Back in the days when modernist rule held sway in Western music criticism,
Shostakovich's
Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103 ("The Year 1905") was criticized for being too Hollywood-like. If that ever made any sense, it doesn't anymore, and
London Symphony Orchestra conductor
Gianandrea Noseda is to be commended for taking the work for what it is in this live recording. The first two movements are vivid re-creations of the empty Palace Square in St. Petersburg and of the brutally repressed demonstration there on January 9, 1905, with the third movement a memorial to those killed, and the Tocsin finale a clear call to action in a work marking the anniversary, not of the 1905 conflicts but of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The high drama of the opening two movements is of the type that is said to require a Russian conductor, but don't tell
Noseda that; the chill of an empty space waiting to be filled with new ideas has rarely been so keen, and the violence of the Tsar's troops in the second movement is intense indeed, and the funeral emotions of the slow movement would have gotten
Shostakovich thrown in jail today. Another strong draw of the album is the engineering; it has been a pleasure to hear the increasing quality of the engineering work of the
LSO Live staff at London's Barbican Hall. Even those listening on low-quality equipment will be impressed by both the dynamic range here and the sonic clarity all across it. An excellent
Shostakovich release that made classical best-seller lists in the spring of 2025. ~ James Manheim
