Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 2 'To October' and 15

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These two hugely contrasting symphonies come from the opposite ends of Shostakovich's life and career. The Second Symphony was written to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Bolshevik October Revolution. Its advanced idiom of experimental textures and abstract effects can perhaps be best described as organized musical chaos. The Fifteenth was Shostakovich's last symphony and is filled with remarkable contrasts, from the rollicking quotes from Rossini's William Tell Overture and eerie references to Wagner's Gotterdammerung and Tristan und Isolde, to the last and perhaps most imaginative of the composer's symphonic passacaglias.

'If anyone can make sense of these quirky works, it is Petrenko. His performances, the latest in a superb Shostakovich cycle with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, have all the bite, wit and finesse you could hope for'. Andrew Clark, Financial Times, April 28/29th 2012 ****

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