Shostakovich Symphony No.1, Beethoven Symphony No.1 : Michael Sanderling / Dresden Philharmonic

With their symphonic debuts both Ludwig van Beethoven (17701827) and Dmitri Shostakovich (19061975) established their credentials as gifted symphonists. Beethovens First Symphony was first performed at the Burgtheater the Imperial Court Theatre in Vienna in 1800 and was an immediate success, already revealing its composers characteristic imprint, with its rapid interplay between dynamic and dramatic extremes. Shostakovichs First Symphony strikes a similar note with its tempestuous uninhibitedness, combining musical modernism, unusual orchestral forces and classical form. The work was the eighteen-year-old Shostakovichs graduation piece at the Leningrad Conservatory and was first performed by the Leningrad Philharmonic in 1926, proving his first international success and bringing to an end his financial woes. There is no mistaking the grotesque yet serious style and use of caricature that were later to permeate all of the composers major works. By comparing and contrasting these debut symphonies by Beethoven and Shostakovich, the present recording by the Dresdner Philharmonie under its principal conductor Michael Sanderling was hailed by the press as a fascinating exercise, receiving four stars from Fono Forum, which described the programme as a delightful combination of works.