Composed in Russia during the turbulent Soviet era and amidst a backdrop of political strictures and an atmosphere of genuine danger for musicians and artists, Dmitry Shostakovich’s cycle of fifteen symphonies stands as one of the greatest musical achievements of the 20th century. From the brilliance of his youthful First Symphony to the final ironic statement of the Fifteenth with its quotes from Rossini and Wagner, Shostakovich’s symphonies encapsulate the Soviet experience from revolutionary fervor to wartime defiance, the music also transcending public pressures in order to express the deepest of personal responses to life, death, and everything in between. International acclaim for Vasily Petrenko’s recorded cycle has put it at the vanguard of a noble history for these enduring masterpieces.