All About 1905, Or Is It ?

Another live recording ( although there is no evidence of an audience on the disk ) from the LSO live label featuring the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich performing Shostakovich's Symphony No 11, The Year 1905. This is an atmospheric symphony recounting the events surrounding the first Russian Revolution of 1905 when unarmed protesters were gunned down in St Petersburg. It was praised by the Soviet authorities at the premiers in 1957 for its' "social realism" but as ever with Shostakovich, there has been a reevaluation and it is now seen as also being a reflection on the brutality of the Soviet regime. The symphony has a cinematic feel depicting winter cold and military might in contrastingly subdued and clamourous sections. Rostropovich is mainly known for his cello playing and teaching of course but, at least in this repertoire with which he was so closely connected, his conducting also has much to commend it. And the LSO is currently in a very fine state as far as playing standards are concerned.