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