Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Oleg Caetani - Shostakovich: The Complete Symphonies (Box Set, 2006) [SACD]

To mark the centenary of the great 20th century Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, Arts are releasing a specially priced boxed set of the critically acclaimed complete symphony cycle, recently recorded by the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi under the conductor Oleg Caetani. Dmitri Shostakovich was born in 1906. His Symphony No.1 was written as a diploma piece and first performed in 1926. It garnered immediate critical acclaim, earning the composer world fame at the age of 20. Over the next 46 years, Shostakovich was to write a further 14 symphonies, many of which were composed under the stifling atmosphere of Stalinism. Since the composer's death in 1975, this extraordinary body of work has found enormous favour with both critics and audiences alike. The world of these symphonies, which resounds with the anxt and uncertainty of the 20th century, seems for many listeners and performers to have touched the musical spirit of the age in a unique way. Personnel: Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Oleg Caetani - (conductor)