present recording by Mark Wigglesworth and his Netherlands forces. Their relish ... all caught in a fine recording, hold your attention ... Alive to every inflection ... I have returned to this performance several times with great pleasure [First Symphony]".