This Chandos recording uses 24-bit / 96 kHz technology, which provides a dynamic range up to 48 dB greater and 256 times the resolution of standard 16-bit recordings.
Compositional Technique
In his Symphony No. 2, Shostakovich included the idea of introducing factory hooters into the score, optionally performable by unison brass.
Composition History
Shostakovich's Symphony No. 2, 'Dedication to October', was commissioned by the Propaganda Department of the State Music Publishing House to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution.
Critical Reception
Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 received a sensational premiere in 1937, with audience members openly weeping and a thunderous ovation lasting half an hour.
Historical Context
The premiere of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 occurred during Stalin's Great Terror, after the composer had been publicly denounced by the Pravda editorial 'A Muddle instead of Music'.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Shostakovich referred to his Symphony No. 5 as 'A Soviet artist's practical creative reply to just criticism', a phrase he may have coined to ensure his rehabilitation.
Composer Biography
Dmitri Shostakovich, the composer, experienced a crisis of confidence after the premiere of his First Symphony, leading him to burn several manuscripts.
