Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 in B flat minor, Op. 113 'Babi Yar'

“Mark Wigglesworth … stretches the playing of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic to its very impressive limits and remains the finest Shostakovich interpreter of his generation”, describing the result as “a performance which always gives us the full measure of this traumatic masterpiece.” (BBC Music Magazine)

“Wigglesworth immediately extends his spacious authority, in a cycle which so far deserves respect and admiration… Jan-Hendrik Rootering… goes farther than any bass I've heard… in introspective warmth of phrasing at the heart of the Symphony. …the professional weight of Simon Halsey's Netherlands Radio Choir basses brings burnished focus to savage indignation, eased only by tender Netherlands Philharmonic soloists in the final balm of grace.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2006 ****

“If all that mattered in Shostakovich's 13th was the Babi Yar setting that first motivated it, then there would be reason to approach Mark Wigglesworth's recording with caution. That long first movement sags, because he has tipped the balance slightly too far away from frightening immediacy in favour of philosophical reflection. The first entries of chorus and soloist feel a bit soggy.
Yet hearing their chillingly full-blooded contributions later, it's possible to go back and appreciate that there is profound careworn sadness behind their delivery of the opening, rather than mere tentativeness. Their Russian is as plausible as anything heard from non-native speakers. And since the 'voice' behind the solo voice is Shostakovich's as much as Yevtushenko's, it's not inappropriate that Jan-Hendrik Rootering should sound prematurely aged.
More than usually, the line 'I feel I am gradually going grey' feels like a key moment.
The Netherlands Radio PO do not have quite the muscle for the biggest climaxes in Babi Yar or for the scalding irony of 'Humour'. But they certainly rise to the challenge of the remaining movements, so often anti-climactic but which here make the deepest impression.
Wigglesworth has plenty of ideas about timing and articulation, and they are of a piece with a powerful overall view. In the faster movements, admittedly, he doesn't yet have the knack of showing all this without losing momentum, but in the slower ones his subtle moulding of phrase and texture pays huge dividends. 'In the Store' plumbs depths of sadness and compassion, and even Rootering's less than infallible steadiness of tone feels like part and parcel of the same conception. 'Fears' and 'A Career' seemingly come from somewhere beyond the experiences they describe. This, then, is a performance in which you feel the presence of a lyrical commentator throughout, rather than being in the grip of some overwhelming larger force. Softgrained but marvellously spacious recording.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“…a performance in which you feel the presence of a lyrical commentator throughout, rather than being in the grip of some overwhelming larger force. Soft-grained but marvellously spacious recording.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards 2006

“With one single reservation Haitink's account of Babiy Yar is superb. The reservation is that Marius Rintzler, although he has all the necessary blackness and gravity and is in amply sonforous voice, responds to the anger and the irony and the flaming denunciations of Yevtushenko's text with scarcely a trace of the histrionic fervour they cry out for. The excellent chorus, though, is very expressive and it makes up for a lot, as does the powerful and sustained drama of Haitink's direction.
He has solved the difficult problems of pacing a symphony with three slow movements (one is gripped throughout) and the atmosphere of each movement is vividly evoked, with a particular care for the subtleties of Shostakovich's orchestration. The orchestral sound, indeed, is magnificent: one can readily believe that the huge forces called for in the score were actually provided, but this doesn't necessitate any unnatural focusing on (say) the celeste in order that it shall register. The perspective is very natural throughout, and there's an excellent sense of the performance taking place in a believable space.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010