What's your favorite Shostakovich symphony? (1 Viewer)

[Seth--L]

I heard it was a real dud. The best 4th, IMO, remains the first recording: Ormandy/Philadelphia. Performances of Shostokovich today get mired down in reflexive thought about the composer's relationship with the Soviet Authorities, and beliefs about "authentic" Russian sound. Ormandy is thoroughly unpretentious -- he was Shostakovich's favorite conductor in the West. Too bad his premier recordings of the 13th and 14th are only available in Japan (but at least in good remastered sound).