Ranking Shostakovich's "Long" Symphonies

[kyjo]

Definitely the Fourth is my preferred symphony amongst those five - a most singular and powerful work. I suppose I'd rank the Eighth next in my preferences although I must confess the last time I tried listening to it I couldn't get past that long, brooding first movement. I don't particularly care for the Seventh or Eleventh (both too long and bombastic IMHO), and whilst I acknowledge that the Thirteenth is a great work I don't particularly enjoy listening to it, save for the slightly more uplifting final movement. As I've probably made clear by now, Shostakovich is hardly a favorite composer of mine, though recently I did enjoy performing his iconic Fifth Symphony - that slow movement is undoubtedly a magnificently eloquent creation.

P.S. I'd say that perhaps my current favorite Shostakovich symphony is the oft-overlooked Sixth - something about its strange structure makes it rather endearing to me (an extended, dark opening Largo followed by two shorter, peppier movements). I somehow find the first movement more accessible than some of his other long slow movements, and I've always loved that toe-tapping finale ever since I was a young kid!

[Karl Henning]

Definitely the Fourth is my preferred symphony amongst those five - a most singular and powerful work. I suppose I'd rank the Eighth next in my preferences although I must confess the last time I tried listening to it I couldn't get past that long, brooding first movement. I don't particularly care for the Seventh or Eleventh (both too long and bombastic IMHO), and whilst I acknowledge that the Thirteenth is a great work I don't particularly enjoy listening to it, save for the slightly more uplifting final movement. As I've probably made clear by now, Shostakovich is hardly a favorite composer of mine, though recently I did enjoy performing his iconic Fifth Symphony - that slow movement is undoubtedly a magnificently eloquent creation.

P.S. I'd say that perhaps my current favorite Shostakovich symphony is the oft-overlooked Sixth - something about its strange structure makes it rather endearing to me (an extended, dark opening Largo followed by two shorter, peppier movements). I somehow find the first movement more accessible than some of his other long slow movements, and I've always loved that toe-tapping finale ever since I was a young kid!

Most interesting! My initial shyness towards the Eighth (long since overcome) was how that dotted figure in the first movement echoes the opening of the Fifth. The Sixth is brilliant, of course. 

[Daverz]

This is the correct answer   

Gratifying to finally get something correct for a change.

[foxandpeng]

Gratifying to finally get something correct for a change.

  

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Most interesting! My initial shyness towards the Eighth (long since overcome) was how that dotted figure in the first movement echoes the opening of the Fifth. The Sixth is brilliant, of course.

The whole first mvt. of the 8th sounds like an expanded and varied take on the first mvt. of the 5th. That doesn't bother me at all, but I do find the work as a whole quite heavy and emotionally draining, due to the 4 subsequent mvts. and the rather ambiguous finale.

[André]

I listened to 13 (and 15!) for the first time ever in the last 18 months or so, and both of them were truly highlight-of-the-year level discoveries. I'm torn a little, mentally. Obviously I could have been listening to both of them for the last 15-16 years and was missing out all that time. But it also feels like this is the right time of life to really appreciate the works' layers of meaning: the "humor," the parody, the trauma, the hard-fought weird inner peace...

Anyway, I'm packing 8 to blast at full volume in the car later this month, so I'll report back after my road trip jam session 

Don't wreck your car ! 😁

[Brian]

Don't wreck your car ! 😁

I'm also packing the Miraculous Mandarin so it could be dangerous!

[Spotted Horses]

In fact, I like them all very much, so a "ranking" for me is somewhere between Banana and Finesse. But for fun:

1. Fourth in c minor
2. Thirteenth, "Babi Yar"
3. Seventh, "Leningrad"
4. Eighth in c minor
5. Eleventh, "1905"

Notes: the Fourth is my very favorite among these. "Babi Yar" was an early love, one of the first of the symphonies (after the Fifth) that I got to know very well. I like the "Leningrad" better than the consensus, probably. All in all, though, my rankings third through fifth are pretty arbitrary (see " I like them all very much." above.)

My favorites are 6, 9, 10, 15, so in have to recuse myself.

[Karl Henning]

My favorites are 6, 9, 10, 15, so in have to recuse myself.

Those are choice favorites.