7. In Prison, at the Sante Jail (Bass, Apollinaire) 8:20
8. The Zaporozhian Cossack's answer to the Sultan of Constantinople (Bass; Apollinaire) 2:07
9. O Delvig, Delvig (Bass; KYchelbecker) 3:44
10. The Death of the Poet (Soprano; Rilke) 4:23
11. Conclusion (Soprano & bass; Rilke) 1:04
Total: 45:38
Alla Simoni, soprano
Vladimir Vaneev, bass
WDR Sinfonieorchester,
Rudolf Barshai
CD11
Symphony No. 15 in A major Op. 141
1. Allegretto 8:19
2. Adagio-largo-adagio-allegretto 11:43
3. Allegretto 3:53
4. Adagio-allegretto-adagio-allegretto 13:58
Total: 37:54
WDR Sinfonieorchester,
Rudolf Barshai
"
Worthwhile for the Price
Music Is Everything | Colorado Springs, CO USA | 10/01/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Much has been said about Rudolf Barshai's close association with Shostakovich. Barshai is considered an authority on Shostakovich, has arranged Shostakovich's string quartets into symphonies for small orchestra, has recorded much of Shostakovich's works, and yet hasn't left much of a stamp on Shostakovich's legacy via recordings. This 11-CD set of the complete Shostakovich symphonies with the WDR Symphony Orchestra is consistently good, but definitely not in the realm of "definitive." There is none of the gravitas and electricity of Bernstein's or Solti's interpretations, none of the edgy realism from the leading Russian recordings, and none of the polish of newer sets by Jansons, Jarvi and others. It's almost as though these performances are virtually stripped of interpretation--nothing but the notes, yet played well. Nonetheless, it was interesting to hear these works from that perspective; it forced me to focus on Shostakovich's writing instead of the orchestra or conductor. While this is certainly not the best complete set, and by far the best of the best can only be obtained by buying individual recordings of the best performances, at Brilliant Classics' bargain price this was worthwhile."