Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10

Shostakovich's 10th Symphony encompasses the artist's confrontation with Stalin and the Stalin years, although experts disagree on how this may be interpreted. Dmitri Shostakovich also suffered under the reprisals of Stalin's terror regime. He had been accused of formalism since 1936; for this reason, he had to withdraw his 4th Symphony. After the humiliations during the "anti-formalist" purges of 1948, during which he was stripped of his teaching positions, Shostakovich withdrew. Immediately after Stalin's death on March 5, 1953, he was able to bring out a considerable number of serious works from his desk drawers, which were either awaiting their premiere or rehabilitation. His 10th Symphony was premiered in 1953. It was his first symphonic work since 1945. For Mariss Jansons, Shostakovich is considered one of the most serious and sincere composers of all. The 15 symphonies in particular move and captivate the conductor. His music is like almost no other a devastating contemporary witness to a politically dark era and at the same time a timeless expression of existential human feelings and experiences. Within 17 years, Jansons recorded all the symphonies – each with the orchestra with which he was artistically associated at the time, six of them with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The cycle was completed in 2006, just in time for the composer's 100th birthday. The recording of the 13th Symphony was awarded a GRAMMY Award in the category "Best Orchestral Performance".