While the influence of Viennese Classicism is certainly palpable in Beethoven’s First Symphony, its fiery score teems with ground-breaking ideas like the seeds of a style that would assert itself ever more vigorously over the years. The driving force of Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony is something else entirely: brutal, dreadful, ruthless, a striking work summoning the devastating drama of wartime, with irony emerging as a response to suffering.
BEETHOVEN, Symphony no. 1 in C major, op. 21 (26 min.)
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SHOSTAKOVICH, Symphony no. 8 in C minor, op. 65 (61 min.)
