Shostakovich, D.: Symphonies, Vol. 2 - Symphonies Nos. 5 and 9 Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra & Paul Daniel

• Dmitry Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47 (1937):
• 1 I. Moderato 18:01
• 2 II. Allegretto 05:12
• 3 III. Largo 15:34
• 4 IV. Allegro non troppo 12:50
• Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70 (1945):
• 5 I. Allegro 05:25
• 6 II. Moderato 08:47
• 7 III. Presto - 02:39
• 8 IV. Largo - 03:33
• 9 V. Allegretto 06:06
• Total Runtime 01:18:07

Info for Shostakovich, D.: Symphonies, Vol. 2 - Symphonies Nos. 5 and 9

Following their electrifying account of Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony (8572082), Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra explore the profound ambivalences of the composer’s most performed symphony, the Fifth, written in 1937 at a time when he was under intense personal and political pressure from the authorities.

The jaunty, neo-classical character of the Ninth Symphony (1945) prompted Shostakovich to remark that ‘musicians will like to play it, and critics will delight in blasting it’.

Shostakovich’s startlingly different original draft for the opening of the Ninth’s first movement is available on 8572138.

“Petrenko's… Fifth is remarkable for the tight discipline and detailed characterisation of musicians plainly on the up. The five-movement Ninth has sufficient energy and muscle to make it more than a mere divertissement. …Petrenko takes his time with the second movement, imparting almost too much aching reflectiveness, notwithstanding the loveliness of the playing. ...a whizzing Presto, demonstrating just how far the RLPO's corporate virtuosity has developed in a relatively short time. The finale puts on a cartoonish burst of speed at its pompous apex. Though you may not like this or that effect, the performance as a whole is deft and undeniably persuasive.” (Gramophone)

“…the Liverpool strings aren't quite as yet a match for the classic Stokowski/Ormandy sound. But they certainly handle every nuance in this detailed score, and in any case Ormandy never peered into the dark corners of this masterpiece in the way that Petrenko does. In Isle of the Dead the obsessive oarsmanship of Charon's boat, and a tauter, more dramatically contrasted dialogue between cloudlet and rock in the earlier tone poem are spellbinding, too, but the Dances are the thing.” (BBC Music Magazine)

“Petrenko’s strategic planning pays off with terrific tension, frightening crescendos and sharply defined emotional moods...The slow movement shivers in desolation. In the finale, woodwinds bring tendrils of hope; then comes the moving, contemplative coda. The series’ best release so far.” (The Times, UK)

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, conductor

No biography found.

Booklet for Shostakovich, D.: Symphonies, Vol. 2 - Symphonies Nos. 5 and 9