Masterworks

Shostakovich Fifth Symphony (1x4)

Ausstrahlung: Feb 09, 2002

Presenter Michael Berkeley concludes the series exploring landmark 20th-century orchestral works with an examination of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony: a Soviet Artist's Reply to Just Criticism. Written in the shadow of official criticism of his latest opera, and at the peak of Stalin's purges, this piece re-established Shostakovich as an ideologically sound Soviet composer, and remains one of the most popular of all 20th-century symphonies. Russian conductor Valery Gergiev leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a performance of the work.