“As a young conductor I felt Shostakovich was a great composer, but I considered Prokofiev a genius. But then I spent time in St Petersburg at the Mariinsky Theatre, and heard the Mariinsky orchestra perform Shostakovich Four. That was the turning point – after that experience I saw that Prokofiev and Shostakovich were both geniuses, if in a different way.”
The speaker is Gianandrea Noseda, Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, who has recently undertaken complete cycles in concert of the symphonies of both Shostakovich and Prokofiev, now being released on LSO Live, and garnering impressive reviews. Had he always been an enthusiast for Russian music?
“Not only the music, all Russian culture,” Noseda says. “Even as a teenager I was fascinated by the great Russian writers, especially Tolstoy and Bulgakov. I first went to St Petersburg in 1994, invited by Valery Gergiev, not to conduct but to attend all the rehearsals and performances of the Rimsky-Korsakov Festival in February. Over 10 days all Rimsky-Korsakov.”
The schedule sounds appropriately intense: “I attended The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitesh, Sadko, Le Coq D’Or, Scheherazade,” Noseda recalls. “Also Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, Borodin’s Prince Igor and Second Symphony, and Tchaikovsky operas – Mazeppa is a fantastic work! Later as a Principal Guest Conductor in 1997 I started to do these and other operas there myself.”
Yet for audiences in the West, many of these pieces are still rarities – as are many of Prokofiev’s works too. Does he share the view that the preponderance of Shostakovich has restricted Prokofiev’s presence in concerts? “That is an impression I have. In certain countries, including the UK, Shostakovich is a very good seller compared with Prokofiev. He is quite a good seller but not at the level of Shostakovich. In Italy both composers are difficult to sell out in big halls, but Prokofiev does a little bit better than Shostakovich.”
“This recognition is connected to a wider understanding of Shostakovich’s difficult life during the time of Stalin,” Noseda continues, “the tightrope he walked after attacks on his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, and the withdrawal of Symphony No. 4. It was difficult for him to accommodate the cultural dictates of the regime, yet be faithful to his art.”
That attack on Lady Macbeth came from Stalin himself, and the composer so feared his likely arrest that he kept a suitcase packed for the visit in middle of the night. The Fourth Symphony deployed radical musical language – by the Soviet Union’s cultural norms – which could have led to further trouble. Shostakovich had to wait 25 years after completion for its premiere.
Shostakovich still has his detractors, who consider he allowed himself to be used as a propagandist by the Soviet state, but many others think he – who lost many friends to the despotic cruelty of the era – had little choice. He was also, in his own way, loyal to his country. And he was still brave: the 13th Symphony, “Babi Yar”, which mourns the loss of thousands of Jewish lives when the Nazis reached Russia, is an implicit commentary on the antisemitism of the Russian rulers themselves.
When fifteen works cover such a great range, it is not surprising that for Noseda some works are less satisfactory than others. And they are the expected ones, numbers 2, 3, and 12. Symphonies 2 and 3 are alike in being one-movement works ending with a patriotic chorus to banal texts. Neither is much played or recorded outside complete cycles. Even the composer dismissed them as “youthful experiments”.
“No. 2, No. 3 and No. 12, because I didn’t experience them much as a listener or conductor, to my mind were a bit in the second league. Then I learned No. 12, which of course is a celebration of Soviet history, named ‘The year 1917’ and dedicated to Lenin.” Noseda is clearly reluctant to form a final opinion until he has studied and performed a work. Its politics aside, Noseda says, the 12th Symphony “is an incredible piece of music.”
Meanwhile, “No. 3 gave me problems for one particular reason,” Noseda continues. “Shostakovich never fails with architecture. Even when it is not orthodox sonata form, he has a supreme control of the architecture of a piece. With No. 3, when I learned the piece to perform and record it, I couldn’t find this formal element. Then I had a conversation with a horn player who told me ‘Look, this symphony depicts a parade, and you just sit back and see these successive moments of music’. So I went back to the symphony and now it made sense, because there is always a moment of overlapping, and you hear the music of the previous group fighting away at the next one coming to supersede it. I said, ‘Wow, okay, now I get it.’ And with this idea, I really could conduct from my point of view at least a dignified attempt at that symphony”. Noseda ponders a while before smiling as he finds that word “dignified” (as if to say I make no higher claims for my performance).
“For me, No. 2 was completely unexpected after the First Symphony, which was an explosion. After No. 1 he was already Shostakovich. But no one expected the advanced compositional manner of this Second Symphony. If you look near the beginning of No. 2 there is a series of canons that become more in stretto, one close to the other – it is incredible. Written in the late 1920s, it is jumping 50 years to Ligeti’s ultra-modernism. And that trio moment for the solo violin, clarinet and bassoon. It’s incredible how he has put together these virtuoso elements. And, of course, then comes the required celebration of the 10th anniversary of the revolution with chorus. But you can’t disconnect the two things, the Soviet celebratory element is undeniable, alongside moments of great artistry and craftsmanship.”
This is perhaps characteristic of Noseda’s attitude. He always finds something positive to say about a piece, even one the world has found a reason to dismiss. He speaks with enthusiasm, even exuberance, and with emphasis from hand gestures and many a smile. He does not merely appreciate a work, he loves it. “But if you ask me which Shostakovich I love most, of course there are the great symphonies Nos. 4, 8, 10, and I have a special love for No. 11. I admire also the meditations on death in No. 14, with its smaller scale with the two singers, strings and percussion, and the marvellous texts of Rilke, Apollinaire, and Lorca. No. 15 is a sort of Summa, Shostakovich looking back and somehow making a recap of everything, including quotes from previous composers – but all combined in a way that only Dmitry Dmitryevich could make so personal.”
The fine Shostakovich SACDs issued by LSO Live (among others, I’m glad to see they are still in high resolution format) are superbly played central interpretations, but with individual touches. This suggests preparation that permits spontaneity at the concert. How does Noseda prepare a performance? “I spend a lot of time alone with the score – that’s the bible for me. I won’t listen to recordings, I create in my inner ear the sound world, and when we rehearse, try to recreate that sound. Sometimes the orchestra offers a better sound than I imagined, and it would be stupid not to adopt it. So it is always give-and-take in rehearsal. But basically I try to motivate players to listen to each other, like expanded chamber music.”
How does he tackle composers new to his repertoire? “At first, I found Bruckner demanding, and rarely conducted him until 2020. My first Bruckner symphony was No. 9 – the Everest of course, which shows I’m a little bit crazy. Next I will do No. 7 because I think I have found the patience to let the music develop naturally. Bruckner offers excitement but you don't get that through fast tempos. You have to make this music expand as in a cathedral.”
Does he have blind spots? Are there other composers that intrigue him, but he has yet to get round to them? “There are areas of repertoire that attract me, but ones where I don’t know if I have the code to understand the language. This is the case with Sibelius and Nielsen. My only attempt with Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony was unsatisfying. Some critics liked it but I thought I didn’t do it justice. When I am attracted by repertoire for which I don’t yet have the code, I start by putting the closed score in some place around my home – to see, when I open it, or even before, if the music will call to me.”
Shostakovich, even the troublesome symphonies 2, 3, and 12, clearly called to Gianandrea Noseda. The Prokofiev symphony downloads (a CD set will follow), are calling too – and with the force of genius.
Gianandrea Noseda’s Shostakovich and Prokofiev cycles with the London Symphony Orchestra released so far are available to purchase, download or stream.
An SACD set of the Shostakovich cycle will be available to pre-order from 8th August ahead of its release on 21th November 2025.
This article was sponsored by LSO Live.
