Vasily Petrenko, the conductor on this album, was born and educated in St Petersburg and was named Young Artist of the Year at the annual Gramophone Awards in October 2007.
Compositional Technique
Shostakovich's Eighth Symphony features an unusual structure, including a refined sonata-form in the first movement, two contrasting scherzos, and his first orchestral passacaglia in the fourth movement.
Composer Biography
Dmitry Shostakovich, the composer of Symphony No. 8, is one of the most frequently performed symphonists, with his works representing 'modern' music to many concert-goers.
Performer Biography
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, featured on this recording, is Britain's oldest surviving professional symphony orchestra and was the first in Great Britain to launch its own recording label, RLPO Live.
Composition History
Shostakovich began composing his Eighth Symphony in early July 1943 at a composers' retreat near Ivanovo, completing it by September 9th of the same year.
Notable Performances
The premiere of Shostakovich's Eighth Symphony was given by Yevgeny Mravinsky, to whom the piece was dedicated, with the USSR State Symphony Orchestra at the Moscow Conservatory on November 4th, 1943.
Critical Reception
The initial reception of Shostakovich's Eighth Symphony was equivocal, with some critics finding its tragic and fatalistic music unsuitable for the war effort, leading to it being proscribed in 1948.
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