Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 60 "Leningrad" (Remastered) London Philharmonic Orchestra & Kurt Masur

• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 60 "Leningrad":
• 1 Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 60 "Leningrad": I. Allegretto (Live) 24:40
• 2 Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 60 "Leningrad": II. Moderato (Poco allegretto) [Live] 10:19
• 3 Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 60 "Leningrad": III. Adagio (Live) 17:33
• 4 Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 60 "Leningrad": IV. Allegro non troppo (Live) 17:58
• Total Runtime 01:10:30

Info for Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 60 "Leningrad" (Remastered)

The late conductor, Kurt Masur, had a long relationship with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, dating back to 1987. This recording, made during his tenure as Principal Conductor (2000–2007), highlights the close relationship between Conductor and Orchestra. This release adds to a growing collection of Shostakovich symphonies on the LPO label. Previous recordings featuring Kurt Masur have been praised for their ‘emphatic style’ and ‘serious class.’ The most recent Shostakovich release was described by BBC Music Magazine as “the most stunning Shostakovich disc I have heard this year.” The ‘Leningrad’ Symphony is a true monument to one of the darkest times in recent history. Its famous ‘Invasion’ theme portrays a brooding sense of unease as an enemy approaches. It was written to bolster the people of the besieged city of Leningrad; its Leningrad premiere in summer 1942 was broadcast through loudspeakers during the siege as an act of defiance. The London Philharmonic Orchestra gave the UK premiere of this Symphony (its first performance outside Russia) in June 1942, after the score had been smuggled out of occupied Russia to the West on microfilm.

"In Kurt Masur's straightforward and superbly recorded performance of Shostakovich's wartime Symphony No.7 ("Leningrad"), the listener can feel the composer's deep sense of loss for the devastation visited upon his native city, first by Stalin's Great Terror and then by the Nazis' 900-day siege, in which nearly a million civilians died from bombs, starvation, and exposure. The orchestral playing is suitably intense; the strings are rich-sounding and the brass powerful and brilliant. What keeps this performance from reaching the pinnacle achieved in a 1996 recording by Yuri Temirkanov and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic is a slight lack of rhythmic flexibility. In the work's final moments, for example, Masur maintains a strict tempo, while Temirkanov takes a Furtwängler-like retard that milks every ounce of the music's grandeur and excitement. In the first movement, Masur misses some of the movement's longing because, unlike Temirkanov, he does not sufficiently differentiate the March section from more relaxed episodes, in which the music seems to dissolve in a dreamy haze of sound. Masur is also less successful in capturing the Mahler-like keening of the third. And, wonderfully played as it is, Masur's finale is not as convincing as Temirkanov's. Without going over the top, Temirkanov's fervor and panache create visceral excitement in this otherwise rambling movement that Masur, for all his virtues, cannot match." (Stephen Wigler)

London Philharmonic Orchestra
Kurt Masur, conductor

Kurt Masur
is well known to orchestras and audiences alike as both a distinguished conductor and humanist. In September 2002, Mr. Masur became Music Director of the Orchestre National de France in Paris. Effective with the beginning of the 2008/2009 season he will assume the title of Honorary Music Director for Life of the Orchestre National de France ensuring his close and active involvement with this Orchestra for many more years to come. From September 2000-2007 he was Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic. From 1991-2002 he was Music Director of the New York Philharmonic; following his eleven year tenure he was named Music Director Emeritus, becoming the first New York Philharmonic music director to receive that title, and only the second (after the late Leonard Bernstein, who was named Laureate Conductor) to be given an honorary position. The New York Philharmonic established the "Kurt Masur Fund for the Orchestra", which will endow conductor debut week at the Philharmonic in perpetuity in his honor. From 1970 until 1996, Maestro Masur served as Gewandhaus Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, a position of profound historic importance. Upon his retirement from that post in 1996, the Gewandhaus named him its first-ever Conductor Laureate. Mr. Masur is a guest conductor with the world's leading orchestras and holds the lifetime title of Honorary Guest Conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In July 2007, Maestro Masur celebrated his 80th birthday in an extraordinary concert at the BBC Proms in London where he conducted joint forces of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre National de France. A professor at the Leipzig Academy of Music since 1975, he has received numerous honors: in 1995, he received the Cross of the Order of Merits of the Federal Republic of Germany; in 1996 he received the Gold Medal of Honor for Music from the National Arts Club; in 1997 he received the titles of Commander of the Legion of Honor from the French government and New York City Cultural Ambassador from the City of New York; in April 1999 he received the Commander Cross of Merit of the Polish Republic and in March 2002, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Johannes Rau, bestowed upon Mr. Masur the Cross with Star of the Order of Merits of the Federal Republic of Germany and in September 2007, the President of Germany, Horst Köhler, bestowed upon him the Great Cross of the Legion of Honor with Star and Ribbon. In September 2008 Maestro Masur received the Furtwängler Prize in Bonn Germany. Maestro Masur is also an Honorary Citizen of his hometown Brieg. Maestro Masur has made well over 100 recordings with numerous orchestras. In 2008, Maestro Masur celebrates 60 years of career as a professional conductor.

Booklet for Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 60 "Leningrad" (Remastered)