David Hurwitz: Shostakovich Symphonies And Concertos - An Owner's Manual

As do all great artists, Shostakovich creates in his art a personal language of universal appeal. In Shostakovich Symphonies and Concertos acclaimed author David Hurwitz describes the musical elements of that language: what it sounds like, how it works expressively, as opposed to providing a mere technical analysis. In this first book of its kind, Hurwitz closely examines fifteen Shostakovich symphonies and six concertos in chronological order, offering a wonderfully descriptive guided tour of the music as it unfolds in real time, revealing its genius and how it fits in the tradition of Western classical music.

The accompanying full-length BIS records CD contains a fine performance of Shostakovich's popular Fifth Symphony, which illustrates the various elements of the composer's individual style.