SHOSTAKOVICH: THE COMPLETE SYMPHONIES - ROSTROPOVICH (12 CDS)

Composed over a period of nearly 50 years, Dmitri Shostakovich’s 15 symphonies are astonishingly diverse in conception and expression, reflecting the composer’s personal experiences, the history of the 20th century and the tensions and struggles of an artist under the Soviet regime. These recordings fulfill a promise that Mstislav Rostropovich made to the composer, a close and long-standing friend, before he left Russia as an exile in 1974. “These symphonies mark fifteen stages in our lives,” he said. “The emotional history of our country, my history, his history, our history.”

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 2 in B major, Op. 14 'To October'
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 20 'The First of May'
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 54
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60 'Leningrad'
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103 'The year 1905'
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 12 in D minor, Op. 112 'The Year 1917'
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 in B flat minor, Op. 113 'Babi Yar'
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 in G minor, Op. 135
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15 in A major, Op. 141