Symphonies Nos 13 Babi Yar; 14 & 15

"This is the most entertaining modern recording of what is usually counted a forbidding work. You may even feel that the conductor's flexible tempos and extrovert manner represent a distraction from the real issues."
Gramophone, June 1997 (DSG), reviewing Symphony No.13

"It is Leiferkus who is the powerful bass soloist in the Järvi account of the symphony [no.14],... full-toned and intense, totally idiomatic in his expressiveness. ... Järvi's orchestra is ... particularly good at bringing out both the atmospheric elements and the wry, dark humour. ..The sound is... full and satisfying."
Gramophone, February 1994 (EG), reviewing Sympnony No.14

Shostakovich's last three symphonies are deeply moving works full of impact. With his setting of Yevtushenko's poem "Babi Yar", Shostakovich supported the poet's outcry against anti-semitism in post-war Soviet Russia. No. 14 is not only a song-cycle symphony on the subject of death, but also a bold statement against authority. According to Shostakovich's own comment, the first movement of his very last symphony represents a toy-shop and the whole work is a birth-to-death piece.