Top 5 Favorite Shostakovich Works

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

I haven't actually heard The Nose yet   
That'll be my task for today then?  The photos of it make it look the the greatest absurd opera ever 

I was tempted to put Orango in the list though, I like that one. As you could probably tell though, I'm not much of a Shosty fan but I generally like his darker/heavier works more (expectedly of me  )

Mmm well the nose is definitely one of the crazier pieces by him, I still don't understand what you mean by 'heavy' do you mean in terms of orchestration an emphasis on the bass instruments?

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

No, I mean as an aesthetic thing. Heaviness to me, is frequently an abrasive dissonance and often precise rhythmic syncopation. Which can often be works by anyone from Mussorgsky to Stravinsky/Bartok (even Webern) to Varese to Xenakis etc.

Shostakovich's 2nd and 4th symphonies in particular are quite "heavy" in areas 

Ah ok. Well I've never considered that to be 'heavy' before but I guess I do like that aesthetic from time to time.

[RebLem]

Here, I list them in the ascending order according to the size of the forces required for their performance, but the numbers in front of each represent their standing in my hierarchy of preferences.

5.  String Quartet 8
3.  String Quartet 15
1.  Piano Quintet
2.  Symphony 15
4.  Symphony 5

[TheGSMoeller]

Piano Concerto No.1
Symphony No.15
Viola Sonata
String Quartet No.8
Symphony No. 5

Cello Concerto No.1 could knock the 5th out of my list, it's just that I recently listened to the third mvt. Largo of the 5th and it gets me every time.

Almost 2 years later...still somewhat accurate. But Symphony 10 has to make its way in there now, really been spinning that piece quite a bit recently. I forget how good it is, and start to remember how enjoyable it is live, which was with Jarvi/Cincinnati SO about 8-9 years ago. 

[Karl Henning]

Almost 2 years later...still somewhat accurate. But Symphony 10 has to make its way in there now, really been spinning that piece quite a bit recently. I forget how good it is, and start to remember how enjoyable it is live, which was with Jarvi/Cincinnati SO about 8-9 years ago. 

Does my heart good to see more love for the e minor Symphony!

[ahinton]

Only five? Impossible!

OK, let's have a go.

Symphony No. 4 has to head the list

String Quartet No. 9 or would I prefer 13 or 12 or...

Violin Concerto No. 1

Symphony No. 10 I mean 13 or maybe 8 or perhaps 6 or alternatively 15 or even 1...

Nope; failed already!

Now had it been top five works by Alvin Curran, the opposite problem would arise, namely getting the list up as far as one...

[Karl Henning]

Only five? Impossible!

OK, let's have a go.

Symphony No. 4 has to head the list

String Quartet No. 9 or would I prefer 13 or 12 or...

Violin Concerto No. 1

Symphony No. 10 I mean 13 or maybe 8 or perhaps 6 or alternatively 15 or even 1...

Nope; failed already!

Now had it been top five works by Alvin Curran, the opposite problem would arise, namely getting the list up as far as one...

;^)

[Mirror Image]

Time to update my list I suppose.

In no particular order:

String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73
Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43
Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57
Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102

[FelixSkodi]

1. Piano Concertos 1 and 2 (Donohoe)
2. 24 Preludes and Fugues (Lin)
3. Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (plus other operas)
4. Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti
5. Symphony 11 (Rozhdestvensky)

[TheGSMoeller]

Piano Concerto No.1
Symphony No.15
Viola Sonata
String Quartet No.8
Symphony No. 5

Cello Concerto No.1 could knock the 5th out of my list, it's just that I recently listened to the third mvt. Largo of the 5th and it gets me every time.

Almost 2 years later...still somewhat accurate. But Symphony 10 has to make its way in there now, really been spinning that piece quite a bit recently. I forget how good it is, and start to remember how enjoyable it is live, which was with Jarvi/Cincinnati SO about 8-9 years ago. 

Another 3 years later...big change.
Could put Piano Trio #2 at the top, I can't stop listening to it.

And I can't fight it, I'm a symphony-guy so to complete the list I'll have to go with...
Symphony 4
Symphony 5
Symphony 10
Symphony 14
Symphony 15

oops that's six 

[amw]

Piano Trio No.2 (Shostakovich/Shirinsky/Tsyganov, alternately Shostakovich/Oistrakh/Sadlo or Gilels/Kogan/Rostropovich)
String Quartet No.13 (St. Petersburg Quartet, alternately Kremer/Zehetmair/Imai/Pergamenshchikov)
Symphony No.4 (Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra, alternately Kondrashin/Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra)
Symphony No.14 (Currentzis/Korpacheva/Migunov/MusicAeterna, alternately Kremer/Korpacheva/Kuznetsov/Kremerata Baltica)
Piano Sonata No.2 (Alexei Lubimov, alternately Melvin Chen)

hmmmm.

Waltz 2 from the Jazz Suite
Aphorisms / Piano Sonata No. 2
Piano Trio No. 2
String Quartet No. 13
Symphony No. 14 / Cello Concerto No. 1

best I can do right now

I evidently don't change much.

[Total Rafa]

5 + 1 favourites:

Symphony No. 4
Symphony No. 5
Symphony No. 15
Violin Concerto No. 1
Cello Concerto No. 1
String Quartet No. 10

[Madiel]

I'm going to give you:

Symphonies 10 and 13
String Quartets 5 and 12

And leave a slot to be haggled over. Even though I went through all the opuses with the help of streaming services, I really don't know many of them that well yet beyond the string quartets, a few of the symphonies and the op.87 preludes and fugues for piano.

Symphony No.9 might get the slot, but it would have to fight off quartets 3 and 4 at least..

Hmm. I own a lot more Shostakovich now, but some of the last haul hasn't even been listened to yet. I'm not sure how much the list would change. Those are still my favourite string quartets. But I know the symphonies a lot better now and Symphony No.9 might be the top of the pile.

And of course, given that I deliberately tripled my recordings of op.87, I think op.87 better get a slot.

Um... yeah, I still don't know. Though I did recently have my first really good listen to Piano Concerto No.2 and it was a total delight.

[vers la flamme]

Let's give it a shot:

Cello Concerto No.1
Piano Quintet
Symphony No.1
String Quartet No.8
Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District

All subject to change because the man wrote so many great works, but I'm OK with this list for now...

[relm1]

Does anyone love the ballets? 

[Mirror Image]

Does anyone love the ballets?

I really like The Golden Age. I do feel that his ballets' material could've worked better had they been condensed. I think they're too long.

[Biffo]

Does anyone love the ballets?

The Bolt is my favourite but only as a DVD, even then it goes on too long. There is an excellent production from the Bolshoi; it is very inventive and at times very funny but this still can't prevent the celebration of Soviet industry at the end from being too long.

I think the other ballets (and indeed The Bolt) are better heard as suites

[kyjo]

Shostakovich isn't a composer I listen to a ton these days, but I still have great affection for some of his works:

Cello Concerto no. 2
Cello Sonata
Piano Concerto no. 2
Symphony no. 4
The Execution of Stepan Razin

Bonus choice: Piano Quintet

[Symphonic Addict]

Shostakovich isn't a composer I listen to a ton these days, but I still have great affection for some of his works:

Cello Concerto no. 2
Cello Sonata
Piano Concerto no. 2
Symphony no. 4
The Execution of Stepan Razin

Bonus choice: Piano Quintet

I imagine you have heard the Kondrashin recording of The Execution of Stepan Razin, Kyle, haven't you? A shattering interpretation, the definitive recording IMO.

[André]

I imagine you have heard the Kondrashin recording of The Execution of Stepan Razin, Kyle, haven't you? A shattering interpretation, the definitive recording IMO.

+ 1, enthusiastically. One of those miraculous interpretations that appear every blue moon.