“I developed a bit of crush on Shostakovich when I was in my mid-teens. I think this is largely due to the Marxist phase I went through of loving all things Russian and revolutionary. That, and the LP I perma-borrowed from my Grumps of Dmitri’s Symphony No 12, dedicated to Lenin and subtitled ‘The Year of 1917’. . Dmitri didn’t have it easy, bless him. His 8th symphony was written in 1943 not long after he’d been attacked by the Soviet censors for his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and consequently toned things down a little after his ‘controversial’ 7th Symphony, nicknamed ‘Leningrad’ and very much expressing the futility of war. This work sees little dissonance (Stalin preferred pretty tunes) but is nonetheless very dark and dramatic. The first movement is a symphony in itself at over 26 minutes exploring several themes and emotional depths...” . FOR FULL REVIEW & PLAYLIST CLICK LINK IN PROFILE: https://randomrecordreview.wordpress.com/2019/06/20/1172-dmitri-shostakovich-symphony-no-8/ . #shostakovich #dmitrishostakovich #symphonyno8 @londonsymphonyorchestra #rostropovich #russianmusic #classicalmusic #cdreview #nowplaying #nowlistening #randomrecordreview https://www.instagram.com/p/By7DUixpuEk/?igshid=xq85awkx7ixe
