Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra & Vasily Petrenko - Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7, Leningrad (2012/2015) [Hi-Res]

Three weeks after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Shostakovich volunteered with the Home Guard in Leningrad. As the siege of the city intensified, he worked on his Seventh Symphony, completing three movements before being forced to leave Leningrad and travel east by train. The work was completed in December that year. Initially he gave each movement a programmatic title, but later withdrew them, leaving this epic work as an emblem of heroic defiance in the face of conflict and crisis: ‘I dedicate my Seventh Symphony to our struggle against fascism, to our coming victory over the enemy, to my native city, Leningrad.’

„Great performances of this massive symphony aren’t exactly thick on the field, but my goodness, this is one of them. Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic play with 100 percent commitment in every single bar. …Petrenko and his strings take such care to characterize even simple accompaniments helps us to understand just why this performance is so compelling. Petrenko’s Shostakovich cycle already is one of the best out there, but this release really puts the seal on his achievement. This is absolutely essential, and as I said, it’s exceptionally well recorded to boot.“ (David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com)

„Petrenko and the RLPO’s recording of Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony stands apart as a treasurable, terrific affirmation of a towering masterpiece… The Royal Liverpool Phil’s cycle of Shostakovich symphonies stands apart from all previous recordings for its edginess and its youth. [Vasily Petrenko] performs the ‘Leningrad’ Symphony not as a relic of an historic event but as a work of music that demands objective interpretation in a different century. The ear is struck immediately by his refusal to overplay textural excesses. The atmosphere is quieter, less ominous than we’re used to. Flutes and clarinets are reduced to a whisper and strings to a hushed susurrus. When the climaxes explode, they do so with total shock and desperation. Between extremes, the conductor maintains an even emotional keel, avoiding the risk of melodrama that Bartók so wickedly caricatured in his Concerto for Orchestra. Petrenko puts his mind to saving the symphony from itself.“ (Norman Lebrecht, Sinfini Music)

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, conductor

Recorded at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, England, from 1st to 3rd June, 2012
Produced and edited by Andrew Walton
Engineered by Mike Clements
2xHD Mastering by René Laflamme

Digitally remastered