Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10; Balakirev: Islamey (Live At T

Shostakovich’s Symphony No.10, written in 1953, is regarded by many as his greatest work. The composer said of it, ‘I wrote it right after Stalin’s death and no one has yet guessed what the symphony is about. It’s about Stalin and the Stalin years. The short filler is a performance of Balakirev’s Islamey, who recorded the entire cycle of the composer’s symphonies with the Moscow Philharmonic. (ICA Classics)