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Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 - Noseda

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 - Noseda

LSO Live  LSO0832

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Orchestral


Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4

London Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)


Shostakovich at one point thought his Fourth Symphony was the best thing he’d ever written. Extravagant and challenging in equal measure, it’s a work of epic proportions, requiring over 100 musicians including large percussion and brass sections. Owing to Soviet censure, the work went unperformed for almost 30 years after it was completed, until in 1961 it was revealed as one of the significant milestones of the composer’s output, the work that solidified him as a master symphonist.

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Comment by Dissonance - March 9, 2020 (1 of 5)

The next installment to this series is already available for pre-order on Presto Classical:

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 5
London Symphony Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)
LSO Live (LSO0802)
Total time: 81'56"

DSD recording
- Recorded live in DSD 128fs on 22 September 2016 (Symphony No. 5) and in DSD 256fs on 27-28 March 2019 (Symphony No. 1) at the Barbican, London, United Kingdom
- Recording producer & editor: Nicholas Parker
- Recording, editing and mastering facilities: Classic Sound Ltd
- Engineering, audio editing, mixing and mastering: Jonathan Stokes (Classic Sound Ltd)
- Engineering, audio editing and mixing: Neil Hutchinson (Classic Sound Ltd)

Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd

Comment by Adrian Quanjer - March 14, 2020 (2 of 5)

Apart from the fact that the comment section is for leaving comments on the recording listed, it strikes me as odd that you have detailed (inside?) information that is not available on the site of Presto Classics.

Comment by Dissonance - March 14, 2020 (3 of 5)

The recording details (data) are from the booklet available for viewing online. Once the album above has been submitted here the comment above becomes irrelevant, I am aware of that. However, as the forthcoming album to be a continuation to the series, the comment above has connection to the albums already submitted here.

Comment by hiredfox - April 5, 2020 (4 of 5)

Information about the new disc is also on the LSO Live website.

Comment by hiredfox - April 5, 2020 (5 of 5)

Written in 1936 but not actually performed until 1961 because of Soviet suppression of his music, the composer considered this to be one of his better works at the time of its premier when it received rapturous acclaim. It is a revelatory work heralding the musical language that became the hallmark of the composers oeuvre with which we have become most familiar.

The LSO under Noseda give a crisp, articulate and studied account of the work with excellent solo contributions upon which much of the early movements are built. The uncompressed dynamic range of the recording is lifelike aided by an inky black background that allows listeners to hear the solo woodwind parts clearly even at the low levels at which they were recorded to allow the final movement crescendo to expand fully. Some will argue that the quiet parts are too quiet and the crescendo too loud especially if their systems have some inherent background noise but on a reasonably good system it will present few problems.

I compared this performance with that of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's (2008) under Haitink (RBCD) which is my personal favourite. This account is less expressive, dramatic or well integrated than Haitink's but the excellence of the solo parts in particular of this new recording demand attention. Overall it is a worthy addition to the SACD catalogue even if not good enough to challenge as a front runner in a crowded field.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUOYapWCXa8

This was sadly the tipping point of the short lived CSO Resound (own label) SACD series. Although recorded in high def the 4th was released only as a RBCD despite the best efforts of contributors to SA-CD.net to persuade them otherwise. The CSO performance of the symphony at the RAH, London in Sept 2008 during the BBC Proms was spell binding and held long in the memory.