I am almost through listening to the Schostakovitch 5 for the fourth
time in as many days, and I am absolutely enthralled.  I heard it first
conducted by Mravinsky, live with the Leningrad Phil in 1984 (the one I
own), then live from the Proms a couple of days ago (on BBC3 Web radio!),
then I heard Bernstein's on an MP3 file...  And now the Mravinsky again.
What an amazing symphony!  (I think I prefer this last version to the
others.)

My question, apart from wanting to hear other listers' favorite versions,
is the following:  Is there a "program" to this piece? It sure sounds like
there must be -- almost like movie music.  I know it has to do with the
regime, etc., but can anyone tell me or direct me to a more detailed
description of what's going on?

Miguel Muelle
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http://mmuelle.home.mindspring.com/