Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony is the most representative of his symphonies, for those who wish to later explore the full monument constituted by the complete opus. It contains the full range of the composer’s emotional palette, allowing us to hear bitterness, anguish, parodic grimaces, despairing meditation, rumblings of revolt, and bursts of defiance. It is also entirely permeated by the conflicts experienced by Shostakovich, who was forced by Stalinist power to reorient his aesthetic concerns.

It was to Mravinsky that Shostakovich entrusted the premiere of the Fifth. The head of the Leningrad Philharmonic always remained at the forefront in this repertoire. From the outset, one is struck by the crushing weight of tension, the surgical precision of the attacks and articulation, the absolute clarity of the orchestral texture, the perfect coherence of the architecture linking the four movements, and finally, the tragic grandeur of the sound.

This recording, captured during a live concert in Vienna, benefits from an all-new remastering that naturally enhances the vivid atmosphere unique to a live performance.