Bulgarian label, Gega New, continue their ongoing series of Shostakovich Symphonies with Volume 7 featuring No. 9 in E flat Major, Op. 70 and No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93.
These are very contrasing works. Stalin hated No. 9, premiered in 1945, as he was expecting a great heroic piece (complete with chorus) to mark the end of the war. Instead, Shostakovich put forward an ironic chamber symphony in five movements, that plays - in this recording - for just over 25 minutes.
Symphony No. 10, premiered in December 1953, by which time Stalin had gone, and the full force of Shostakovich's feelings became manifest in one of his greatest works. Its raging second movement Scherzo is said to be a musical portrtait of Stalin.
Hi-Fi lovers will be in their element with these floor-shaking recordings, superbly played by the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Emil Tabakov.
