Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5

Shostakovich rails against Soviet oppression throughout the Fifth Symphony—his most thrilling, stark, and uncompromising of all. Gianandrea Noseda teases out every last extraordinary detail, the London Symphony Orchestra navigating the first movement’s quick-changing moods with startling precision and brass playing of astonishing dexterity, from the angry opening strings to its manic march and weeping violin solo. The grim, brooding Largo is performed with breathtaking clarity and textural richness, while the final minutes of the epic, bombastic finale have rarely been played with such excoriating, visceral energy.