With the disappearance of the Melodiya catalogue (at least in the UK‚ where BMG’s licence to distribute the label has lapsed)‚ seekers after truth – or at least some measure of authenticity – in their Shostakovich symphonies will have to look elsewhere. One option is to investigate the recordings made outside Russia by musicians closely associated with the composer. These include Kurt Sanderling in East Berlin (Berlin Classics)‚ Mstislav Rostropovich in Washington and London (Teldec) and Maxim Shostakovich in Prague (Supraphon). You might not find those fierce‚ Soviet­style sonorities‚ but‚ with luck‚ a certain authenticity of experience will have communicated itself to the players. Rudolf Barshai certainly qualifies for inclusion in this select group. The founding violist of the Borodin Quartet and only begetter of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra‚ he is the man who amplified Shostakovich’s Eighth String Quartet into the much­performed Chamber Symphony. He also directed the first performances (live and in the studio) of Shostakovich’s Symphony No 14. Certain musicians seem to have found him more pernickety than inspirational‚ but Sviatoslav Richter for one praised his honesty and professionalism‚ refuting ‘the usual view that he’s incapable of conducting anything other than chamber music’. Now‚ belatedly‚ cult status has arrived‚ thanks in part to the ‘underground’ success of a live account of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony (Laurel‚ 7/01). Barshai’s WDR Shostakovich cycle (recorded digitally in Cologne‚ presumably for broadcasting purposes) recently resurfaced in its entirety on the Brilliant Classics label‚ but its components may prove more readily accessible to UK readers through these individual releases on Regis. The conductor has a Leningrad already in the lists‚ a symbolic Leipzig benefit involving members of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie and Moscow Philharmonic orchestras on BIS. While not entirely convinced by its rapid tempos‚ David Fanning found that concert relay expertly prepared. And not much has changed. It is idle to pretend that the players of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra need look to their laurels. Nor does Barshai feel the need to go for broke (and bombast?) in the Bernstein manner. That said‚ his first movement is both ‘felt’ and fluent‚ the main material presented with convincing elegance and lucidity at a flowing pace. Barshai’s slow movement glows with (rather than oozes) compassion‚ and it is principally in the finale that the conducting doesn’t always succeed in disguising the fact that Shostakovich was‚ of necessity‚ composing on automatic pilot. Even here‚ timps are well tuned‚ and Barshai’s diligence is always readily apparent in the detailed phrasing of his strings. The recorded sound has been well managed too‚ the crystalline textures obtained by the conductor and the attractively spacious acoustic of Cologne’s Philharmonie compensating for a relatively constricted dynamic range and limited bass response. I have not seen finished artwork – scarcely the issuing company’s strongest suit in the past – but this should be a winner in its price range: it is vastly superior to Ladislav Slovák’s bargain basement alternative on Naxos. Expect a few fluffs and some audience noise (there’s no applause at the end) and you won’t be disappointed.