Shostakovich symphonies: 5th or 10th?

[Madiel]

Just curious, after listening to both of them today (from the Petrenko series). We've got the facility to create polls, and it's about time I used it to satisfy my curiosity.

[Sergeant Rock]

D minor always beats E minor 

Seriously, I haven't fallen in love with the E minor's first movement, preventing a love for the whole piece.

Sarge

[Christo]

I like both, heard the Tenth live last year in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and it certainly is a piece that works well, live. Yet, I'd say that the sources of the Fifth run a little deeper.

[Karl Henning]

Much as I love the Fifth (and its cousin, the Eighth ) I am yet more mesmerized by the Op.93.

[North Star]

Much as I love the Fifth (and its cousin, the Eighth ) I am yet more mesmerized by the Op.93.

Agreed, and voted accordingly.

[Ken B]

I doubt this poll will be very close.

My own pick is 14, but of these two, 10 it is.

[Karl Henning]

I doubt this poll will be very close.

My own pick is 14, but of these two, 10 it is.

The Op.135 is a knockout, 'tis true.

[mc ukrneal]

No 10 doesn't hold my interest very much. I always find it a bit 'all over the place'. Some great bassoon work though.  5th it is.

[Cato]

Shostakovich never enthused me much back in my immature days  , until I heard this recording:

[asin]B000E0LBBI[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

The 10th without question, although the Largo in the 5th is one of Shostakovich's most beautiful utterances IMHO.

[Ken B]

Shostakovich never enthused me much back in my immature days  , until I heard this recording:

[asin]B000E0LBBI[/asin]

That's the one for sure.

[Madiel]

The 10th without question, although the Largo in the 5th is one of Shostakovich's most beautiful utterances IMHO.

Pretty much my own reaction.

[TheGSMoeller]

Love the 5th, but I see it as a good piece with some great moments. The 10th is consistent from bell to bell, feels like one large piece rather than 4 movements. I've seen them both performed live, and nothing gets you out of your seat like the racing juggernaut of an ending of the Op.93.

[Daverz]

The 5th is much shorter and has that wonderful Mahlerian Allegretto.  I think it's clearly a better entry point into the symphonies.  But only a great performance is going to rouse me to from an over familiar indifference to the much of it.  The 10th remains my favorite of the 15.

[Karl Henning]

... The 10th remains my favorite of the 15.

For me, about 45% of the time, the Tenth is my favorite of the symphonies.

The Fourth is my favorite of the symphonies about 45% of the time.

The remaining 10% of the time, my favorite is, the symphony I last listened to.

[Wanderer]

The 10th remains my favorite of the 15.

Same here and by a wide margin.

[Autumn Leaves]

I cant choose between these 2 - I hold them both in equal stead.

[vandermolen]

Pretty much my own reaction.

+1

[Heck148]

 Love them both, great symphonies...cannot choose one over the other....
for #5 - Bernstein/NYPO '59 is my favorite, with Previn/CSO a close contender. for #10, a lot of great ones - Stokowski/CSO live from '66 is my favorite, Mitropoulos, Solti and Mravinsky all made fine contributions...

I also love #s 1, 7, 8, 9...4, 6, 11, 15 are dynamite also...
14 is awesome, but I can't listen to the whole piece at once, too dark, too bleak...I like 13, also, but I'm not so familiar with it [yet]. #12 is unfocused, DS lost it in the middle somewhere.
#3 is very interesting, but like #2, it suffers from the Soviet propaganda blather of the finale...

[Androcles]

4 and 8 are probably my favourites. Of the two proposed, the 10th is my preferred choice. The Finale seems to be a very clever political statement to me. The 5th is undoubtedly clever too, but somehow the 10th speaks to me more.

13th very good too. I heard it live in Novosibirsk, Russia to celebrate the centenary of Shostakovich's birth. The Russian bases were fantastic. (They all spent about 30 minutes before the concert smoking in the bathroom of the concert hall - maybe this had something to do with it).