The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is Britain's oldest surviving professional symphony orchestra, established in 1840.
Composition History
The Third Symphony, 'The First of May', was composed by Shostakovich during a six-week cruise along the Black Sea coast in the summer of 1929.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The Third Symphony, 'The First of May', was part of an intended symphonic cycle by Shostakovich inspired by dates on the revolutionary calendar, which was later abandoned.
Performer Biography
Vasily Petrenko, the conductor on this album, was appointed Principal Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006 and became Chief Conductor in 2009.
Composer Biography
Dmitry Shostakovich, the composer, destroyed almost all of his early works in 1927, though a few piano pieces and orchestral works from his youth have re-emerged.
Compositional Technique
In his Third Symphony, Shostakovich aimed to create a work where no single theme was repeated, successfully avoiding exact or literal repetition of any melodic idea.
Composition History
Shostakovich's First Symphony was a graduation work from the Leningrad Conservatoire, which brought the teenage composer international recognition.
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Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos.5 & 9
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D minor, op. 47; Symphony No. 9 in E-flat major, op. 70
