The 4th Symphony of Dmitri Shostakovich is mostly known for being the one that he withdrew from rehearsal on the occasion of his being denounced in Pravda in 1936. Instead he wrote the more-accessible Symphony No. 5 which was intended to get him back in Stalin's favor--it seems to have worked.
But the Symphony No. 4 is a very interesting work in itself and it has one of the most original (and apocalyptic) introductions ever. This clip with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony just popped up on YouTube, so have a listen. It's not showing in Blogger search yet, so just follow the link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzmcnMrRHR4
Later on in the first movement there is a section that sounds like Tchaikovsky on acid...yeah, now you have to listen!
2 comments:
An extremely difficult symphony to hold together. Surprisingly to me it's the initial recordings by Kondrashin and Ormandy that succeed the best while the later ones are also-rans.
I haven't really analyzed it, but just from listening the first movement has a very complex structure both motivically and emotionally.
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