This disc is really a mixed bag. Symphony No.9 sounds terrific, as lively and pointed a performance as one could ask for. The first movement is all innocent charm, save for wonderfully disruptive interjections from the brass, while the two clarinets open the second movement with a beautifully shaped, soulful duet. Caetani lets the scherzo build naturally to its ferocious central section, and the trombones make an impressive meal of their imperious proclamations in the transitional fourth movement, which leads to an ideally paced finale. A little untidiness in the strings aside, the orchestra plays marvelously, wholly within the idiom, and the sonics are outstanding.
Then comes the Tenth, which is a real letdown. Once again Caetani shows his sympathy with the music in the intensity with which he builds his climaxes, but neither he nor the orchestra quite bring it off. The first movement’s culminating downward gestures lack power (where is the tam-tam?), and Caetani surprisingly turns in one of the least impulsive renditions of the manic second movement on disc. He’s also a bit dull and under tempo in the ensuing Allegretto, and by the time the finale (which is well judged and exciting) arrives, it’s simply too late. There’s nothing bad here, but it’s not competitive with the best, and only diehard Shostakovich collectors will want this disc just for the Ninth.
