Shostakovich Symphonies

Syntharachnid wrote: I just bought Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony, and loved it!  Any suggestions as to what other Shostakovich Symphonies I should buy?

Good thing you discovered Shostakovich's symphonies. Be careful, they are extremely addictive... If you already own the 7th (my second choice) then I would suggest them in the following order:

8th - his best. Enough said.

11th - OK, don't get this if you like prog but hate prog metal...

5th - really touching: apparently a happy symphony (Stalin forced him to write such a symphony), but pay attention to what is under the surface...

4th - sad even at the surface...

Then: 10th, 6th, 12th... 13th to 15th are more difficult (but still great), 1st to 3rd are rather immature symphonies.

And finally, 9th: don't get this unless you are ready to listen to a completely different thing: it was supposed to be a hughe symphony to celebrate the victory at the end of WW2, but Shostakovich decided to write instead an extremely simple and irrelevant music... I guess Stalin was really crossed!

OK, happy trip!!

nacho wrote: 11th - OK, don't get this if you like prog but hate prog metal...

Just to clear something up before it gets out of hand, I don't hate prog metal, I just think that it is misused, for lack of a better word.  It should be analyzed and scrutinized to find out what's really going on.  Some people, however, just listen to it because it is loud and heavy.  (That's what Metallica is for.)  These people then go on to say that they dislike the very bands that inspired the prog metal bands, (ie. Rush, ELP) without which they wouldn't exist.

BTW, thanks for the Stostakovich help!  Much appreciated! 

Syntharachnid wrote: nacho wrote: 11th - OK, don't get this if you like prog but hate prog metal... Just to clear something up before it gets out of hand, I don't hate prog metal, I just think that it is misused, for lack of a better word.  It should be analyzed and scrutinized to find out what's really going on.  Some people, however, just listen to it because it is loud and heavy.  (That's what Metallica is for.)  These people then go on to say that they dislike the very bands that inspired the prog metal bands, (ie. Rush, ELP) without which they wouldn't exist. BTW, thanks for the Stostakovich help!  Much appreciated!

If this is what you want to do to music, then listen to Anthony Braxton, Gyorgi Ligeti or Conlon Nancarrow. I think they're a lot more complex then Shostakovich. Plenty of notes to analyse and scrutinise, and plenty of beauty to overlook while concentrating on the analysis and scrutiny (not unlike with some other genres and art in general...)  

Syntharachnid wrote: Manunkind wrote: If this is what you want to do to music, then listen to Anthony Braxton, Gyorgi Ligeti or Conlon Nancarrow. I think they're a lot more complex then Shostakovich. Plenty of notes to analyse and scrutinise, and plenty of beauty to overlook while concentrating on the analysis and scrutiny (not unlike with some other genres and art in general...)   Don't get the wrong idea!  I like to know what the musicians are doing, but I don't get too mathematical!  Music exsits to express emotions too complex to express in words.  Movies and books don't have as much of an emotional effect on me as music (except for Lord of the Rings!), and whenever I want to express an emotion, I turn on my digital piano.  I cry when I listen to Chopin (or Close to the Edge, for that matter), and I laugh when I hear Sabre Dance by Khatchaturian (I don't know why, but it has that effect on many people).  It's just that I'm facinated by the way the emotional side of music connects with the theoretical side. I agree with your views on art, BTW, and I have plenty of opinions like this myself.  Oh, and I will check out those composers!

Please do. They can be very heavy going, but as I've managed to prove to myself time and time again, they're all the more rewarding for that. 

Here's that very recording:

From my own collection.