Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9

Resonance Ensemble conducted by Tony Ryan
Performed and Recorded on 17 September 2023 at The Piano, Christchurch, New Zealand
The work has five movements, the last three played without a break:
I. Allegro – 00:00
II. Moderato – 05:40
III. Presto – 13:29
IV. Largo – 16:42
V. Allegretto – 20:24
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In the spring of 1945, as the Soviet army pushed into Germany, Shostakovich told the press at home that he was working on "a symphony of victory with a song of praise." He dropped broad hints that it would be a choral symphony, but that he did not wish to invite comparison with any other choral ninth symphony. There were other politically orthodox pronouncements attributed to him about how it was time to compose works closely linked with popular struggle. His Seventh and Eighth Symphonies had been monumental works, and the USSR expected the Ninth to be an even bigger monument. What Shostakovich finished in August 1945 was thus a surprise to everyone, a disappointment for many, and a puzzle for others. It was short; there are single movements in the Fourth, Seventh, and Eighth Symphonies that are longer than the entire Ninth. It was small in scale and full of humour instead of heroism. Shostakovich said, "Musicians will love to play it and critics will delight in blasting it." He didn't know the half of it.
The Ninth is sometimes called Shostakovich's classical symphony because of its brevity, form, and frequent chamber character.