A few months ago I reviewed
the new recording of Shostakovich’s last symphony by Vasily
Petrenko, which is part of his Naxos cycle of the symphonies
with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. I was pretty
enthusiastic, concluding that the recording “strikes me
as being excellent both in terms of the interpretation and the
execution.” However, my colleague, Dan Morgan, was much
less admiring and his views found support in an interesting
discussion on the MusicWeb
Message Board. One name that cropped up more than once as
a comparator to Petrenko was that of Bernard Haitink. I’ve
admired this excellent and deeply musical conductor for as long
as I can remember but for some reason I missed most of his Decca
Shostakovich symphony cycle, including the Fifteenth. It seemed
to me that it would be interesting to hear him in that symphony
so a few weeks ago I invested in a copy of this much more recent
recording.
Listening to Haitink’s complete performance convinced
me that here is a very considerable interpretation, splendidly
played and very well recorded. I then decided to compare this
recording with the Petrenko account so I listened to each movement
in turn in both versions. What emerged was that Petrenko comes
out pretty well in the comparison but in two movements I think
there is a clear winner.
Honours are pretty even in the first movement. Both conductors
adopt similar tempi and, indeed, the overall timings of their
respective performances are within three seconds of each other.
Petrenko drives the music forward and his RLPO play crisply
and with spirit. The music emerges as highly charged and energetic.
I detect a bit more weight of tone from the Dutch orchestra,
the strings in particular, though that may be due not just to
the excellence of the players but also to the famed acoustics
of the Concertgebouw and also the skill of the RCOI Live engineers.
If I say that Petrenko’s way with the music sounds a little
more brash I don’t mean that in a derogatory way; it suits
the music.
The opening seven minutes or so of the second movement mainly
comprise music that is spare in texture - chiefly alternating
a brass chorale from the Eleventh symphony and yearning cello
solos. Petrenko does well to sustain the tension across these
paragraphs and the dissonant wind chords that punctuate the
music are suitably glacial. If anything, Haitink’s brass
players are even more sombre and imposing of tone and the RCO’s
principal cello is outstanding. Haitink is equally successful
in sustaining the tension and the thread of the musical argument
across these desolate pages. Eventually an important trombone
solo is reached. Up to this point Petrenko has been a bit more
spacious - the trombone solo begins at 7:55 in his recording
and at 6:52 in Haitink’s - perhaps the RCO reading is
a bit more strongly focused. However, when we reach the trombone
solo I have a clear preference for the Dutch performance. The
Liverpool trombonist is excellent but the Dutch player’s
tone has an edge to it that imparts a greater sense of foreboding.
Eventually Shostakovich achieves a huge trademark climax (at
11:01 in Petrenko’s reading, 9:57 in Haitink’s)
and the impact is all the greater because this is the first
time - and note how far into the movement we are - that we have
heard the full orchestra. Petrenko handles that climax very
well but I sense a bit more malevolence in the gripping way
that Haitink delivers it. In his hands the brass chorale at
the end of the movement is really desolate.
In the brief third movement Haitink conveys the sardonic humour
though, by the side of Petrenko, his performance is more weighty
- note the firm double bass chords in the opening pages in his
reading - and serious. Petrenko’s approach is more pungent
and also more nimble and fleet of foot. With him you sense Till
Eulenspiegel thumbing his nose, which is surely right. The music
occasionally sounds a little clipped, not least in the solo
violin passages, but overall Petrenko is a clear winner here.
However, I believe that the fourth movement swings the balance
in Haitink’s favour. Both versions start well though Haitink’s
brass are darker and more full of foreboding in the Wagner quotations
at the outset. Where think things tilt decisively is at the
long violin theme immediately after the three-note Tristan
motif - at 1:18 in Petrenko’s performance, 1:23 with Haitink.
Haitink makes the long string melody flow better than Petrenko;
the younger conductor’s speed sounds more laboured while
the elder is completely convincing . Michael Steinberg hits
the nail on the head in describing this theme as “wanly
disconsolate”; Petrenko makes it sound a bit too tragic
and I think that his speed is a bit too slow for a passage that’s
marked Allegretto; Haitink is just right and strikes
a more enigmatic note. I emphasise this point because so much
of what follows flows from this melody and the mood it establishes.
It seems to me that the string-dominated passacaglia that follows
is more persuasive at the Dutchman’s more purposeful tempo.
As the movement’s big climax approaches, because his basic
tempo is somewhat swifter, Haitink is able to invest the build-up
with more urgency. Just to give you an indication of relative
speeds - and remember both performances arrived at the start
of the violin melody at about the same time - Haitink gets to
the climax at 8:54, Petrenko at 10:08. Both conductors deliver
the climax powerfully though, for me, Haitink’s way with
it is the darker and more forbidding - his brass and horns are
superbly telling hereabouts. One other point worthy of note,
is that the bass line of the passacaglia emerges with just a
bit more clarity in the RCO Live recording. The Dutch recording
of the closing pages is a bit better than the Naxos sound; there’s
a little more distance on the tinkling, chattering percussion.
So, while Petrenko’s recording emerges with great credit
from a detailed comparison the Haitink has the edge, especially
in the finale. I still think that Petrenko offers a fine recording
of this enigmatic symphony but Haitink brings more gravitas
to the score - though that works against him in the third movement
- and delves more deeply below the music’s surface than
does his young colleague. The Naxos recording is very good but
the RCO Live sound is even better - it’s a hybrid SACD
but I’ve listened to it as a conventional CD. Richard
Whitehouse’s Naxos notes have the edge, especially for
someone coming new to the work, though RCO Live provide some
musical examples, which is handy. As for the playing, the RLPO
are by no means put in the shade; they offer excellent playing
but there are times when the extra depth of tone reminds one
that on the Dutch disc one is listening to one of the world’s
great orchestras.
However, it must be pointed out that the Haitink disc is offered
at full price and, with no coupling, represents distinctly short
measure while Petrenko, at a lower price point, includes the
Second Symphony. I suppose that’s a question of price
versus value.
In summary, anyone who has already invested in the Petrenko
recording of the Fifteenth or anyone wanting a good recording
at less than full price can rest content. However, this Haitink
performance, taped at concerts, offers a deep and impressive
view of a symphony that can be elusive. This is an excellent
reminder of what a superb and distinguished conductor Bernard
Haitink is and it’s a recording that I’m very glad
that I have added to my collection.
John Quinn
Masterwork Index: Symphony
15
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Bernard Haitink 
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