Haitink is a respected conductor, although I find his recorded Mahler and Bruckner to be overly thought-out and smooth to the point of removing all traces of life. Haitink has recorded as much Mahler as anyone, and the two performances I return to with frequency is #4. Ah, I wish his entire BPO cycle could sound as fresh as this #4, and Sylvia McNair is absolutely radiant and perfect for the part. The other one is a searing #5 from the Amsterdam live Christmas concerts - a hard to find box, but a cycle that trumps any of his other over-polished disasters.
I do like Haitink's Shostakovich. Really, a landmark set.
For sonics on modern recordings, I like Boulez' #1. An idiosyncratic performance , but it is awesome when Boulez 'let's er rip' with such a powerful orchestra. Too bad he rushes the beautiful Juliane Banse on the recording - he didn't in the live concert. Maybe he had another recording to make that day. I also like the Bernstein DG box as the most satisfying set on whole.
I do like Haitink's Shostakovich. Really, a landmark set.
For sonics on modern recordings, I like Boulez' #1. An idiosyncratic performance , but it is awesome when Boulez 'let's er rip' with such a powerful orchestra. Too bad he rushes the beautiful Juliane Banse on the recording - he didn't in the live concert. Maybe he had another recording to make that day. I also like the Bernstein DG box as the most satisfying set on whole.