Dmitri's Dacha

[DavidW]

Much same as Sarge's;

Neither of you like the 10th symphony!?  One of the greatest symphonies of the 20th century!?!

[Mirror Image]

Neither of you like the 10th symphony!?  One of the greatest symphonies of the 20th century!?!

Why do you find this so strange? I personally love the 10th, but I think, to be honest, every Shostakvoich symphony is worth hearing and some many, many times over.

[Brian]

DavidW: but choosing only ten Shosty works is so hard!

Piano Concerto No.2

I'm glad someone else is showing a little love for this piece! It's so miniature and so light on the surface that it easily gets lost amid the profundity of the rest...

...that said, my current eight are...
Symphonies 6, 9, 10
String Quartet 8
Cello Concerto 1
Piano Concerto 2
24 Preludes and Fugues
Piano Quintet

I can't post a top ten yet because I have yet to hear many of the quartets, half the symphonies (still to go: 2-4, 8, 12-15), and Lady Macbeth, though I saw a scene of Lady on YouTube and thought it was astonishing.

[Mirror Image]

I can't post a top ten yet because I have yet to hear half the symphonies (still to go: 2-4, 8, 12-15)

Wow, you've got a lot of listening to do then. Symphony No. 8 is an astonishing work. This should be the next symphony you hear, Brian. But I warn you, it's quite ominus and brooding, but not without it's moments of radiant light. The first movement alone contains some of the most haunting music Shostakovich has ever written.

[DavidW]

DavidW: but choosing only ten Shosty works is so hard!

Yeah I'll try myself but I think my list will be rubbish because I don't really have all of his works firmly in mind:

1. Symphony 10
2. Symphony 8
3. Symphony 5
4. String Quartet 8
5. Piano Quintet
6. Viola Sonata
7. String Quartet 13
8. Violin Concerto 2
9. Jazz Suite 2
10. Cello Concerto 1

[DavidW]

Wow, you've got a lot of listening to do then. Symphony No. 8 is an astonishing work. This should be the next symphony you hear, Brian. But I warn you, it's quite ominus and brooding, but not without it's moments of radiant light. The first movement alone contains some of the most haunting music Shostakovich has ever written.

Awesome!  Good to find another symphony #8 lover.  It took me awhile to crack that nut but it became one of my favorite symphonies when I did.  I think Mravinsky got me into that.  I like it even more than the 5th!

[Mirror Image]

Awesome!  Good to find another symphony #8 lover.  It took me awhile to crack that nut but it became one of my favorite symphonies when I did.  I think Mravinsky got me into that.  I like it even more than the 5th!

Yeah, it's a great symphony. I'm trying to remember the first performance of the 8th I heard and I think it may have been either Barshai or Haitink. I can't remember, but back then it was a very difficult listen for me because of it's dark, repressed mood, but now I think it's one of the most brilliant symphonies I've heard. I guess it took listening to Pettersson's 7th and Berg's Three Pieces for Orchestra and Violin Concerto to come to fully appreciate it.

[Brian]

I like it even more than the 5th!

Hmm, I like 6, 9, and 10 more than the 5th!

I do have a complete cycle (Barshai) and V. Petrenko's 8th as well. I think I have Previn's 4th around, too.

[Mirror Image]

Hmm, I like 6, 9, and 10 more than the 5th!

I do have a complete cycle (Barshai) and V. Petrenko's 8th as well. I think I have Previn's 4th around, too.

What's taking you so long to listen to the 8th? My goodness man quit talking and start listening!!!

[PaulR]

Awesome!  Good to find another symphony #8 lover.  It took me awhile to crack that nut but it became one of my favorite symphonies when I did.  I think Mravinsky got me into that.  I like it even more than the 5th!

the 8th is consistently of the rotation of what is my second favorite Shostakovich statement

[DavidW]

the 8th is consistently of the rotation of what is my second favorite Shostakovich statement

Awesome!

[Sergeant Rock]

Neither of you like the 10th symphony!?  One of the greatest symphonies of the 20th century!?!

I like about 50% of it. Love the Allegro but the Moderato opening movement bores me to death. The last two movements have their moments but not enough to sway me. I have no trouble with your description of the symphony. After the Fifth, it's probably his most popular symphony. Even conductors who don't normally conduct much Shosty (like Karajan) have recorded it. The work is respected. It just happens to be one of those masterpieces that, for some reason, fails to hold my interest. I keep trying though. I have eight Tenths in my collection, including the newish Petrenko. Maybe one day it will click. I'll listen again this morning.

Awesome!  Good to find another symphony #8 lover.

I love it too. It was one of my picks in the symphony poll (4, 8, 9, 14, 15). It doesn't make my top ten here because there is so much more to Shostakovich. I'm fascinated, haunted by, actually, the music he wrote at the end of his life: the Violin and Viola Sonatas, the last quartets, the final symphonies.

Sarge

[Karl Henning]

DavidW: but choosing only ten Shosty works is so hard!

This.

[Sergeant Rock]

This.

True. It is much easier for me to pick, say, my two least favorite Shostakovich symphonies than pick two favorites.

Sarge

[Karl Henning]

. . . I think I have Previn's 4th around, too.

Mmm, with Chicago? That's a sentimental fave of mine.

[Karl Henning]

True. It is much easier for me to pick, say, my two least favorite Shostakovich symphonies than pick two favorites.

Again, you speak sooth, Sarge.

[Karl Henning]

I am astonied that the opening movement of the Tenth eludes you, Sarge! We can still be mates, of course . . . but I cain't figger it . . . .

[Sergeant Rock]

I am astonied that the opening movement of the Tenth eludes you, Sarge! We can still be mates, of course . . . but I cain't figger it . . . .

I can't figure it out either, Karl. I have no trouble with most other long, relatively slow Shostakovich movements. Why the Tenth eludes me, bores me for most of its length, is a puzzle. It did go better today. My mind wandered less than usual. Perhaps it's finally growing on me. As always, the end of the symphony had me grinning (in pleasure)...and not only because the symphony was finally over 

Sarge

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

I'm not sure if this has been asked, but what are your top 10 favorite works by Shosty?

Very likely it has been asked . Top 4:

1: Symphony No. 11 and No. 5, I cannot decide. Ending of mvmt. 1 of Sym. 5 is a fucking masterpiece.
3: Symphony No. 8
4: SQ8

... Symphony No. 10 ranking...somewhere... Not so extreme love for it like others...

[Karl Henning]

. . . Why the Tenth eludes me, bores me for most of its length, is a puzzle.

Please, tell me it's not the long-breathed clarinet solos! ; )