The performance of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47, heard here was recorded in 2013 but not released until 2017. Kudos to whoever kept applying the pressure, for it's an excellent contribution to the Shostakovich discography, even in the face of all the other versions of this work on the market. The booklet contains notes, apparently by Pittsburgh Symphony conductor Manfred Honeck himself; they needed a once-over from an editor or proofreader, but they offer insight into Honeck's approach to the work. The ...
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The performance of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47, heard here was recorded in 2013 but not released until 2017. Kudos to whoever kept applying the pressure, for it's an excellent contribution to the Shostakovich discography, even in the face of all the other versions of this work on the market. The booklet contains notes, apparently by Pittsburgh Symphony conductor Manfred Honeck himself; they needed a once-over from an editor or proofreader, but they offer insight into Honeck's approach to the work. The Symphony No. 5, entitled "A Soviet Artist's Response to Justified Criticism," was written after the composer's earlier, more progressive style was denounced by Soviet cultural apparatchiks. Plenty of pixels have been devoted to explicating the composer's state of mind in this situation, and how it was reflected in the music, but Honeck simplifies the issue somewhat: he points out that the natural place to turn for Shostakovich in this situation was to the music of Mahler, whose works...
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