Shostakovich Symphony No 8 album review
Frankfurt Radio Symphony/Altinoglu(Alpha)Conductor Alain Altinoglu brings weight and purpose while the instrumental solos are piquant and precise.
TL;DR
- Shostakovich's Eighth Symphony is presented as his personal response to WWII.
- Alain Altinoglu's interpretation with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony is described as purposeful and immediate.
- The Adagio movement is noted for its remarkable colors and the conductor's handling of its bleakness.
- The performance captures the symphony's horrors with fearsome weight and wide-eyed terror.
- Instrumental solos are praised as piquant and precise.
- The recording's production is outstanding, capturing resonant details.
- The second and third movements depict the Nazi war machine and battlefield with terror and dark humor.
- The passacaglia surveys previous themes, leading to a cynical yet compassionate finale.
- This recording is part of an important series, following persuasive accounts of the fourth and fifth symphonies.