Mark Wigglesworth, the conductor on this album, won the Kondrashin Conducting Competition in the Netherlands in 1989 and has since worked with many major orchestras worldwide.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Shostakovich felt a moral responsibility to speak the truth through his music, a common trait among Russian artists.
Composer Biography
Dmitri Shostakovich, born in 1906, was a child prodigy who started piano lessons at eight and wrote a Pushkin-inspired opera by age nine.
Composer Biography
After the 1917 Revolution, Shostakovich's middle-class background became a disadvantage, and he worked as a silent-movie pianist to support his family after his father's death.
Recording & Production
This Hybrid SACD recording can be played in Stereo (CD and SACD) and in 5.0 Surround sound (SACD), aiming to reproduce the natural sound of a concert venue.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Shostakovich's compositions often featured a 'juddering juxtaposition' of light-hearted and profound elements, reflecting a personality trait that stayed with him throughout his life.
Compositional Technique
Shostakovich's Symphony No. 15 is highly autobiographical, quoting or evoking atmospheres from all his previous symphonies, as well as works by other composers like Beethoven, Rossini, Glinka, and Wagner.
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