Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93

Premiered in December 1953, months after Stalin's death. The vast first movement — half the symphony's length — circles upward from the depths of the low strings; the second is a four-minute presto of concentrated violence, widely read as a portrait of Stalin; the third sets Shostakovich's DSCH monogram against a mysterious horn call spelling 'Elmira'; and in the finale DSCH is finally hammered out in triumph on the timpani. His most performed symphony after the Fifth, and the most concentrated of his individual-against-the-age narratives.

• Karajan / Berlin Philharmonic

  Reference

  Deutsche Grammophon · 1981

  The only Shostakovich symphony Karajan recorded, and he did it twice. The second movement runs to the edge of control, which is exactly what that music wants.

• Mravinsky / Leningrad Philharmonic

  Historical

  Melodiya · 1976

  The conductor of the premiere. Dry, hard orchestral sound with nothing smoothed over; the DSCH motif lands each time like a nail. The sound quality is poor and worth tolerating.