Symphony 10

''My aim was to convey human feelings and passions in this work,'' Shostakovich said of his newly completed Symphony No.10 in 1953. And it is clear exactly what it was that he wanted to relate: Stalin was dead, and after his music had been publicly denounced for being too abstract in 1948, Shostakovich had finally plucked up the courage to write another symphony. Ever since Kirill Kondrashin and Bernard Haitink first led performances of Shostakovich's symphonies in the late 1970s, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has astonished listeners with their level of refinement and involvement in this repertoire. With the tenure of Mariss Jansons, a degree of authenticity is added; like Kondrashin before him, Jansons has experienced himself what it is like to work under Soviet conditions. Following the award winning RCO Live release of his interpretation of Shostakovich's seventh symphony, Jansons's take on the composer's tenth adds another benchmark performance to the orchestra's discography.