Shostakovich, Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70 with an introductory essay by Leonard Bernstein

Recorded live at the Musikverein in Vienna in 1985, this concert features
not only Shostakovich's Ninth Symphony performed by the Vienna
Philharmonic, but also an introductory essay by Leonard Bernstein. With
respect to Shostakovich's position as one of the few composers after
Beethoven to reach a "ninth" symphony, Bernstein says: "The mystique of the
number nine exerted itself in an odd way, so typical of Shostakovich: he
didn't avoid writing one out of either humility or superstition; he simply
wrote the least predictable and most surprising Ninth there is - short,
hilarious, circusy - an all-out fiesta, gleefully proclaiming 'Hurray: the
war is over!' In short, Shostakovich thumbed his nose at the great
tradition of Ninths - although he was perfectly capable of writing colossal
symphonies, as we know from the 7th and 8th that had preceded them. But he
was a great nose-thumber; it has even been suggested that he was thumbing
it at Stalin himself."

Composer:	Dmitri Shostakovich
Title:	Shostakovich, Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70 with an introductory essay by Leonard Bernstein
Conductor:	Leonard Bernstein
Orchestra:	Wiener Philharmoniker
Video Director:	Humphrey Burton
Genre:	Concert
Length:	51 minutes
Cat.No.:	A05500479