Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 15
London Symphony Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda
Odd as it may be to start with 15, I wouldn’t recommend facing both at a single setting: each needs mental and emotional space to digest. It ’s certainly true that the swansong is more truly...
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 15
London Symphony Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda
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Odd as it may be to start with 15, I wouldn’t recommend facing both at a single setting: each needs mental and emotional space to digest. It ’s certainly true that the swansong is more truly...
About
In a continuation of his symphony cycle with the London Symphony Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda conducts two curious and contrasting symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich - the Sixth and Fifteenth.
Following the success of his Fifth Symphony, all eyes were on Shostakovich to create a work that would measure up to its predecessor. The Sixth was originally intended as an immense musical monument to Lenin, to be woven with heroic melodies and folk songs. Instead, his audiences were surprised to hear a quite different result - a contemplative, restrained first movement that morphs puzzlingly into a ferocious ending.
The Fifteenth is another of Shostakovich’s musical enigmas, with inexplicable quotes from music by Rossini, Glinka and Wagner dotted throughout, alongside references to his own music from his younger years. Written in 1970-71 when the composer’s health was declining, this final symphony is one of fond reflection.
Together these unconventional works showcase Shostakovich’s range as a composer - from wild exuberance to quiet introspection.
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Awards and reviews
August 2023
Odd as it may be to start with 15, I wouldn’t recommend facing both at a single setting: each needs mental and emotional space to digest. It ’s certainly true that the swansong is more truly a showcase, in one sense, for some of the world’s best orchestral principals...Noseda is careful to cross every t without ever losing sight of atmosphere and long-term vision.
Nov/Dec 2023
Noseda and company deliver an excellent performance of the Sixth Symphony. The dynamic shadings in the lengthy first movement are expertly done so as to keep the four-note motif and the sparse orchestration from getting stale. There are times where the music nearly dies away, yet Noseda keeps it palpable...fine performances in fine sound. Recommended.
