Your Four Favorite Shostakovich Symphonies

[BachQ]

1,2,3,12

[bhodges]

Maksim Dmitriyevich's account is closing the sale on this one for me, Tony!

Tony, Karl and others, I'm so happy to see 11 getting some love.  Listening on the radio in the mid-1980s, I was sold by a performance by (of all people) Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra!  (I still have an aircheck of it somewhere...)  I have no idea how that performance would stack up against ones I've heard since, but the St. Louis audience clearly loved it.

--Bruce

[david johnson]

One more, David. Come on , dude, go for it!

Sarge

ok, ok...#4.

[Michel]

5, 8, 15

Don't have a 4th - could live without the others.

[karlhenning]

You can live without "O Delvig! Delvig!" ? ? ?

[Bruckner is God]

The eight and fifteenth  followed by the forth and fifth.

[The new erato]

Really, Erato, I wasn't peeking over your shoulder as you wrote down your answers 

Sarge

Yes, really. Was going to comment on your immaculate sense of style!

[The new erato]

1,2,3,12

You serious?

Nr 1 is excellent, but the rest is commonly regarded as Communist agit-prop and among Shosty's weaker works. Would like to hear what yu like about them?

[Sergeant Rock]

ok, ok...#4.

Excellent choice, David! I knew you could do it 

Sarge

[not edward]

4, 14 and 15 are absolutely magnificent works.

The rest rank a step below in my estimation.

[Sergeant Rock]

Yes, really. Was going to comment on your immaculate sense of style!

Yes, my tailor frequently makes that comment too.

Sarge

[karlhenning]

Interesting that two votes have been cast each for the Second and Third (and yet, only one for the Ninth! — where's the outrage!? :-)

erato, I think those two early symphonies really have suffered in the general estimation.  As to the texts of the closing choruses, certainly Communist agit-prop describes them neatly.  But the music itself (including the choral writing) is colorful, creative, vigorous;  in short, it well repays the listening.

Are they 'weaker' works among the 15?  By scale they are certainly minor works, but even so they are displays of a prodigal musical intelligence.

[Sergeant Rock]

Interesting that two votes have been cast each for the Second and Third (and yet, only one for the Ninth! — where's the outrage!? :-)

If you'd let us have five choices I would have included the Ninth. So yes, to me it seems odd it's gotten so few votes. Come to think of it, the Ninth gets played more in my house than any other Shostakovich symphony.

Sarge

[beclemund]

10, 7, 14 and 15... tho' 4 and 9 get the same amount of play as at least three of those... The 10th seems to always be near the top of my iTunes playlist... it's too bad that I can't find a good cover scan of Janson's 10th on the web tho' as the image on the album cover browser is not very pretty and I'm too lazy to dig the CD out of its hiding place to scan it myself.

[quintett op.57]

10 is one of my favourite 3 symphonies.

I'm so glad I could hear it live conducted by Rostropovich last january.

[George]

I'm holding my votes until I've heard my Kondrashin, though I suspect it will be 5, 10, 11 and....

[BachQ]

You serious?

Nr 1 is excellent, but the rest is commonly regarded as Communist agit-prop and among Shosty's weaker works. Would like to hear what yu like about them?

Thank you for noticing . . . . . . Those are, actually, my least favorite!       

[karlhenning]

Thank you for noticing . . . . . . Those are, actually, my least favorite!       

The First, one of your least favorite? 

[dtwilbanks]

I don't think I know four well enough to vote.  I know 5 and 9 pretty well.

[George]

I don't think I know four well enough to vote.  I know 5 and 9 pretty well.

This is the boat that I am currently in, but I'm looking to transfer.