John White wrote:

>I shall stick my neck right now and say that IMHO Shostakovich was at his
>best as a symphonist in his middle period works.say in Nos.  5 to 10, and
>that thereafter, although probably still the greatest symphonist of his
>time, his inspiration diminished.
>
>If only he'd called a halt after, say, No 10, IMHO he would have gone out
>a high note(and, incidentally, it would have been cheaper to buy a complete
>set of CDs of his symphonies)
>
>What do other list members think on this subject, or have I just written
>a load of rubbish.

Well, you asked.  I don't agree.  I love the Fourth.And I like all the
symphonies after the Tenth, especially 11, 12, 13, and, sorry, 15.  I like
14, too, but not as much.  And as long as I'm being contrarian, I don't
care much for 6 (except the slow movement) and 9.  Go figure, I guess.
These are all powerful atmospheric works to me.

Roger Hecht