Prom 16: Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4

As their acclaimed Shostakovich recording series continues, the BBC Philharmonic and Chief Conductor John Storgårds bring one of the composer’s boldest symphonies to the Proms. The Fourth, a bleak and ferociously powerful work, was withdrawn before its planned premiere for fear of reprisal from Joseph Stalin, who had recently denounced Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District. Before the interval we hear Canadian composer Cassan...