Ranking Shostakovich's "Long" Symphonies

[Karl Henning]

In fact, I like them all very much, so a "ranking" for me is somewhere between Banana and Finesse. But for fun:

1. Fourth in c minor
2. Thirteenth, "Babi Yar"
3. Seventh, "Leningrad"
4. Eighth in c minor
5. Eleventh, "1905"

Notes: the Fourth is my very favorite among these. "Babi Yar" was an early love, one of the first of the symphonies (after the Fifth) that I got to know very well. I like the "Leningrad" better than the consensus, probably. All in all, though, my rankings third through fifth are pretty arbitrary (see " I like them all very much." above.)

[DavidW]

My ranking is 8 > 7 > 11 > 13 > 4

[Karl Henning]

My ranking is 8 > 7 > 11 > 13 > 4

Interesting that you prefer 11 to 13. Say more!

[Maestro267]

No. 11
No. 4
No. 7
No. 8
No. 13

[calyptorhynchus]

No one for 10

10-8-6... the rest

[Karl Henning]

No one for 10

10-8-6... the rest

I was considering only the symphonies running an hour or more.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

My order of preference looks like this at the moment:

4, 8
7
13
11

I've heard all live except for 13. Basically, the more explicitly political the piece is, the less I like it. I think that holds for other composers too.

[DavidW]

Interesting that you prefer 11 to 13. Say more!

Fond memories of blasting the 11th on my portable cd player on my walks to the physics department in college. I didn't hear the 13th until years later and it is a more subtle work.

[JBS]

4
11
8
7/10/13
5/12/14

Mind you there are days I might swap 4 and 11 around, and the bottom two tiers might fluctuate considerably.

[vandermolen]

13 is one that I have got to know in recent years.

10
4
11
13
8
7
1

Oh, it's only the long ones - ok, here goes
11
4
8
13
7

I like 12 as well :-)

[calyptorhynchus]

I was considering only the symphonies running an hour or more.

Sorry

[Karl Henning]

Sorry

No worries! I didn't want to "penalize" you for participating .... just wanted you to know I wasn't slighting the Tenth, which is my favorite of the 15 about half the time!

[André]

Great idea !

8, 11, 4, 7, 13

8 and 11 tell a story in graphic musical detail. 4, 7 and 13 reflect musically on an era and past tragedies. Well, don't take this for cash, but that's how I see them... 😁

That being said, my faves are 5, 6 and 15 closely followed by 8, 11, 4 and 7.

Nos 9, 10, 14 are also to be reckoned with.

[Daverz]

So choices are 4, 7, 8, 11, 13?

11 is definitely at the bottom as it rarely holds my attention throughout.  I've listened to No. 4 much more than any of the others.  The purely instrumental works will get more play here.  I find 7 enjoyable, but I'd rank it quite a bit below the others, though a tier above 11.  So ranked in four arbitrary tiers:

4, 8, 13
Nothing here
7
11

[Brian]

I listened to 13 (and 15!) for the first time ever in the last 18 months or so, and both of them were truly highlight-of-the-year level discoveries. I'm torn a little, mentally. Obviously I could have been listening to both of them for the last 15-16 years and was missing out all that time. But it also feels like this is the right time of life to really appreciate the works' layers of meaning: the "humor," the parody, the trauma, the hard-fought weird inner peace...

Anyway, I'm packing 8 to blast at full volume in the car later this month, so I'll report back after my road trip jam session 

[foxandpeng]

7
4
8
11
13

  

[foxandpeng]

My Shostakovich symphony traversal has become somewhat derailed, so this is a helpful thread for me, thank you! Mind you, I was also supposed to be poking Bruckner in 2024, and that died on its butt...

[Karl Henning]

7
4
8
11
13

  

FWIW, of these, the Eleventh took the longest to work its way into my affections. A friend of mine in San Diego heard his home orchestra play it live, and I realized, "if Peter thinks that highly of it, it must really be good."

[foxandpeng]

FWIW, of these, the Eleventh took the longest to work its way into my affections. A friend of mine in San Diego heard his home orchestra play it live, and I realized, "if Peter thinks that highly of it, it must really be good."

That's usually my experience on here, tbh... if (insert name) thinks it is worth hearing,  then surely I should be listening to it!

[Luke]

So choices are 4, 7, 8, 11, 13?

11 is definitely at the bottom as it rarely holds my attention throughout.  I've listened to No. 4 much more than any of the others.  The purely instrumental works will get more play here.  I find 7 enjoyable, but I'd rank it quite a bit below the others, though a tier above 11.  So ranked in four arbitrary tiers:

4, 8, 13
Nothing here
7
11

This is the correct answer