Shostakovich Symphonies Nos. 2 & 15 Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra & Vasily Petrenko

• 1 Largo 05:37
• 2 Poco meno mosso 06:50
• 3 Meno mosso 05:56
• 4 I. Allegretto 08:04
• 5 II. Adagio 17:20
• 6 III. Allegretto 03:56
• 7 IV. Adagio 19:10
• Total Runtime 01:06:53

Info for Shostakovich Symphonies Nos. 2 & 15

These two hugely contrasting symphonies come from the opposite ends of Shostakovich’s life and career. The Second Symphony was written to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Bolshevik October Revolution. Its advanced idiom of experimental textures and abstract effects can perhaps be best described as organised musical chaos. The Fifteenth was Shostakovich’s last symphony and is filled with remarkable contrasts, from the rollicking quotes from Rossini’s William Tell Overture and eerie references to Wagner’s Götterdämmerung and Tristan und Isolde, to the last and perhaps most imaginative of the composer's symphonic passacaglias.

“Petrenko's hallmark of winning careful but always meaningful articulation from his Liverpool players is as apparent in the outlines of the woodwind and brass uproar at the centre of the early collage as it is in the last Symphony's skeletal solos...As so often, Petrenko shows the deepest sensitivity in going straight to the heart of the matter, and forward sound-balances for violins and celesta especially serve him well.” (BBC Music Magazine)

Vasily Petrenko, conductor
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir with Ian Tracey

Recorded at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, England on 14th June 2011 (tracks 1-3), and on 26th and 27th October 2010 (tracks 4-7) Producers and editors: Andrew Walton (K&A Productions Ltd.) (tracks 1-3) and Peter Newble (tracks 4-7) Engineers: Mike Clements (tracks 1-3) and Andrew Lang (K&A Productions Ltd.) (tracks 4-7)

No biography found.

Booklet for Shostakovich Symphonies Nos. 2 & 15