Video on demand: Shostakovich's Symphony no. 8

To Shostakovich, the orchestra was a fantastic instrument that could express everything from the most tender poetry to ancient powers that move mountains. And that’s what the eighth symphony seems to do in its heart-wrenching melancholy and violent charges in a tragic reflection of the darkness of the Second World War.

Watch this striking piece as performed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christoph Eschenbach.

Filmed in December 2019.