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):
• 1I. Moderato18:01
• 2II. Allegretto05:12
• 3III. Largo15:34
• 4IV. Allegro non troppo12:50
• Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70 (1945):
• 5I. Allegro05:25
• 6II. Moderato08:47
• 7III. Presto -02:39
• 8IV. Largo -03:33
• 9V. Allegretto06:06
• Total Runtime01:18:07

Info zu 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

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
The award-winning Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is the oldest continuing professional symphony orchestra in Britain, dating from 1840. Vasily Petrenko was appointed principal conductor of the orchestra in September 2006 and in September 2009 became chief conductor. The orchestra gives over sixty concerts each season in Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and tours widely throughout the United Kingdom and internationally, touring to China, Japan, Switzerland, France, Spain, Germany, Romania and the Czech Republic. World première performances have included major works by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Sir John Tavener, Sir James MacMillan, Karl Jenkins, Stewart Copeland, Michael Nyman, Michael Torke, Nico Muhly and James Horner, alongside works by Liverpool-born and North West-based composers. Recent additions with Vasily Petrenko to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s extensive and critically acclaimed recording catalogue include Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony [Naxos 8.570568] (2009 Gramophone Awards Orchestral Recording of the Year), the world première performance of Sir John Tavener’s Requiem, a complete Shostakovich symphony cycle (the recording of Symphony No. 10 [Naxos 8.572461] was the 2011 Gramophone Awards Orchestral Recording of the Year), Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances, Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 and Piano Concertos Nos. 1–4 and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (with Simon Trpčeski), Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (also with Trpčeski), Elgar’s Symphony No. 1 and Cockaigne Overture; and Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 and 5.

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