This is an interesting concept: a set of recordings of Shostakovich's wartime symphonies.The result: well worth the effort.
The listener is treated to the little-performed Fourth Symphony; Shostakovich was beginning to develop his own style, and this is something of a bridge between his first three symphonies and the Fifth.
There are many recordings of the Fifth and Seventh, and these stand with the best of them.
The Eighth is a personal favorite of mine. Very heavy music, but also very, very good.
The Ninth is a lighter work; Shostakovich also feared comparisons with Beethoven's Ninth, so he took a safe way out.
Patrick Jost
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