A new release on the Mariinsky label

The latest Mariinsky label disc – the eighteenth – will be released on 3 December 2012. The disc features a recording of Dmitry Shostakovich’s most famous symphony, the Seventh or Leningrad Symphony, written by the composer during the siege of his native city by the Nazi army during World War II. The Seventh Symphony became a symbol of the antimilitarism and courage of the people of Leningrad, its performance in the besieged city by musicians dying from hunger proving an unprecedented achievement. The strong and expressive interpretation of Shostakovich’s masterpiece by the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Valery Gergiev on this disc was recorded at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre in June 2012. It is the fourth release in the symphony series Gergiev’s Shostakovich which will see the release of recordings of all fifteen of the great 20^th century composer’s symphonies.