Gavriil Popov's Symphony No. 1 -- immediately banned after one performance in 1935 -- is one of his best works. It also apparently helped inspire my favorite Shostakovich symphony, the Fourth.
I've enjoyed all of the recordings of Popov's symphony that I've been able to find, but my favorite is conductor Norichika Iimori's recording with the Tokyo Symphony.
It's not easy to find a copy, but it's available from the Naxos Music Library, a classical music streaming service available from some libraries.
Update: I listened to this last night, and my opinion is confirmed. The first movement is amazingly noisy and violent, the second movement Largo is melodic and beautiful (until it gets the thunder going again.) I wish Popov could somehow hear this recording.
Thank you for sharing this. My favorite Shostakovich Symphony remains number 15.
ReplyDeleteThat's also a really good one, and I need to listen to the 10th again.
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