Technically, it is extremely difficult, and contains a musical sophistication that is quite staggering. Even today, the wealth of invention continues to amaze, more so when one recognizes that young Shostakovich's unique musical voice was already formed - a voice that continued to speak and develop in all his work, one representative of the essence of the gigantic struggles of the Soviet people. This particular recording of the work is splendid. In fact, Jean Martinon and the London Symphony Orchestra present one of the finest renditions. Their personification of style, interpretation and ensemble are a trinity of near perfection.
Strings have a beautiful golden sheen, woodwinds glow and brass resonate thrillingly.
By this account, London Transport were on time, the regular deep growling adding visceral pleasure to the audiophile need quotient. As a filler, the Ballet Suite from The Age of Gold is representative of Shostakovich at his sarcastic best. The piquant orchestration is, again, performed with reckless abandon by the virtuosos of the London Symphony, with the famous oblique-styled Polka played especially well. James Walker and Alan Reeve get the somewhat tricky acoustics of Kingsway just right. Imaging and the soundstage are exemplary, both adding to the splendor of the presentation.