Geoffrey Gaskell:

>Shostakovich for his ninth of 1945, a likewise compact and apparently
>light symphony to celebrate Victory in Europe.

"Apparently" is the operative word, as I realized after hearing a
revelatory performance conducted by Penderecki once, with the Milwaukee
Symphony.  It can be heard as bitingly ironic.  There were very, very many
who did not live to march home, and many of those who survived (notably
Russians) did not find too much to celebrate when they got home.

Jim Tobin