Shostakovich: Symphonies 4, 5 & 6, Mäkelä (2-CD)

“A mind-blowing performance — as thrilling for its emotional contradictions as for its pulverizing unity of purpose.” — The Scotsman

The music of Shostakovich has been core to Klaus Mäkelä and the Oslo Philharmonic’s programming since the start of their relationship, first performing the Fifth Symphony in November 2019. Composed in the 1930s, the three symphonies compiled here reflect a deeply traumatic period for the composer.

For Mäkelä, the Fourth is the composer’s ultimate masterpiece. “The gestures are so incredibly modern,” says the conductor, “it sounds as if it was written yesterday. It is a very problematic work not only because it received its premiere much, much later, but it’s so unusual, even for Shostakovich. In a way it contains everything — the core of all his expression. And it’s shocking in terms of its structure and harmonic language which can be extremely brutal at times.”

The Fifth Symphony, in the conductor’s words, “is almost the perfect piece in terms of expression and structure. What makes it so great is that it has so many layers of expression which can be interpreted in such different ways.”

The Sixth Symphony, composed in 1939, after the immediate danger to Shostakovich’s life had passed following Stalin’s denunciation of the opera, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, is a work close to Mäkelä’s heart. “The Sixth is one of my favorites because it is such a deeply personal work with an unusually imperfect form. The intense first movement Largo is followed by two short dances of grotesque joy and parody, giving a depth to the work which is both intensely dramatic and intimate.”

Shostakovich Symphony No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 43
September 2022, Oslo Concert Hall, Oslo

Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47
May 2023, Oslo Concert Hall, Oslo

Shostakovich Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 54
January 2022, Oslo Concert Hall, Oslo

Discs: 2
Record Label: Decca
Release Date: August 9, 2024