Reviews of new recordings of Shostakovich's 11th usually spend time in
finding fault with the music and comparing it unfavourably with most of
the rest of the canon, and suggesting that the conductor might have been
more profitably engaged in recording something more worthy of his talents.
This attitude is so pervasive that it seems to be heresy to admit to
liking the 11th.  So Steve Schwartz's review was, for me, more than
welcome, because I've liked this symphony for years, and it was refreshing
to have its good qualities set out for a change.  The immediate attraction
on a first hearing is, perhaps, the very noisy second movement, but you
eventually realise that the heart of the work is in the slow music,
especially that wonderfully tense first movement.  I'm looking forward
to hearing the Rostropovich.

I'd also like to put in a word for what I think was the premiere recording
by the French National Radio Orchestra conducted by Andre Cluytens,
issued in 1958 and presumably with Shostakovich's imprimatur as he was
at the sessions.  It may have been at the same time that he (Shostakovich)
recorded the piano concertos.  The symphony is in mono, but some mono
recordings of the period were so good that the lack of stereo didn't
matter.  It was released on a Testament CD which I've not heard but it's
on my wish list - it's a very fine version.

Richard Pennycuick
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