Shostakovich’s blisteringly tragic Eighth Symphony, written in the midst of World War II, is regarded as his “Guernica,” a powerful examination of the horror of war. Initially censured by the Soviet authorities, it is now honored as one of Shostakovich’s most dramatic and moving compositions. Yevgeny Mravinsky, to whom the work is dedicated, first premiered the work in 1943 and in this legendary recording from late in the legendary Soviet maestro's career, now issued with correction to pitch errors that plagued previous international releases, presents this masterpiece with a ferocity that was later praised by Gramophone.
Shostakovich: Symphony No.8 Featured
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Mravinsky's live recording of the Eighth is of capital importance, since it was he who gave the work its premiere… It is a performance of extraordinary vehemence and power, vivid contrast and bitter intensity. The curdled woodwind dissonances and huge climaxes of the first movement are given a shocking force not simply by sheer volume but by… playing at the very limit of their powers: it is not often these days that we hear a clarinet or an oboe played so loudly… The fact this is a concert performance increases one's respect for the risks taken: to expect trombones to play staccato at the furious tempo Mravinsky chooses… is really living dangerously, but they respond superbly, as do the belligerently precise trumpets… [It is] a performance which sees clearly that the real burden of emotion here lies in the strings… For a recapturing of the appalling shock this work must have caused (the Russians were expecting a "Victory Symphony”), Mravinsky's account demands to be heard: the Leningrad audience is struck dumb by it.
— Gramophone
Absolutely ferocious recording of Shostakovich's symphony on the tragedy of war
Shostakovich: Symphony No.8
Leningrad Philharmonic / Yevgeny Mravinsky
Alto ALC-1150
Number of Units: 1 CD
EAN: 5055354411502
| CD 1 | |||
| 1 | Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 65 | I. Adagio | 06:21 |
| 2 | Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 65 | II. Allegretto | 06:21 |
| 3 | Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 65 | III. Allegretto ma non troppo | 06:25 |
| 4 | Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 65 | IV. Largo | 09:51 |
| 5 | Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 65 | V. Allegretto | 13:18 |
