Symphony No 8

Hybrid SACD Compatible with all CD players. Includes high density stereo and surround tracks that can be read by SACD players

'the most overwhelming performance; could musical expression possibly go further?'
DISC OF THE MONTH BBC Music Magazine

'No one could conduct it like Rostropovich''
The Observer

'The performance is one of the finest I have ever heard of anything. But take care, this CD should have a public health warning - don't listen unless you are in good heart and emotionally strong … No one understands this political psychosis better than Mstislav Rostropovich. Shostakovich has an awesome ability to grasp a high concept and unfold it powerfully and Rostropovich's capacity to open it up and characterise it is astonishing … I spilt coffee all over my shirt listening to that! The emotion is raw and real. Compared to others this is a recording that has all the difference between looking at a photo of Antarctica and actually walking out on the icepacks. Something tragically dangerous was given voice that night at the Barbican and is now bottled up, none to safely I imagine, on this LSO Live CD. I simply can't imagine how Rostropovich generates so much energy or indeed how the players cope.'
- BBC Radio 3 CD Review


Although it was written at a time of great optimism in the Soviet Union with the Nazis in retreat, Shostakovich's Eighth Symphony is imbued with a deep sense of sorrow and fear of the future. Whereas the authorities expected a victorius anthem, Shostakovich appeared too affected by the bloody cost of the war. Mstislav Rostropovich again proves that no other conductor is able to so intimately understand the feelings of his dear friend.