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Any Shostakovich recording by Mravinsky is great. Mravinsky/5th is on Youtube and is effing phenomenal.

As for specific symphony, Babi Yar. All male choir. Need I say more?

tubashaman wrote:Movement 15 is awesome Ralph.

Shostakovich wrote a symphony with 15 movements?!?! Wow!

tubashaman wrote:I love Shostakovich, and he wrote 15 symphonies

Oh, you mean his 15th SYMPHONY? NOW I get it, sorry!

EDIT: I guess I can actually contribute along with my smart-a$$ comments...

I really like the 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th, and 15th symphonies. 4 is pretty cool, has 2 tuba parts, but isn't as cool as the others I've listed. 5 will always be my favorite, with 7 being a somewhat close second.

I just realized I like odd numbers! Weird!

I would suggest check out the 4th, 7th and 10th next - all great symphonies.

Having recently played the 12th, I can say that it has an awesome tuba part, although critical opinion would not put it as one of his greats.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of the Lenningrad.

he made a citical error in not writing a tuba part for them, but don't overlook the string quartets for some of the most profound and personal music of the 20thC and the 24 preludes and fugues are truly delightful

All of them.

I like numbers 5 and 7-13 the best. Personally, I am fond of the Valery Gergiev recordings with the Kirov Orchestra (4,5,7, and 9).

My favorite set of all the Shostakovich Symphonies is Kondrashin's cycle on Melodiya. The set was recently available at a modest price through russiandvd.com (shipping from New York). Some recent recordings I've enjoyed sound much like Kondrashin's, which were made in the 1960s.

A few of Mravinsky's recordings are marvelous, but others are badly marred by excessive audience noise (notably coughing) and limitations of the recording process (mono or very early stereo) at the time.

Fans of Mravinsky should check their libraries for an Art of Conducting video, also featuring Mengelberg, Munch, Furtwangler, and Celibidache. Apparently now out of print, but in an interview segment Mravinsky says his favorite symphonies were Shostakovich 5 and Tchaikovsky 5. The video includes a rehearsal segment from Shostakovich 5, with some interesting comments to the orchestra from Mravinsky.

Also "not to be missed" is Oleg Caetani's recording of Shostakovich 11 with the Orchestra Sinfonica Di Milano Giuseppe Verdi. Regardless what one thinks of the rest of the recording, the gongs in the finale place this in the audiophile demonstration disc category. Would be interesting to know how the effect was achieved in a live recording, but simply "in a class of it's own". The cor anglais solo preceding the finale is also very well done.

I love all of his symphonies. Actually all of his music. Some favorites are..
Symphony 4,8,11,12,15
The Execution of Stepan Razin Cantata
Piano Concerto No.2

Yo

Symphony No 10 is the one for me - its all a bit dark



and for a spot of light relief

Suite from the Gadfly

Gorgeous



Andrew M

I really like Symphony 1. The Chicago recording of 1 and 7 with Bernstein has to be one of the best CDs I own. Symphony 7 on it was Arnold's last recording I think. I read somewhere that Lenny asked Arnold after the concert or rehearsal, "why are you retiring?" He was impressed with his sound.

I really like the 4th, 8th and 14th symphonies. Especially the third movement of the 8th, with the machine motive for the trombones and tubas. And the ending of the second movement of the 4th is pretty cool, (again, another machine motive.)

No one said anything about " Festive Overture"

The most powerful brass playing I've ever heard is on the CSO/ Bernstein #7. Both Rex Martin and Jake are playing on a lot of the louder passages. Len really let them wail. Talk about a solid wall of sound!

I am definitely in the minority here, but No. 9 is my favorite!!! With No. 7 coming in second. I am also one of the people that likes them all.

13 shows off some marvelous vocal/choral chops - men's chorus has a lot of unison, but it was because he wanted his audience to understand every word of Yevtushenko's "in your face" text. The movement with the tuba solo is called "Fears." The tuba portrays the effect Stalin had on him. Scary as hell.

Does anyone have a Masur recording of 5? I'm pretty sure it's Masur who takes the last movement really slow, particularly the coda. It completely changes the effect of the piece - instead of triumphant celebration, it's brutal and threatening. And I think it's what Dmitri meant.

While we are talking CDs, I might as well mention this one. CSO playing sym. 5 in 2006 I recently bought the CSO recording of Bruckner 7 from the same "resound" series- the quality of performance is (of course) astounding, but the audio quality really sets it apart from most classical. This recording of Shostakovich 5 very high on my list of CDs to buy.

Symphony 7 on it was Arnold's last recording I think.

The most powerful brass playing I've ever heard is on the CSO/ Bernstein #7. Both Rex Martin and Jake are playing on a lot of the louder passages. Len really let them wail.

I thought that it was Pokorny and Vernon? The recording is from 1988... Or are there 2 CSO/Bernstein recordings?

I thought that it was Pokorny and Vernon? The recording is from 1988... Or are there 2 CSO/Bernstein recordings?

There's _1_ CSO/Bernstein recording of Shostakovich 7, and it was Jacobs. "Song & Wind" would tell us who tuba 2 was.

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