Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60 'Leningrad'

Three weeks after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Shostakovich volunteered with the Home Guard in Leningrad. As the siege of the city intensified, he worked on his Seventh Symphony, completing three movements before being forced to leave Leningrad and travel east by train. The work was completed in December that year. Initially he gave each movement a programmatic title, but later withdrew them, leaving this epic work as an emblem of heroic defiance in the face of conflict and crisis: ‘I dedicate my Seventh Symphony to our struggle against fascism, to our coming victory over the enemy, to my native city, Leningrad.’ Shostakovich’s epic Seventh Symphony is a study in defiance and survival, written largely in the ruins of the besieged city in 1941. Its reputation has fluctuated over the years, with its immediate post war reputation largely low. But in recent years it has taken its rightful place in Shostakovich’s symphonic canon. As one of the Twentieth Century’s most recorded symphonists, the composer has been the subject of many recordings.

The award-winning Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is the UK’s oldest continuing professional symphony orchestra, dating from 1840. The dynamic young Russian, Vasily Petrenko was appointed Principal Conductor of the orchestra in September 2006 and in September 2009 became Chief Conductor.

Valery Gergiev continues his Shostakovich symphony cycle with an emotionally-charged performance of the Seventh Symphony. Shostakovich dedicated his Symphony No 7 to the defiance shown by the citizens of Leningrad in the face of Nazi totalitarianism. Despite the widespread reassessment that has since taken place regarding the inspirations for his symphonies, the ‘Leningrad’ symphony remains a highly-potent symbol for the residents of modern-day St Petersburg.

Previous releases in Gergiev’s Shostakovich cycle have included Symphonies Nos 1 & 15, 2 & 11 and 3 & 10. Between them they have received two Grammy Award nominations, as well as Chocs from Classica (France) and Editor’s Choices from Gramophone.

Gergiev will conduct Shostakovich symphonies with the Rotterdam Philharmonic in December, and complete the Brahms & Szymanowsky cycles with the LSO in London. In January the Mariinsky orchestra will perform a number of Shostakovich symphonies with Gergiev in France and in February they return to Russia for performances of Shchedrin’s 'Dead Souls' and Strauss’ 'Elektra'.

Andris Nelsons has been familiar with the Russian and, more especially, the Soviet musical tradition practically since he began his training as a conductor – after all, he studied in St Petersburg with Alexander Titov and also with Mariss Jansons. His journey to Shostakovich and the Russian composer’s Seventh Symphony, which he recently conducted to great acclaim at the BBC Proms with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, is one that makes perfect sense in this context. Shostakovich’s symphonies continue to be at the mercy of commentators eager to find historical and political encodings in them, and yet a work like the 'Leningrad' Symphony has a universality for which the term 'war symphony' is wholly inadequate. The almost idyllic opening of the first movement and the disruption of that mood by the sudden irruption of a series of timpani rolls, together with the themes associated with a military attack, remain etched in the memory in spite of the final frenzy bound up with the idea of victory. The tradition of Shostakovich’s great Russian predecessors, especially Mussorgsky, enabled him to lend his voice to the tormented soul of a nation above and beyond all ideological divisions. It was passages like these that led to the rapid worldwide dissemination of this work once the microfilmed score had reached the United States after an adventurous journey via the Middle East. A new chapter in this exciting performance history of the symphony has now been written by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under its music director, Andris Nelsons, with a thrilling reading notable for its musical focus and depth and, not least, for its contrasts between rhythmic power and lyrical tenderness. The monumentality of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony emerges to particularly moving effect in a performance in which garish primary colours are banished in favour of balance.

Gennady Rozhdestvensky conducts this performance of Shostakovich’s fantastic 7th Symphony, The Lenningrad.

The St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra’s second disc with Signum taps into the core of their Russian heritage. Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony was composed and dedicated to the city of Leningrad (now St Petersburg), and although officially a response to the German invasion of 1941 it has been accepted by listeners around the world as a universal response of resistance to totalitarianism. Led by their musical director and chief conductor Yuri Temirkanov, the orchestra brings this sense of union and defiance to life in an exhilarating live performace. These new recordings have been made possible thanks to the recent refurbishment of their home concert venue, the Grand Philharmonic Hall, allowing many of us to hear for the first time the excitement of the Philharmonic’s performances in their resident city of St Petersburg.

"The orchestra moved like a single unit, swelling and surging, natural rubato raising tension, pacing and placing impeccably judged.” The Independent