Back when I was first getting acquainted with the music of Dmitri Shostakovich perhaps the most widely available recordings of the symphonies were the ones by the Leningrad Philharmonic conducted by Yevgeny Mravinsky on the Melodiya label.  They were quite distinctive; blaring brass, and in some ways sounding rather crude.  Was that what the conductor/composer wanted?  Was that how the orchestra played?  Or was it an artefact of the recordings?  As many of them are now available in various remasters from assorted labels I could dig a bit bit deeper and maybe I will but meanwhile what has come my way is a remastered release from two concerts the Leningrad Philharmonic; conducted by Arvids Jansons (father of Maris), gave in London in September 1971 and which were broadcast on the BBC.

The first, from 13th September at the Royal Albert Hall, is of the Symphony No. 5; maybe Shostakovich’s best known.  It’s a really good performance.  It’s lyrical and virtuosic and the orchestra sounds much better than I remember.  There’s still a bit of an edge on the brass but it’s nothing like I remember and the strings are excellent.  The remastered recording is pretty good.  There’s some audience noise and the sound is a tiny bit congested.  It’s not in the same league as the recent Chandos releases of the symphonies on SACD but it’s OK.  Definitely worth listening too.  There’s the encore from this performance too.  It’s the Act III Prelude from Wagner’s Lohengrin.  It’s very much an encore; loud, fast and exciting!

The second piece is the Symphony No.9; recorded at the Royal Festival Hall a few days later.  The acoustic is a bit better here and it confirms that the orchestra, and Jansons’ handling of it, is very fine indeed.  There’s some very sprightly and virtuosic playing and the woodwinds sound especially good.  All in all this release shows the Leningrad Philharmonic of the 1970s on really top form.

It’s being released, digital only (44.1kHz/16bit lossless and MP3) on 27th February 2026.

Catalogue information: ICA Classics ICAC 5188